Flippin' Tips

Flipped learning is all the rage in education today. I tried it last school year in three of my classes and thought it was awesome! I would like to share some things that I have learned as a part of this blog.

Tip #1: Not recommended for new teachers.

Now, before you get upset, let me explain. I think flipped learning is a wonderful thing but I cannot imagine trying it as a new teacher. When you begin teaching, you just want to survive. Flipped learning takes time to implement and plan for and it takes resources. Unfortunately, new teachers usually do not have the resource base. That being said, if you are a highly motivated new teacher that has experience finding resources or you have a great mentor that is willing to share, you just might give it a try.


Tip #2: Create your own videos/presentations

As teachers, parents, mentors, coaches....our time is at a premium. Our students deserve the time it takes to create a lesson. It is so easy to grab a Kahn Academy video or other resource and use as is. Don't get me wrong, in some cases these are good options. Let's be honest though, all teachers are different, students are different, learning outcomes are different, and it is sooo easy to create your own. This can be as simple as adding audio in PowerPoint to presentations you have. Be sure to update them, focusing on the most important information and adding more visuals. I would recommend using iSpring free to convert your file to flash to reduce the file size. This also allows the students to pause and start the presentations easier. If you want to do something more "techie," I would recommend using either the Educreation app or the Showme app, both free. My 3-year old uses these, if that tells you how easy they are. The result using these two apps would be very similar to Kahn Academy presentations. These two apps would also be great tools for authentic assessment of your students. If you have iPads or iPods at your disposal, students can use one of these apps to show you what they know. Two more non-app options would be CamStudio or Jing, these are free screencasting tools that are simple to use. There are several YouTube videos on how to use both of these, but chances are, in five minutes you will be ready to go!

Tip #3: Provide an orientation for students and parents

I highly recommend an orientation of some sort for both parents and students if you plan to flip your class. Parents need to know that their child will be required to use technology, they need to know that the student might struggle in the beginning because how they learn will be changing, and they need to know about your LMS, among other things. I typed up a "flyer" that I passed out during freshmen orientation. I discussed it with all the parents and students that attended the orientation. I also passed it out at the beginning of the school year and went through the document again with all the students. I took time to answer their questions and tried to make them comfortable with what we were about to undertake. The "flyer" had information on what flipped learning is, why I wanted to use it, how it would change the dynamics of the classroom, and a section about Edmodo, which is what I used for my LMS.

Within the first few days of school, I took some time to orient students with Edmodo. I gave them the "assignment" of getting their usernames and passwords set up. Then, in class, I went through the various capabilities and features of Edmodo. I actually wish I had spent more time with orientation of Edmodo and flipped learning. Students did fine getting started with only a few setbacks, but I think we could have had an even smoother transition with a more formal orientation.

Tip #4: Keep it Short

A tip to live by…I know this sounds like common sense, but it is easier said than done. Last year, when I flipped my Pre-AP Biology courses most of my videos were 15-20 minutes long, some longer. I thought this was the perfect time frame, especially since that was much less time than lecture would have taken in most cases. Through discussions with students, I found out that this was too long. They brought up the fact that if they watch the presentation, pause the video, and try to take notes it takes quite a bit longer than 15-20 minutes. This also does not count the time that they use to re-watch a video. I assume that many teachers beginning the flip probably make this same mistake because they want to “lecture” and put it on video. This year, for Chemistry, all the videos I have created thus far are between five and seven minutes. Moreover, I only do one topic at a time instead of discussing multiple topics. My Chem students are much more receptive because they do not see this as a large time commitment. Also, they are not inundated with information since I keep the videos focused.

Tip #5: Video Self-checks

One thing that I stumbled on and then my students praised was the idea of self-checks embedded in the tutorials I create. This sounds like common sense right. Last year, I would forget and students would get bent out of shape. :-) They said that the self-checks really helped. I try to put self-checks in after a minute or two of the tutorial or after each small subsection. I also try to put in a "you should have learned" section at the end of tutorials. Students say this helps because if they don't feel like they understand something from the "you should have learned" they know they should go back and rewatch.

Tip #6: Multiple Formats for Tutorials

One thing I have learned while flipping the last two years is to create multiple formats of the same tutorial. As mentioned in a previous post, I have been using Screencast-o-matic and Showme this year. When I finish the tutorials, I upload them to Edmodo in the original Java version but I also create a YouTube version. This allows students who get ahead to watch them in class if they need to but also to watch them at home or elsewhere using their mobile devices. Many mobile devices do not play Java files or Flash files, but they connect to the internet. We live in a rural area where some students might not have internet access available at their home or may not be able to afford it, but the vast majority have mobile devices with 4G capabilities. My students have said they appreciate the YouTube version (even though it is blocked at our school). One student said, “Thanks for the YouTube version, I can be in my bed with my Kindle and watch a tutorial.”  When I create the YouTube versions, I always mark them as unlisted and then just post the link in Edmodo. Screencast-o-matic will allow you to upload your screencast in other formats as well. I use the RealPlayer download to share my Showmes on YouTube.  If you want to take this one step further, you can use www.savetube.com to easily convert your YouTube videos to .mp4 files.  This would give you three different file types and would allow you to meet the needs of the most students. Finally, for students who have little to no tech at home, you can put your tutorials on DVD.