Tag Archives: Flipped Classroom

And…Action! Creating a Teaching Video⤴

from

Looking to create a teaching video?

If you wish to create a teaching video to share with your class then where do you start?

There are a number of different ways to create a teaching video.

You don’t need lots of fancy filming equipment, specialist lighting, highly scripted text, remote microphones or

a studio set! You can just use what you have available – and be yourself. If you want to be on camera, that’s fine, but if you just want your voice over the activity you are filming then that’s perfectly fine too.

You just need something to record the video (eg phone/tablet) – & your skills and experience as a teacher (and maybe something to edit what you create).

  • Your choice partly depends on what you are aiming to share – what are you trying to achieve, how much information are you trying to share and in what way will you share the video with your intended audience?
  • Your choice partly depends on what you want the video to look like – do you want to be on camera, do you wish to include your voice, do you want it to be a video of a PowerPoint presentation (with or without narrated voice), or do you want to make use of animated characters instead of your own image?
  • Your choice also depends on what device and software/apps you have available to make the teaching videos, whether laptop/desktop, tablet/smartphone and software/apps you can access.

What makes an effective video?

There’s no hard and fast rule about what makes an effective teaching video. Every teacher is different and every class is different so find what works for you and your class. The age of your learners, the way you choose to share a video, whether you wish to have interactivity between shorter videos, and what you are trying to convey in the video, are all considerations to bear in mind. Being clear about what you are trying to share is the biggest consideration!  Consider, instead of a long video, chunking a lot of content into perhaps a series of shorter videos each with a specific focus. And try out what you are creating on different devices to see how your learners might view the video. Is it bright enough lighting so that what you are showing is clearly seen, can the sound be clearly heard? You don’t need to make a masterpiece the first time round (or indeed at any time!) so give it a go and make changes in light of your experiences and feedback from your learners.

Camera-Ready Educators: Video As a Learning Staple – a blogpost by Paul Teske and Sarah Brown Wessling which gives food for thought for teachers looking to create a teaching video: “…teachers know it’s not the screen alone that engages students. It’s how teachers use video as part of deliberate instructional design that creates the opportunity for learning and growth. Teachers use video in various ways for various purposes, each thoughtfully constructed.” That blogpost succinctly summarises and provides points for reflection for teachers using video whether it’s for teaching new content, differentiation, scaffolding and support, or for conveying information about such things as class announcements and routines.

The experiences of others can help you make your own judgement about what will work and then you have the feedback from your own class of learners.

This blogpost by Daisy Christodoulou provides a quick read to points to consider and links to research about designing video lessons

Video of teaching activity with your voice-over

If you are showing something you are writing – whether that’s simple phonics, handwriting formations, numeracy processes or anything else which involves writing – then you can point your phone/tablet camera at the paper or wipe-clean whiteboard, press record on the phone/tablet camera and start talking. Having your phone/tablet affixed to a tripod, a home-made stand or propped up so it won’t move is probably wise!

Keeping your video short is beneficial both for your own sake in not having to redo or edit a long video in which you wish to make a change, but also it’s helpful for sharing online somewhere to have smaller videos as they upload more quickly. If you are sharing on Twitter there is also a restriction on the length which will upload, but if sharing on your classroom digital platform you can add accompanying explanatory text, and perhaps have a sequence of short videos (each labelled with identifying text) so that pupils can more easily watch the parts as often as necessary for what they are doing.

Here’s example of videos shared by teachers where the camera is pointed at the writing area, and with the teacher voice added as narration, or using a class toy or puppet to provide the on-screen persona:

Blair Minchin has shared many imaginative teaching videos at @Mr_Minchn and @LittleLessons20 –

Taking video with your mobile device

The likelihood is that the device you have to hand for taking videos is your smartphone or mobile tablet, a device such as an iPad. And that’s perfectly fine for taking video to share with your learners.

If you want to find out about some of the inbuilt camera features as part of the camera app on an iPad then click on this link for a blogpost about time-lapse, slo-mo, burst-mode, and more on a smartphone or tablet 

10 Tips for Recording Better Video with Your Smartphone – a helpful blogpost by Maggie Tillman and Elyse Betters with tips for making better video with your smartphone.

Screen Recording on iPad

Whatever app you are running on an iPad then you can create a teaching video where you record whatever is on the iPad screen, where you can if you wish, add your voice-over to explain what your learners are seeing.

