525-Session 8--The Flipped Classroom!

Before we get started, please make sure 

you have voted in the poll above.

Over the past few weeks we've been slowly transitioning towards learning how to use technology to aid in teaching and learning.  The next step in this evolution is to merge your face-to-face teaching with some of these 'blended learning' tools to create what is called, "The Flipped Classroom."  It's turning the traditional classroom on its head.



Created by Knewton





Many of you may have heard of this.  Here's a brief introduction:

The concept is really simplified here (obviously given the penguins). You don't have to always make your own videos or screencasts (which we still can cover more in-depth this semester).  You can always just borrow from others.  After all, why recreate the wheel, but let's learn a little more about this by joining a discussion group on Edweb.net that focuses specifically on the flipped classroom.  Not only do they have a group of like minded educators who want to learn about using technology to teach others, but they have discussion groups and a list of archived webinars for you to pick from and watch.

So now please take a break from this page and visit: http://www.edweb.net/flipped You'll need to create an account, and then join the group, then watch the recorded webinar,  "Flipped Learning Primer Part I: Basics of Flipped Learning"

After watching the webinar take the corresponding quiz to earn the CE.

Once you have taken the quiz and earned your CE, come back to this page and watch this more in-depth video:

Now I'd like you to think this week about the different ways you may 'flip' your own classroom and reflect on the concept this week, but before you do that you should know that there are always two sides to a new initiative, so let's end this week with some criticisms of flipping.

Good luck this week. Don't get too overwhelmed, and I look forward to hearing about the connections you may make to your future classroom environment.

Thank you Paul for helping as a Facilitator this week. Please email me when you are finished.

This week we have both Gail and Heidi. Good luck ladies!

Deliverable #2

Please post your response to Deliverable #2 below.

To quote the description on the syllabus:

#2- Pick the Blogging service that you think might be the most pragmatic for your work and provide a description of how you will, or potentially could,  integrate this tool into a potential class or training session- Due before Session 8 (Oct. 27th)

If you have already written your response and posted it under another entry, then please copy and paste it below for ease of organization.

525--Session 7-Creating Online Tutorials

Hello again and welcome to Session 7!

This week we will be learning how to create our own online tutorials.  There will not be any session link to the left.  All the assignments will be below.

Now, some of you have asked to have the content slowed down a bit, so I have dropped a gear or two for Sessions 7 & 8.  Now, over the next two days I'd like you to choose one of the four Chrome Classroom Certification steps and discuss one (or more) of the resources within that step that you feel is the most practical for your particular 'future' occupational/adult education setting.

For example, in Section 2 of the tutorial, one of the resources is, "Using Google to Share Your Work."  You'll notice that we sometimes use Youtube videos in our class.  Let's say you have a Youtube account (assigned this week on the syllabus) and you want your class to easily find videos that you have made and collected that would help with your class.  You could 'publish' your videos, then add them to a 'channel' aka 'playlist' and give your class access to this list.  This is just a small example.  We'll go into more details below.

I'd like you to think about these questions when writing your reflection for this week (focusing on a specific resource covered over week 7), post it to the blog comments below, and then revisit the blog over the next 7 days and 'reply' to your peers' reflections.

Also, we have a new Facilitator this week.  Paul will be holding down the fort all by himself.  Thank you Jen and Sharyn for your work contributing to the conversations during Week 6 and helping us move deeper with our understanding of the content and perspectives.


Questions to consider:

1. How could you use a Google tool to promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness?
2. Reflect on how this tool will help you address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources.
3. How could you use a Google tool to promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative process and participate in local and global earning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning?
4. Additionally, Google products are not the 'be all--end all', so if you have another tool or resource that you think will work better, then please share it with the group when commenting on #'s 1-3 above or in your 'reply' to others.

Lastly, nearly all of you will be incorporating 'pre-created videos' from others within your future occupational setting, so it's important you know a little about the 'behind-the-scenes' details with the largest video storage site in the world.

Please go through these four lessons created by the "YouTube Creator Academy" about how YouTube really works.

Now I realize that the above assignments may take up a lot of your time over the next week, but if you want even more depth, then you may review these links to deepen your learning on these topics.  If you are too busy, then please make a note that these resources are here so you may access them some day in the future, even after our semester is over.

Good Luck this week!  Please pace yourself and try to have fun.  As always, I look forward to reading and engaging with you through our discussions.

Where to go for more information if you'd like more depth over the course of this week:

• Classroom in the Cloud
• Educators Technology and Mobile Learning
• Gone Google
• Google Gooru (you may need to open this in Internet Explorer)
• ​The Google Classroom.com

Good Luck this week!  Please pace yourself and try to have fun.  As always, I look forward to reading and engaging with you through our discussions.

525--Session 6-Wikis!!! The Ultimate Tool for Online Collaboration

Let's start with a video to keep all of what we are learning in context.  It was created using Prezi.com.  A web-based, digital presentation tool that has a unique format.  Many find it a beneficial way to showcase the 'big picture' of a topic with the option of 'drilling down' level by level, so viewers of your presentation can see a direct correlation.  It is very different than a traditional, linear slideshow format.  It makes me a little dizzy, so I don't use it much, but it is very popular and many of you may already be familiar with it.  We'll practice a little with it this week.

Let's refocus on what it means to teach in the 21st Century classroom:

This session will find us broadening the scope of our view of wikis. We will begin by taking a look at the benefits of wikis, and other Web 2.0 tools, for students, teachers, and the entire educational community. We'll view some screencasts and videos that give us students' perspectives, as well as hear from teachers from across the K-12 spectrum. Each and every one will be focused upon how Web 2.0 tools have changed the way they teach and learn.

Let's get started...

525session6

Week 6 part II

By now most of you have reached a comfort level with the 'collaborative document' mindset.  You are also fairly familiar with  Google Docs and Google Drive. (after all we used it for our 'Facilitator Signup' form.

In case you need to explain the benefits to education in its most simplistic form, I've included 'Google Docs in Plain English'. It's fun to watch and really simple to understand.  All the frameworks and teaching theories behind the 'collaborative mindset' stem from the foundation of this video.  Welcome to G Docs in Plain English:

This is a little more detail about the 'rebuilt' Google Docs.  Definitely not as fun, but still educational and you can borrow it and save it to your own archives for later reference:

And lastly, we'll end by discussing the fluid definition of the word, "literacy" and try to pin it down in a 21st century classroom---a classroom where the walls have come down and the world is flat. After reading your comments, it has become clear that there are lots of different interpretations out there.
Good luck and I look forward to reading your comments, insights, and reflections.  Also, if I missed placing a link to your blog in the left-hand margin, drop me a line and let me know.

Have fun!!

Dave

PS--You may also read past participants' comments about wikis here. Some of you have mentioned to me that you like reading past participants' comments, so I'll try to include links to them in the future when they fit.
Summer '11

Deliverable #1

Deliverable #1 will be posted under this entry.  As a refresher of expectations here is quote from the directions:

#1 – Choose or create a potential teaching /learning unit– (either classroom or professional development/training session) and provide an outline of the participants, their learning needs, topics to be included, setting (face-to-face, online, hybrid, etc.), and timeline for course/session. This may serve as the foundation for development of your final project. - Due by the end of week 4 (10/5).

Here are some additional readings for this week and some questions that I'd like you to address w/i our discussions, as well. You may respond to them under the first posting of Week 4, not under this D1 entry.  Just put your D1 response below this entry, and contact me privately with any troubles or specific questions.

Have fun!