Right when I start to have doubts...

It happened again. I brought up the idea of a flipped class to a teacher friend and before I even had a chance to explain why I have recently become so excited about the idea....it was shot down: "oh no, that wouldn't work. Kids don't even do homework, why would they want to learn by themself?"...and topic change. This is an amazing friend - very supportive in so many ways, I guess this just wasn't her thing.

So this happens on the same day I read an article from a teacher that feels the flip is over-rated. I think it's good to read critique articles as much as supporting articles, but yesterday was just not the day I was strong enough to stand up to the negativity. I started to think...maybe it's just a fad, maybe it wouldn't work.Maybe it WOULDN'T work, but is that a reason not to try??? Well, I started to have doubts and I haven't even tried it yet.

This is when I reached out to Heather Witten - a Spanish teacher in Colorado that has successfully flipped her Spanish class. I'm obsessed with her blog and link to her site in pretty much everyone of my posts (and of course, this one will be no different). I wrote a comment on her 'Contact Me' page:

Hi Heather!

I didn't know exactly where to post this question, but how do you respond to the skeptical teachers/parents/others that ask you: Students don't even do "regular" homework, why would they watch a video lesson at home?

Since reading your blog, I've been so excited to even just try a blended structure before a full flip. It seems, though, that anytime I bring this model up to teacher friends, they are very doubtful something like this could ever work (I tell them, actually MANY classrooms are very successful).

I know there is definitely a students vs homework challenge (I've always kept mine to a minimum and still have those that don't do it), but I keep thinking about how much classroom time could be used more productively by actually USING the language and building fluency through this structure. I imagine it would be a challenge at first and I remember reading some of your earlier
posts about students not watching videos, but how do you respond to the doubt: they won't watch, why should they learn at home?, what would be the point to coming to class (reallY??), it takes the relationship out of teaching (a teacher friend actually said this!), parents won't be on board...

For me, I think this model opens up so many possibilities that I would rather try to make it work and have it fail than to have not tried it all. It's funny how some teachers can be so open to shifting a paradigm, while others see change as a new edition or publisher of a textbook...

Thank you, Heather! Your time and comments are very much appreciated!

She wrote me back the very same day...but in a post! I was very flattered. She made some excellent points -  ones I had thought about myself, but I guess I let myself focus on the doubt rather than the excitement of trying something new and daring to change the norm.

The two points that will stick with me are: 1) Listen to the criticism and learn from it, and 2) to get advice from wherever you can. Most support will initially come from other flippers who are scattered all over the place physically, but can be reached via social communities.

So thank you, Heather Witten! My excitement is restored :) 

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I Flipped and PowTooned!

I did it! I made my first video lesson for future flipped classes and I also made my first PowToon video!

Regular Present Tense of -AR, ER, & -IR - made using PowToon

I have to credit the Flipped Certification Program on sophia.org for giving me the push to try to make my first video, and I have to give credit to Heather Witten for introducing me to PowToon. She made a great intro to parents on the flipped classroom model and her video really inspired me to try using PowToon.

Powtoon is in the beta stage right - they are still in the process of fine-tuning and adding new features, but I have to say I think it'll be a big hit! Lately, there have been a lot more animated presentations - the animated TED talk videos come to mind, so I think this type of programming that's easy enough to use and FREE is a smart move. I think once the beta phase finishes, there will be added costs for uploading, video size, etc.

It might be a bit of a learning curve to use if you're not technology-savvy. I didn't find it too bad at all though! The most annoying thing was that it kept freezing after one save, BUT I'm pretty sure that was my computer acting up and not the actual program. I tried to use it on our faster Mac, but since Apple products don't support Flash, it didn't work out. I think the best advice if anyone is going to create a PowToon is to have your script portion completed first! That is number one! Don't even worry about setting up features, or backgrounds, or anything until the script it complete. If you start to create your video before you have any voice in it, then you might have to re-adjust all the timing when you do put speech into it.

Things I learned from making this PowToon:

1) My computer mic is VERY old and the sound quality sucks! 

I learned a few things from this first lesson. One, I was introduced to Audioboo. It's kind of like a social networking site, but for the audio world. You can record a "boo" (from your computer or using the iPhone or Android app) and post it to the Audioboo site, or even post to Twitter or Facebook. I think you can even use these boos to create podcasts. While very interesting, it wasn't exactly what I wanted. I was looking for a way to record audio using my phone and then be able to upload the file and use it as my voice track.

