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The Best of 2012
Isn't this one of the craziest weeks in school? It's the same everywhere every year that students (and teachers!) are counting the days to their Christmas break. This year was the first time in a long time that there were four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, which makes the anticipation for a break even more anxious. I'm working with teachers in Miami this week and although it may seem like a time that no one is paying attention, it's actually a time to keep them extra busy. Keep the students actively engaged in their studies for your sanity and theirs. At the end of each year, I like to look back at my favorite topic and choose the one. My favorite is the detailed version of how to do a flipped classroom. My daughter even took on flipping her math classroom this year! This "tuesdays" is the last one of 2012 and will return on Tuesday, January 8, 2013 when everyone is back to some normalcy. Have a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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My favorite pick for 2012 is Lodge McCammon's flipped classroom adventure. NC State's Friday Institute for Educational Innovation hosts the FIZZ model of instruction by Dr. Lodge McCammon. The workshop began with some storytelling about Lodge's dad's influence and I was struck by the wisdom he quoted from his dad, "Americans always do the right thing after trying everything else." We may just be at that point in education where we can "flip" everything we've been doing for the sake of engagement. His solution is NO LECTURES IN THE CLASSROOM. Instead, flip classroom teachers record "one-take" videos of their lectures and then assign application activities for class time rather than homework. This style of learning is more rigorous and touches all the multiple intelligences. It's self-paced, differentiated and collaborative. He certainly practices what he preaches because he has provided one-take videos on his website for all to understand. Make the time to check them out. They are so worth it:
FIZZ lecture to flip your classroom
FIZZ paperslide projects to differentiate
"Flipping with Katie"
Katie Gimbar's Flipped Classroom series
Clintondale High School in Detroit
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So many have asked why would you take the time to video your lessons when there is YouTube and Khan Academy? According to Dr. McCammon, we know that student success depends upon great teachers and that teaching is largely about having a personal relationship with the students. Students also need to trust their teacher. When students watch videos created by people they do not know, they may make connections to the content, but when your teacher takes the time to video their instruction, it sends two great messages: I care and I know my content. When we send our student somewhere else, we are actually outsourcing our teaching. I want to encourage you to watch the videos I have linked for you in the creative website section and consider the "flip classroom" as a model of engagement for your students. Let me know if you need some help. I would love to be a part of the process. (Katie Gimbar's reason for doing her own videos)
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How can you ever make the time to create video content? First, recognize that you do not need tech skills or video editing equipment. All you need is a simple video camera, like a FLIP camera or digital camera turned to video mode and a tripod. You are going to deliver a lesson, so why not video it and have it for remediation, enrichment or review for absentees? Draw your lesson out on the board, SMARTBoard or paper and record it in one take. Don't worry about perfection. Pretend it's first period (you know how we always practice on them!) The value of creating your personal instruction library is priceless. It may take time, but you will have a collection that your students and parents will treasure. How exciting. Kudos to Dr. Lodge McCammon for his creativity and tangible ways to make it all happen.
PS. For those of you that are interested, I send out a "12 Day Until Christmas" series each year. You can find it on my 16-9 Movement blog or you can request an email version if you would like to be on my list.
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| What is "tuesdays with Karen"?
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"tuesdays with Karen" is a weekly newsletter/blog designed to encourage, equip and empower teachers to be creative with educational technology. Please add your technology comments to my "tuesdays with Karen" blog. |
