Flipped Classroom

            I do not have any experience or training with podcasts, so I was not sure what to expect as I viewed various ones online.  To my surprise they were extremely engaging and educational.  I could have gotten lost in viewing them, had I not set a time limit on myself.  They are definitely something I will refer back to when setting up future plans for my students. 

            The videocast that really caught my attention was one on finding the surface area of a cylinder (https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/surface-area-lesson).  It was interesting to me, being a math teacher, and knowing how hard it is for kids to grasp this concept.  As I sat and watched the video multiple things stood out to me that I could use in my classroom, starting next week even.  When I was not using the active participation approach I found it hard to make sure I called on random students.  The teacher in the video had playing cards taped to the desks.  He had another deck in his hand, and would pull a card from the deck and that was the person to respond.  The student had the option to pass if they wanted to.  What a clever idea!  I also liked his idea of “think tank” and “debriefing”.  “Think Tank” was when they thought about the concept to themselves before responding.  “Debriefing” is what he coined as a group discussion time.  Both of these could be implemented immediately in a classroom.  I also enjoyed how he had the kids explore the concept before he told them the formula.  The kids were all actively engaged and coming up their own ideas on how to figure the problem out.  This gave the kids a chance to use their prior knowledge, basic understanding, and each other to problem solve.  He circulated the room and discussed with each group how they came up with the answers and why they chose that particular strategy.  I could easily implement these strategies into my classroom and be successful with them.  My only question would be, “How did he handle students that did not grasp the concept or had a hard time with the vocabulary (radius, circumference, area, etc.)?”

            A second videocast that could easily be used in my classroom was about place value and reading large numbers (http://www.schooltube.com/video/557cf51a04198e1f7f3b/math%20song%20(place%20value%20to%20the%20thousands).  I was thinking about my intensive and ELL students when I watched this.  The bright colors and catchy song would be a perfect fit for those that are having trouble reading and writing large numbers.  This is a video I could easily implement into a small group or individual workshop station to help reinforce my place value lesson.   My auditory students would be totally engaged and also learning.  I could see them singing or humming the song days after they watched the video!  To make it even better, I could have it uploaded to an IPad where they could take it to a corner of the room and work individually.

            As I watched these videos and listened to various podcasts I started to think about how these types of things could be used to flip my classroom.  With flipping any classroom I would need to make sure I have the appropriate equipment and technology.  A blog by Susan Lucille Davis (http://gettingsmart.com/2013/08/10-teacher-tested-tools-for-flipping-your-classroom/) really pointed me in the right direction.  Susan explained that I could use my personal MacBook ($1,500) for making the videos.  It has the video camera and speakers that will be sufficient enough.  There are also multiple apps that I can use to help enhance the video or slideshow presentation.  Many free Apps like Jing, Voicethread, Mozilla PopcornMaker, and SooMeta can enhance your product from basic screen casting to digital storytelling.  Along with the laptop, a student could use an IPad ($300) or IPhone ($200) to access many of the same Apps.  One App stood out to me as a perfect fit for my students.  Explain Everything ($2.99) is an App that you can use and then share your lesson via email.  What a great way to make sure even the absent student gets the lesson.

            As with any change you have to be aware of possible dilemmas.  A huge dilemma I foresee with my population is the availability of technology and the Internet to view the podcasts.  Many of my students do not have this technology readily available to them.  However, I could make a DVD copy of a videocast or a recording of the podcast for them to use at home.  Another dilemma for my students would be the motivation to actually listen to the podcast or watch the videos.  Many of my students already struggle with work outside of class time.  This leads me to my main question on the flipped classroom.  How do you handle students who do not do the prep work before class?  They obviously will be behind and not have any background knowledge on the topic.  Do we allow them the time to complete the prep work during class?  Do we schedule another time during the day for them to do this?  If we do, will they not miss out on the group collaboration?  These are just a few questions for thought.
             I can highly foresee myself using the flipped classroom in the future.  It would be a good experiment to do with my above benchmark students.  At first, I could have them do the prep work at school.  They could use the school laptops or my personal IPad.  This would be necessary to train them on how it works.  Then I could assign it as their homework for the next day.  I believe they would be able to do this, have the background knowledge, and enjoy the opportunity to learn about the topic before class instruction.  Overall this would work perfect for my benchmark and above benchmark.  I would be concerned with my intensive, ELL learners, and the students who struggle with things outside of class.