5 Flipped Classroom Issues (And Solutions) For Teachers Have you been thinking about flipping your classroom this fall? Flipping can let you make the most of face-to-face time with your students. Rather than taking class time to introduce content and using homework to review concepts, flip the process so that students gain basic knowledge at home and then create, collaborate, and make connections in school. Creating video used to be out of reach for most teachers. 1. Flipping is not an all or nothing deal. Tip: With elementary students, and even middle school, begin by creating centers in your classroom where students can experience the process of learning by video with your support. 2. There really is a difference between talking at your students and talking to them. Tip: When using video and screencasts, think about the modalities that they afford – moving pictures, drawing, type, audio, and your own persona. 3. Pay attention to import and export issues with your video creation tools. 4. Tip: Don’t be afraid to abort mission! 5.
6 Steps To A Flipped Classroom - by Josh Corbat, TeachThought Intern Students today are vastly different from when we were in their shoes. We were brought up on the age-old tradition of lecture, practice, and assessment. Think about it. Self-Directed Learning is the new learning. Students in the age of iPads and Google have been doing this since before they could walk. The Flipped Classroom model (or blended learning model, if that is your cup of tea) is based on very simple, logical principles. My advice to the teacher deciding whether or not to take the leap to the Flipped Classroom is just this: If you decide to go for it, there is no turning back. If you’ve made it this far, I’m guessing you’re truly interested in giving this a try. At any rate, here is one approach to flipping your classroom. Step 1: Decide which technology you will use. Low tech or high tech? The videos themselves are not meant to be worthy of the silver screen. There are so many ways you can flip your lectures. Step 3: Make your videos!
Exit lorem ipsum, haere mai Pahu! By Design Daily team, Designers can Kiwi-fy their mock-ups with a new filler text launched as part of Maori Language Week. Called Pahu! the homegrown filler text comes from Maori legends Maui and the Giant Fish and Maui and the Sun, which can be used in English or Maori. The text generator was created by digital creative and communications company *experience, along with Maori language tutor Piripi Rangihaeata and designer Aaron Moore. CEO of *experience Miriame Barbarich wants to encourage local and international designers to use the text. “Pahu! Pahu is an onomatopoeic Maori noun, which means bang, boom or pop. Share this on Tagged as 10 Fun Tools To Easily Make Your Own Infographics People love to learn by examining visual representations of data. That’s been proven time and time again by the popularity of both infographics and Pinterest. So what if you could make your own infographics ? What would you make it of? It’s actually easier than you think… even if you have zero design skills whatsoever. Below are my two favorite infographic-making web 2.0 tools that I highly recommend. Click the name of each tool to learn more! Visual.ly One of the more popular ways to discover infographics, Visual.ly actually just launched a design overhaul of their website. Dipity Want to get a beautifully simply visualization of data over time? Easel.ly I absolutely love Easel.ly. Venngage Venngage (likely named for Venn diagrams) is a double threat. Infogr.am One of the most simple tools, Infogr.am lets you actually import data right into the site and then translate it all into useful visualizations. Tableau Public Photo Stats This one’s an iPhone app that’s worth trying out. What About Me?
100 Google Docs Tips November 9th, 2009 Students and educators have a wealth of learning and productivity tools available to them online. Google offers some of the highest-quality resources on the web to meet all your study and teaching needs, and all you need to access them is an internet connection. The Google Docs collection provides a streamlined, collaborative solution to writing papers, organizing presentations and putting together spreadsheets and reports. But besides the basic features, there are lots of little tricks and hacks you can use to make your Google Docs experience even more productive. Here are 100 great tips for using the documents, presentations and spreadsheets in Google Docs. Keyboard Shortcuts Navigate your documents and screen a lot faster when you use these keyboard shortcuts for formatting and more. Productivity Hacks These hacks will make your Google Docs experience even more efficient and streamlined. Features and Tools Collaboration Files, Folders and Filters Organization Edits Search
Video Lesson Guidelines New te reo Maori App set to launch - TangataWhenua.com Ratings12345 A new mobile phone application developed by Victoria University’s Faculty of Education, Te Kura Maori, looks set to change the way New Zealanders learn te reo Maori. The ‘Kura App’ includes a range of games modules that allow users to improve their knowledge and understanding of the Maori language. “There didn’t seem to be any applications that catered to people with some degree of proficiency in te reo. Mrs McKenzie says the team spent most of last year working with local app developers to create the concept. “Our primary audience is the teachers we work with at Kura Kaupapa (language immersion schools) and in the field, but we believe everyone should be able to learn te reo Maori, so we’ve decided to make it publicly available and free to download.” Mrs McKenzie says before users access the modules and games, they can create an Avatar, or alter ego, which involves choosing their hair, eyes, nose, mouth, clothes and even accessories.
Mailbox - First Look 100+ Alternative Search Engines You Should Know If someone asks you, off the top of your head, what search engines you use or know off, chances are you’ll be naming the regulars: Google, Bing, Yahoo. The Internet however is a really big place and there are plenty more search engines out there that can cater to very specific requirements. General Search Engines We’re skipping the search engines that everyone know about so you won’t be seeing Google, Yahoo or Bing in this list. Here are many other alternative search engines available out there. Aol – Aol offers search results combined with content from AOL. MyWebSearch – MyWebSearch is search engine that shows results from Google. Regional Search Engines Search Nigeria – Search Nigeria is a web based portal and search engine. Kid-Safe Search Engines These search engines provide children with a search service that keeps out age-inappropriate materials unfit for consumption for young ages. Social Media Search Engines Pixnet – An online mobile photo sharing and networking service.
Flipped Classroom How flipping works for you Save time; stop repeating yourself Record re-usable video lessons, so you don't have to do it again next year. It's easy to make minor updates to perfect lessons over time once the initial recording is done. Let students take control of their learning Not all students learn at the same pace. Spend more time with students Build stronger student-teacher relationships, and promote higher level thinking. Other teachers are doing it, you can too Stacey Roshan found that the traditional classroom model wasn't cutting it for her AP students, so she flipped her class. Watch Stacey's Story Crystal Kirch started using videos as instructional tools in her class but soon realized the real value of flipping lectures was being able to spend more face-to-face time with students. Read Crystal's Story Tools You Can Use
Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age December 12, 2004 George Siemens Update (April 5, 2005): I've added a website to explore this concept at www.connectivism.ca Introduction Behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism are the three broad learning theories most often utilized in the creation of instructional environments. Learners as little as forty years ago would complete the required schooling and enter a career that would often last a lifetime. “One of the most persuasive factors is the shrinking half-life of knowledge. Some significant trends in learning: Many learners will move into a variety of different, possibly unrelated fields over the course of their lifetime. Background Driscoll (2000) defines learning as “a persisting change in human performance or performance potential…[which] must come about as a result of the learner’s experience and interaction with the world” (p.11). Driscoll (2000, p14-17) explores some of the complexities of defining learning. Conclusion: