Flipping+The+Classroom

Ian O'Byrne, University of Connecticut

As we start to bring more and more ICT tools into our classrooms, the ultimate question needs to be WHY? What are we doing that dramatically, drastically changes learning and literacy for our students? Through the use of visual tutorials and multimodal content construction I have been able to tap into the way that students read and create, and use this in the classrooms of the privileged and the disadvantaged.

But...what if we were able to take this one step further? What if we could use these tools to "flip the classroom"? The process of flipping the classroom involves taping productions of your classes so that students may view, review...or perhaps even preview the content of the day. This saves time during the classroom day for all of that precious work that is needed: such as discussion, hands-on work, collaborative work, etc. This also "frees" up time during the day that now can be used to focus on individual students, or individual concepts that need to be strengthened. Using various, FREE tools we can create multimodal directions that learners can watch, watch again...watch again.

For more ideas on the thinking behind "Flipping The Classroom" please visit these sites, and watch these videos...before our session: Donald Clark - Flip the classroom, every teacher should do this __ Karl Fisch - We see this as the future of higher education __ Salman Khan on TED Talks - Let's use video to reinvent education

The first tool that we can use is Skitch. Skitch is a FREE tool that you can download and run on Macs. You can use it to take screen captures (pictures of anything on your screen) and annotate them if needed. You can then save them online and share them at Skitch...or simply paste into word, powerpoint, emails...whatever. Skitch can be used to create online quizzes, examples of how to log-in to web spaces, or examples of ICT tool use.

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The second tool that can be used is a little more advanced...but helps students and colleagues have a much more detailed look at what you're explaining. Jing is a FREE online tool that can be used to create video screen captures of whatever you have on your screen. Jing can be downloaded to your Mac or PC. The videos can then include your voice to add your voice to the description.

Jing requires a sign-up, and this also includes web hosting space at Screencast..which allows you to easily host and share the videos you've created. You can pay extra for Jing Pro, which provides more functions, such as the ability to save and download files as MPEG-4 video clips. I don't view this as necessary since most people will view your tutorials online and can revisit them when needed...even at home. The sharing can be done using links in emails, or by embedding in web pages. The videos created for the Xtranormal page, and the Skitch Cool Tools sessions we created using Jing.

I apologize in advance for the high volume level on this video... media type="custom" key="10009603"

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