This infographic visual by Tony Vincent succinctly shows the steps to screen record and narrate on your iPad

Do you want to appear on camera beside your screen recording on an iPad? Then here’s how you can use split screen to record yourself on the iPad camera while recording activity on the iPad

Screen recording on a Windows desktop PC/laptop

If you have the latest version of PowerPoint then you have the facility to capture a video recording of whatever is on your PC/laptop – whether that’s the PowerPoint presentation or indeed anything on the PC which you wish to show to include in the video.

There are a number of other tools for Screen Recording, whether downloadable software or online. Click on this link for some more options including Screencast-o-matic and Smart Recorder

Turn your PowerPoint into a Video

PowerPoint has the option to create a video from your presentation. Just open the PowerPoint presentation and go to File > Export > Save as Video. This will incorporate all that you’ve included in timings, narration, animations, media, and transitions.

Greenscreen

If you wish to include yourself (or something else) in a video where the background is of something else, the subject of your video, then using the greenscreen facility available with some tools can let you, for instance, appear talking in front of a video of whatever you are teaching about.

Click on this link for a blogpost with a guide to using DoInk green screen iPad app to create videos using a greenscreen. This blogpost also includes lots of examples.

Click on this link for a guide to using the iMovie iPad app to achieve the greenscreen effect

The online tool unscreen.com provides the means to remove the background automatically from a video so that you can combine with another image or video and quickly create a greenscreen effect, without the need for any other equipment.

Stop-motion sequence of still images

Stop-motion animation videos can be useful to illustrate a teaching point where you have a series of still images. This can be useful where live action of a sequence of events is difficult to capture on video, or may take too long, or where you only have access to still images. You can create a sequence of still images using presentation software like PowerPoint (and export as a video to create the illusion of animation/movement) or drop them into video editing software/app such as iMovie on an iPad. Or you can use stop-motion software/app such as the iPad app Stikbot.

Stikbot iPad app

Click on this link for a blogpost about making a stop-motion animation using the Stikbot iPad app

Create an animation from presentation software

There is a host of tools which can be used to create animations:

Virtual Classroom

This video by Sarah Clark shows how she used Flipgrid to create and share a video in which she appears within part of the virtual classroom image

Editing your teaching video

There’s a host of video editing tools available. Chance are the device you have available has likely got something already there ready for you to use.

For Windows laptops/PCs then built into Windows 10 devices you will find Video editor (which replaced Windows Movie Maker, with which many teacher may already be familiar, from previous versions of Windows).

For iPads then available for free on iOS devices you will find iMovie and Apple Clips.

Creating and editing a film in the classroom with an iPad can be done with the iMovie app. Click on this link for a post about using iMovie on your iPad in the classroom (including examples) for help on getting started as well as tips on using some of the neat features such as adding video-in-video or picture in picture and more.

Apple Clips is a neat free video-creation app for iPad or iPhone. It lets you quickly combine text, music, graphics, recorded voice, images, and animations to create videos with ease. So if you are trying to find a way to explain a topic or a teaching point then you might find Apple Clips a handy way to create a visually engaging video. The inclusion of inbuilt graphics such as arrows, finger pointers and many more adaptable images make this really easy to highlight parts of photographs or video clips with explanatory text or spoken voice.

Sharing your video

You have many choices when deciding how to share you video. What platforms you have available to you for your school may determine the choice you make.

The following are just some of the ways you might share your video creations:

  • Using a school YouTube account – this option will let you share the link to the video in different places as well as provide an option to embed elsewhere such as a website or Sway. Depending on who you want to be able to access the video you can choose to have the video “unlisted” – that means only those who have the link can access it. It won’t be searchable and won’t appear on the list of videos on the YouTube channel.
  • Upload to your Microsoft OneDrive (available to all Glow users) and at the share option choose either to make it “share with anyone” (which means anyone with the link will be able to access and will not require to log into anything – and you can optionally choose to set a password and decide to block download) or you can choose “only my organisation” (which for Glow users means in order to access the link the viewer would require to log into Glow) – ensuring the share link is set to view-only, not edit.
  • Upload to Microsoft Sway (add a media card in a Sway and choose the video option and you can upload the video) – at the share option in your Sway you can choose to have it available to be viewed by anyone with the link, or only the organisation (Glow) and optionally add password if you wish. Having your video added to a Sway means you then also have the option to add text about the video and to add pictures related to it.
  • Upload to files in Microsoft Teams for your class or group – sometimes uploading larger files can be faster if you go to Files in your class in Microsoft Teams and then at the top right choose “Open in Sharepoint” then navigate to the folder “Class materials” which is read-only so that your class can view but not inadvertently remove the file.

