Flipping the classroom is easy to do, as highlighted in this fun, short, advert length video.
Ultimately an effective way of using technology to make aspects of teaching easier and more rewarding.
I made the video with a teacher from an International School, in a morning. It was edited using iMovie and shot on my Nikon D600.
The Maths teacher, Mary Wescott had a clear, mental picture of the shots needed, to explain this revolutionary process,
so only took 90 minutes to film.
The video was one of six films, created in a day by a mix of teachers and students working together to create a school resource,
aimed at teachers who were struggling with various technological developments within the school.
The students had a firm grasp of the potential of using technology in the lessons, but the majority of teachers didn’t.
So the Bridge was set up, within the school, by a student group, assisted by teachers and school leaders.
With the aim of creating a resource of videos to shed light on methods for effectively using the technology
in the school.
The mission statement for the Bridge is “Making technology effective, efficient, and relevant through collaboration between teachers and learners”.
Devised by the group, the statement is a way of focusing minds on the reason for using technology in schools and the purpose for the Bridge.
The idea, came directly from the Maths Teacher, Mary Westcott, she was fed up with doing all the work in the class! She wanted the students to be doing more and bringing something more than their pencil cases to the lesson. So after a little investigation, she found good quality Youtube videos that supported key areas of the Maths Curriculum. Then simply copied the URL from Youtube (web address) and pasted into the school Moodle site, for the students to access at home. Using Moodle or a VLE gives the teacher options for adding instructions or an assignment, to the video. You don’t have to use a Moodle/VL, you could email, or use a QR code to forward and distribute the appropriate link to your students. As long as they can watch the video at home, study the process and be prepared to apply the knowledge gained to similar problems in the next lesson.
Some subjects may be easier to flip, Maths, Science etc. Others may need a slightly different approach, for example making a film or an animation at home to explain a process or understanding in English. For Mary, the flipped classroom has totally changed her view of teaching and brought a new dimension to her career. She loves and regularly flips her classroom.
My involvement with the Bridge project, within the school was to act as a mix of technical consultant, trainer, filmmaker, facilitator, helping teachers and students realise the purpose of the Bridge, the potential of the technology and how to make both sustainable, fun and creative.