#FlipClass Experiment Series - Why Flip?

One of the questions I get a lot is, "Why would you want to flip your class?"  I have a few reasons, from my personal experience, for wanting to flip my classroom, and of course I'll share them with you.
After moving toward this method of teaching last year I found that by saving as much time as possible during class for actual work I got to do way more quality teaching than I ever did in the past.  Students were engaged and busy during class, and with me not wasting time preaching from the front of the room to a disinterested audience, I got to spend my time teaching students what they needed and wanted to know through a series of teachable moments with interested students.  I love teachable moments, and I have found that the more time you have in class for one-on-one help, the more teachable moments you seem to have.
Next, students gain a lot of understanding through the video instruction.  As opposed to a classroom lecture, students have the ability to pause me while taking notes and rewind to hear something again.  In addition to this, they like the fact that they are watching a video instead of sitting still and shutting up.  They've had enough of that, and my videos are different and therefore "cool."
I also go back to my college days and think of the lovely "Dale's Cone of Experience" and consider the implications of (a) using videos to present lecture content, (b) using class time for more active work, and (c) incorporating collaborative, project-based activities in class.  I'm moving my class further down the cone by not having them "Read Section 2.4" or sit and listen to me preach.

Lastly, from a more practical and less theoretical viewpoint, I am teaching my students much more than just the Algebra I content expectations.  They are picking up an invaluable life lesson in their taking ownership of their own education.  They are learning a lot about knowing what they do and don't know as well as options they have to do something about it.  They are learning, through the use of Khan Academy, that education is valuable and becoming increasingly more available and free for those who thirst for knowledge.  And, they are learning to learn through the use of some 21st century tools that are becoming the norm in higher education.

I feel like I could ramble forever on this topic, and it is one that I love, but these are my big reasons for flipping my class.  Hopefully my enthusiasm continues to rub off on my students as the year progresses out of the first marking period.

Image By Jeffrey Anderson [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

#FlipClass Experiment Series - Flip What?

As I've been writing a few posts about flipping my Algebra I class, it occurred to me that some in my audience might be a little lost on what a flipped classroom actually is, so let's break this down.  In a flipped class, students use classroom time to complete what used to be homework and time outside of class to receive instruction in the form of what used to be a classroom lecture.  The passive stuff, like lectures, are completed independently at home while classroom time is devoted to more active tasks like project-based learning, practice assignments, group work, etc.
My classroom operates in the following format:

• Lectures are delivered in the form of streaming videos that I link to from a couple of sources.  I use a mix of videos from Khan Academy and my own screencast recordings explaining different concepts.  Students are expected to view these videos either at home or outside of our regular meeting times, and they are responsible for the content presented in much the way students are responsible for reading material from a text.
• We start each Quarter with all assignments for the Quarter up front (see image below), and students can work through the material and assignments at their pace (with deadlines).  Assignments vary from completion of Khan Academy modules to paper and pencil assignments to collaborative problem solving activities to larger scale, long-term projects to Chapter Tests.

• Class time is used predominantly for working through assignments while leaving loads of time for one-on-one help where students get stuck.  On any given day in my classroom, I may have students working on various Khan Academy Modules with a few taking their Chapter Test while another group is working on a project together in the corner.  It can seem chaotic at times, but you can feel the learning happening.

#FlipClass Experiment Series - Access

Since this whole idea of flipping a classroom is fairly new in education, of course there are going to be plenty of issues and growing pains that come up along the way.  The biggest concern I have had raised in my work in flipping my class is access.  I have had questions raised from everyone from administrators to parents to students to other teachers looking to flip their classrooms, and every single group has raised the issue of access.  For some school districts this won't be as much of a concern, but teaching in a rural area means I have to be aware of and sensitive to the fact that not everyone has access to a high speed internet connection when they leave the school building.  I have found the following in my experience:

• The issue of access to high speed internet is not as prevalent as some might make it out to be.  I teach in a district that is designated as a low-income district, and I thought this was going to be a huge hurdle, but it wasn't.  While I do have some students without internet at home, there are not as many as I thought there would be.  High-speed internet is becoming the norm, even in rural areas.  You'll still need to account for this, but lack of access is definitely becoming the exception, not the rule.
• Some students without internet access still have a computer in the home.  I have a few students for whom I download classroom videos to a flash drive and send the videos home that way.  If students have a computer, just no internet... no problem.  They can still receive the content.
• Keeping the computer lab open at school as much as possible is mandatory.  I arrive at least 30 minutes before the school day kicks off each day and usually around an hour after school to allow students to have time with internet access if they need it.
• Surprisingly, a growing number of students with no high speed internet at home have access to mobile devices that will work over a wi-fi network.  Our school is working on an open wi-fi network to allow students to bring their own devices, and many students will hit up the McDonald's with their smartphone to get the access that they need.

Requiring access to a high speed internet connection can be a tricky move, and if not done with tact, can definitely ruffle some feathers.  If you're thinking about flipping your class, make sure you plan ahead and are prepared for this issue to come up... because it will.