Online Courses for Creating Teaching Videos

Click on this link for a free online course on the Microsoft Educator Centre – this free online course provides step by step guidance for how to create a teaching video and also has tips and advice about what to consider when you are making and sharing these with your class.

Blendspace⤴

from

As one of our digital leaders at school, responsible for raising our digital prowess and use of technology to enhance learning (rather than just a bolt on), I am often asked what are my most recommended apps/tools to use in the classroom. I am by no means an expert – in fact, quite late to […]

“I guess you guys aren’t ready for that yet. But your kids are gonna love it!”⤴

from

As you are perhaps aware, 2015 is most famous for being ‘The Future’ in the Back to the Future movies, well it’s February and not much has happened yet….but the scene above is from the first movie, where Marty McFly, in 1955, returns to his parents’ school for the ‘Enchantment Under the Sea’ dance and plays Johnny B Goode (not to be released until 1958!)

Watching the movies with my children the other night – a vital part of a young person’s education in my opinion!- got me to thinking…what would Marty notice was different from 1955 to 1985 and into 2015 in schools?

OK, so crucially, teachers can’t hit you with a belt, which is…well, nice.  Much else has changed socially and culturally that has permeated into schooling, sex education exists, girls are allowed to do technical subjects etc.  What has changed pedagogically though?  Is the way we teach any different?

Confession time, I’m a Mathematics teacher, and I collect (well I actually just rescue them from the bin!) old Maths textbooks, as the archaic language is fun, and the way in which problem solving questions are posed is actually really great – complete with imperial units to add a frisson of excitement…and confusion – sorry US readers!  Here is one:

textbook1

Generally speaking, our pedagogy has not changed that much, in my opinion.  Especially in a subject like Maths, it’s quite difficult to change the way you teach 2000 year old theorems I guess…or is it?

We are very keen wheel reinvention experts as teachers, we tweak and tweak pedagogy, like a game of ‘chinese whispers’ (please let me know if this is an unintentional racial gaffe, I will edit it I promise!) until the original model is unrecognisable.  Then we tweak it back again until we return to the beginning!  I must attest here though to the good intentions of teachers that do the tweaking, we are just trying to get it right.

This raises, for me, two important points.

1.  We need, as a profession, to develop a more critically evaluative mindset…in keeping with the movie theme, a balance should be struck somewhere between Clint Eastwood and Austin Powers.  This has been discussed here already.  We need to be able to get it right, but with direction and with evidence as our guide.

2.  Teaching facts or the translation of information cannot really be changed much…it’s what you do with it that counts…

austin

What is great is that we are starting, with the aid of some clever tech, to do something with ‘it’.  Lessons are being taught via videos and podcasts, freeing up time for more focussed, personalised pedagogy in class.  Students are submitting work online, allowing for auto/quick marking…again, freeing up time in class.  We are even allowing mobile technology in class (Great Scot!!) to gain insight into the learning of our students on a more personal level.  Change is most certainly afoot…

Maybe there has been not much change in many aspects of education, but in 2015 we are no longer tinkering around with a Ford Capri in the garage…we are building the Delorean!  We just need to keep it at 88mph!

delorean

Tweeachers?!⤴

from

I had the pleasure this week of talking to PGDE students about Flipping the Classroom/Ed Tech and general teacher geekery.  They were eager for information, guidance, a place to start…my answer…Twitter!

Gasps ensue..Social Media?  The black hole of depravity? The graveyard for teacher’s careers who posted one too many pics of their lunch?  In a word…no.  To be fair, you are probably reading this after following a link on Twitter (thanks by the way!) so you are, perhaps, well aware of the fantastic and fertile land of ideas, sharing and collaboration…some might even say revolution that Twitter is the catalyst for in education. Watch this video if you have 14 minutes, more on it later.

I dislike posts entitled “10 steps to decluttering your home”, “5 steps to losing 6 pounds in 7 days!”etc.  My dislike is borne out of the fact that a few of these steps are usually quite good, and the rest are there to make up the numbers – so I’m going to start giving a few good tips and see where we go…

1.  Become a Tweeacher – make a professional account, try not to use your personal one where you retweet the ridiculous video of the dancing cats…or worse.  Treat this account as one you wouldn’t mind sharing with your boss, or their boss for that matter.

2.  Who to follow?  Search #edchat or #flipclass for starters and follow quite liberally initially, some will follow you back, but this depends a little on your contributions, which leads me on to…

3. To Tweet or not to Tweet? Just ‘lurk’ in the virtual shadows and absorb the collective wisdom of the Twittersphere if you wish, retweet things you like and contribute to the conversation, not every Tweet need be a perfectly composed nugget of literary genius.

The reason why I think Twitter has become so important in education is the potential for like-minded individuals to connect, organise and foster progress from within the education system.  Events like TeachMeet, Pedagoo and others in the UK are organised through Twitter, collectively drawing on the passions and expertise of people who are engaged in education and moving the system on in a revolutionary way, this is no CPD course folks, and because of this community CPD will never really be the same again.

So go on, take the leap, become a Tweeacher, and get the leg warmers off the cat!

 

Research for Teachers? Whatever will they think of next?!⤴

from

Throughout the past 9 months as a flipped learning educator, I have been asked, “it sounds great, but does it work?”  My answer, usually just managing to sidestep the pedantic “define work?”, has been so far quite vague.  I will refrain from blaming the question, because as teachers we know what this means generally…does the flipped classroom ‘raise attainment’?  Well, it hasn’t lowered it, thanks Ken for the witty repartee!

I have mentioned in the past, and on Radio Edutalk, that as teachers, we care.  We do not want to change for changes sake, we want to know that the effort that we put in on a daily basis for young people will yield results for them.  Yet the puzzling thing about all of this is…is that we rely on someone else to tell us what works, what will have an effect on learning, engagement, attainment, results?!  The mere mention of finding out for yourself has not yet taken hold in the majority of practitioners minds…yet.

Think of it like this…you go to the doctors, feeling stressed and run-down.  the doctor breaks out this:

blood letting!

It’s a ‘scarifier’ from around 1810 or so, and the doc casually mentions that the treatment is blood letting!  You do this…

daffy hole in wall

Ok, so you don’t turn into Daffy Duck, but my point is that research has led good doctors away from centuries old practice and towards new, increasingly evidence based practice.  Doctors are obliged to keep up with current research and be reactive to it and, ‘Big Pharma’ interference aside, do so for the good of their patients.  Can we, as teachers, say we’ve come so far from the blood letting days of old?

We want to certainly.  I’m just not sure that we know the way yet.  It was my pleasure to attend the Into the Light Conference and hear Marilyn Cochrane Smith (can’t sum up without rampant hyperbole!) , the GTCS’s own Tom Hamilton  and Pat Thomson (read her blog, but please come back to mine…one day!) discuss the way forward with this issue.

Research/Enquiry or whatever label you give it, is the process of practitioners developing their critical faculties.  Often what we are told to do in teaching, we kind of just do it…think VAK, Traffic Lights or Phonics.  That is not to say that these techniques and principles do not have value, it’s just that as teachers, we don’t ask, we deliver.  This is borne of course, out of the desire not to appear cynical, but we must distinguish cynicism from constructive criticism so that we can weed out the “Snake Oil Salesman” (hat tip to Tom Hamilton for that one!) and focus on the valuable and beneficial research evidence that is increasingly more accessible to Scotland’s teachers.

I refer of course to the access to over 1700 research journals and 28 eBooks that is now provided here by GTCS.   Access to this information from a central source is a massive leap forward in terms of the ease that a teacher can get their chalk stained hands (somewhat outdated imagery perhaps, but smart-boards don’t really stain!) on a piece of quality research.  Follow me on twitter for more information as I will retweet profusely or search #gtcsPL for updated information, research focussed chats etc.

The big question, the elephant in the room and the spanner in the works of course is will teachers engage?  Aside from being a central part of our new Professional Standards in Scotland, so ‘a huv tae’ (that’s Glaswegian for mandatory!). I think that the future is very bright in this regard.  We will be able to engage on many levels, from twitter lurking to full blown PhD research, and if my experience is anything to go by, this evolution can happen quite naturally.  A focus on practitioner research is empowering, and if we as teachers can be courageous enough to find out ‘what works’ for ourselves, and crucially in partnership with the once distant world of academia, we can all have a transformative effect on the profession that we are all a part of.

My penchant for the theatrical (and the fact that I have National 5 homework to mark) leads me to end this post with a quote from Abraham Lincoln’s Annual Message to Congress 1/12/1862:

             “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate for the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion.

As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.”

Somewhat dramatic perhaps, but apt nevertheless….to be continued.

 

 

 

Radio Edutalk⤴

from

So this week it was my absolute pleasure to appear on Radio Edutalk.  David Noble is a great host, who graciously allowed me to chat at length about Flipped Learning and my journey so far.

I would encourage you to check out the Edutalk website, or download the podcasts for an inspirational boost during your commute!  There have been many excellent shows, but I would highly recommend Professor Paul Kirschner and David Price OBE as excellent starting points.

I couldn’t really link my own show could I?…..ah well, here it is!

Please leave a comment to let me know what you think of the show!

When the Flipped Classroom opens a can of virtual worms⤴

from

Firstly, I must apologise for my absence from this blog over the past month, I have a note…but the Unicorn ate it.

Anyway, as I have delved deeper into Flipped Learning as a concept, I have become acutely aware of the sheer volume, and variety of technological learning tools (try the twitter hashtag EdTech to see for yourself!) that are being promoted on a daily basis.  Many are great, and most are free too!

Opening this very pleasant can of worms has been a great exercise in realising the potential of technology to have daily impact on learning and especially on engagement, in our classrooms.  Prior to flipping my classroom, I may have been guilty of dismissing these innovations as gimmicky and lacking in real value…I have since changed my tune considerably.

BYOD?

Whilst browsing twitter, if that’s indeed what you would call it, I came across the acronym BYOD.  Now, I should preface this next attempt at humour and holding your attention with cheap laughs with some background info, I grew up in a town near Glasgow, Scotland where BYOD means Bring Your Own Drink!

In our case though BYOD stands for Bring Your Own Device.  This could be any internet enabled device, like a smartphone for example, that most young people in our classes have anyway.  I have found, so far, an excellent product called Socrative (will link soon!)

Socrative is a free product that allows students to simply join a ‘room’, so no login required – it’s is really quick and clean.  The teacher can then pose questions in a variety of formats (multi-choice, true/false, short response) which the students can respond to in real time, seeing their responses displayed on the teachers screen.  They can then vote on responses or simply discuss them collaboratively.

There are options, such as quiz sharing, that I have not got around to using yet, as the basic functions are too addictive to be honest!

The students that I have used Socrative with loved the potential for anonymity when offering answers.  I felt a possible ‘way in’ to embedding a culture of trying without the fear of public failure that to a teenager, makes the four horsemen of the apocalypse seem like ‘My Little Pony”.

The world of Educational Technology truly is expanding at an exponential rate and we as teachers, need to critically select those resources that bring value to the learning experiences that we provide.

I’ll finish this post with a quote from Ken Robinson that is particularly apt:

“…preparing kids for a world we cannot predict using methods that we do not change..is alienating millions of children”

So go on…get the tin opener!

 

time to open a can of worms!

time to open a can of worms!

 

When the ‘Hot Seat’ is just ‘too darn hot’⤴

from

In my last post, I omitted certain details of my assessment model as I felt that I was droning on, and on, and on…..  there is one aspect that I would like to share further though, so I’ve put it in a new post (I’m a teacher, I clearly can’t help droning on!) So, to alleviate any potential boredom, and as a wee thank you for all of the great feedback that I have had on the blog so far, I’ll open the post with a song:

‘Hot Seating’ has been, and still is, all the rage in teaching and has a variety of different approaches.  For good reason, as articulating your learning is an excellent way to evidence it.  If I can talk to a young person about how to approach a problem, then I know that they understand it by their responses, their confidence and other subtle cues that simply cannot be replicated with pencil and paper.  I have used this strategy effectively in my Flipped classroom, mainly due to the extra face to face time that I have with students to allow me to actually have a conversation!

It has been my intention during the entire process of preparing for ‘the test’ to try as much as possible to take the pressure off of the students so that they will perform better, and see taking a test as a part of the fuller assessment process and not ‘Judgement Day’ where they make or break their entire life with 12 questions of Mathematical hell!  The ‘Hot Seat’ in my case has been re-branded by my students as…the ‘Cool It’ seat!

Spot the geographically inaccurate Penguin!

Spot the geographically inaccurate Penguin!

Assessment, a few thoughts…⤴

from

 

                  “The challenge for today’s educators is to lift their focus from the inevitable granular character of our national obsession with measurement, to the future which is broad brushed and uncertain. I do not underestimate this challenge but surely to constrain our debate as we habitually do is failing to educate the next generation in a way which is right for them and their lives in tomorrow’s world.”

from a very interesting blog post on the Stephen Perse Foundation…some very intriguing and inspiring content.

Somehow, just giving a standard test as the only evidence of learning just isn’t enough this time around.  In the past, as a Maths teacher this has been the standard modus operandi but this model carries with it a whole host of issues.

I am a little conflicted in my opinion on this, as irrevocably, our young people will have to undergo a barrage of examination at some point in their lives so we should as educators prepare them for this.  Does this mean preparing them to exclusion of all other methods though?  Increasingly, Universities and Colleges are using coursework to assess final scores in their classes, should schools not be following suit more consistently?  The focus on reproduction of Maths in a test environment is completely unrealistic in the real world.  In an age where answers to any question are a mere ‘Google’ from our fingertips, and the idea of working alone on… well, anything is bordering on the ridiculous.

So what do I do with all this conflict?…My assessment model has changed somewhat from the tried and tested (geddit?!) summative model.  This still exists, as it serves a purpose;  If I wish to assess benefits in attainment to students I must compare them on a like for like basis.  Therefore they sit the same test as their peers in other classes.  The approach to revision for the test is where we can apply a little lateral deviation from the norm to enhance the meta-cognitive process.

Mastery is a concept that is often combined with Flipped Learning as it lends itself well to the self paced, autonomous environment that a Flipped Learning methodology can provide.  Basically, the student must prove Mastery in a concept, usually through online formative testing (think Edmodo) before being allowed to sit the test.  This means that, in theory, students will get very scores and their anxiety will be very much reduced as they will know that they have already performed well in the material.

My model in this case has differed in that I provided the class with summary sheets of each unit of work to be assessed, along with additional video tutorials using Explain Everything for iPad.  The students were self paced, and could choose to work on whichever aspect of the course they wished in class and at home, over a period of one week.  They were provided with answers also, which I craftily located on my Sophia page, right next to the tutorials in an attempt to drive the students at these.  The criteria for ‘Mastery’: over 85% in each topic before we, as a class would consider testing.

I know…this conjures up images of 30 children wishing to sit assessments at 30 different times, so , in order to preserve the unseen nature of a test I have to make 30 different assessments right?  As it turned out, through working collaboratively (not directed to by me, they chose to work together) the students all wanted to sit the test as a class on the same day.  I was amazed!

The feeling in the room was much more relaxed on test day, with each student secure in the knowledge that they already knew the work, and just had to prove it in a test environment.  all the while reassured that they had already proven their knowledge to me through our various activities…

“the test is kind of like a display case for your knowledge, you already have it, now your just showing it off!”

I could go on for aaagggeeeeees about this, and understand that if you have got this far and are not bored…well done, so I will end with this quote:

“The common sense rules of the “real world” are a fragile collection of socially reinforced illusions.”                             Timothy Ferriss

 

Training Screenagers to Flip⤴

from

One of the little obstacles that I have dealt with whilst flipping my classroom is the ‘mystery of the forgotten quiz’… all too often, otherwise conscientious students were just forgetting to complete the quizzes that accompany my videos.  You can see the platform that I use at www.sophia.org .  These have an important role in the teaching and learning process, and the results help me to tailor my teaching and respond to learning needs from the class.  The question is, why was this forgetfulness happening?  The students were watching the videos, and taking notes but they were somehow overlooking the quiz?!  As you can see, it’s not hard to miss…Spot the Quiz?!

I had no answer for this conundrum until I considered some personal reading on the power of habit and ritual (‘Daily Rituals’ by Mason Currey-check a review out here)…sounds a little prehistoric and gory, but stay with me…young people today only seem to consume media/look at screens in a passive context.  Therefore are they habitually hardwired, when their laptop or tablet is in front of them, to disengage their learning brains?

These digital natives, these Screenagers (a term that has been around for a while but was coined for me by @animationchefs so a hat tip to them!) are not accustomed to learning from media in any sense.  They are, in many cases, psychologically unprepared to watch a video and complete a quiz in an online learning  environment, using a piece of hardware that is generally only used for leisure.  This paradox has to be consciously overcome by the young person, and as a flipped educator it is my job to bring their attention to it.  It is also my job to make my videos as engaging and active as possible, and as such, embedding questions in the videos will be my next project!

There has, of course, been much written about the power of gaming in developing neuro-plasticity – more on this here.  I support much of the theory behind this and believe that there is value in games based learning.  However, it is in many cases for many young people, learning through the back door.  They are certainly learning and developing their brains, yet during a game of ‘flappy bird’ can you evaluate what you have learned?  Did you even intend to learn anything?

I must admit that once aware of this potential issue, there has been a much more uniform engagement with the quizzes and forms and a general appreciation of what it means in a wider sense, to learn in a flipped classroom.  The revolution that is surely just around the corner in learning, means that we have to prepare our young people, our screenagers, to learn in a digital environment.