This led me to my next lesson. You can record audio using the iPhone Voice Memo app and then upload it to your computer! I had plugged that app into the "don't think I'll ever use this but can't delete it folder" on my phone and low and behold, it is very handy and convenient! Then, I discovered the 'too good to be true' asterix. When you upload a Voice Memo to iTunes, it saves as this ridiculous file type that I'd never heard of...I don't remember it either. I thought, there MUST be a way to get an MP3 file out of this and....THERE IS! It's pretty simple too. You just have to right click on the track and select the "Convert to mp3" option. There is also an option for this in the advanced tab. So, lesson learned! I learned a way to record my audio without having to go out and buy a microphone just yet (yes my computer is so old that it does not have a built in mic...)

2)  I think I can take over my husband's job as Audio Designer soon...or maybe not.

When I made my first recording, I recorded only one portion of the lesson. I thought it would be good to break it up, so that I could replay and re-do shorter sections if they sounded bad. I did the whole iTunes switch and then uploaded the sound. I created all the animations for that piece and then thought, YAY next chunk! I then found out that you can only use one audio file in a presentation. Crap. 

My husband is an audio designer in the video game world, so it would have been super simple to wait until he got home from work and ask him to connect all my audio files together into one track. I think he could've done it in two seconds (also he could've explained the iTunes mp3 converter to me too), but since I am impatient and DIDN'T want to wait until he got home and since I wanted everything to be done NOW...I went on a little mission. 

I discovered a program called Audacity which is a free audio editor, recorder, whatever. I downloaded that and by chance figured out how to use it. THEN I tried to save the track as an mp3, but when I went to save it said it could only create Audacity sessions. Great. At this point, I waited for my husband to get home. He later told me, I should EXPORT the file, not save. So then I exported it, but it told me that I needed some .dll.asjhdkasdk who knows what. Of course, I did THIS step when my husband was at work the next day...

Anyway, this time I was able to figure out that I needed to download some mp3 library something or other. I might have downloaded a virus that let me create this mp3 file this ONE time, but it worked that day, so I'm good. NOTE TO SELF: Next time, let husband do ALLLLLL of the audio prep for you. 

3) Having to load images from a URL is time consuming when they are your own original images that aren't currently located on any URL.

Powtoon in beta mode does not currently support uploading images from your computer. The only option was to upload from a URL. Luckily, I have this blog up and running otherwise, I'm not sure how I would've been able to upload my own images (maybe there is a really easy solution to that, but I have no idea). 

I wanted to be able to use charts from worksheets in my video and I found a solution to this by taking a Print Screen image (easily done by pressing your PrtSc button) and then pasting it into paint. I then saved it as a JPEG and did any necessary cropping using my photo editor. Then, I would upload the image to the blog and get the url for that image and FINALLY, put it into the video.....VERY TIME CONSUMING! But hey, it worked. And once again...I'm sure there is an easier way around this, but this is all I know how to do.

4) PowToon takes a lot longer to create a video than I first thought!

I'm a perfectionist...a lot of teachers are...so creating this video took quite a bit more time than I first thought. Here's me before: hmmmm...maybe two hours tops. Here's me after: Whoa. Shorter videos next time.

I do think it took me longer than anticipated because I was learning A LOT as I went along (like the whole image uploading stuff and the whole audio saga). I did enjoy the process a lot and I'm pretty sure I am going to make another video very soon. I don't think that I will use PowToon to make all of my flipped lesson videos because unless I make only 2-3 minute videos it would take up too much time. The first lesson I created was 9 minutes. Maybe that's too long for a video in the first place and I'll have to learn how to cut lessons down, but I really like to include more than one example just like I would do in class.

All in all, it was a great learning experience and a fun process for someone who is dying to teach Spanish again. Looking forward to creating more!

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On my way to being SMART.

Yesterday, I finished watching (and taking notes for) the Flipped Classroom Certification tutorials on Sophia.org . I scored 58/60...dammit. I like getting perfect scores (as much as I don't want my students to focus on the grade....it's so hard not to when school was all about that in my day!).

Crystal Kirch created the tutorials and does an excellent job of breaking down the whole process. She really makes you think about the WHY? Why are you flipping this lesson? What is the point for the student? Are your lessons SMART?  I think this is harder for me to process right now because of the fact that we are in Quebec City for my husband's job and I am not actually teaching Spanish at the moment. I had my perfect Spanish classes, but I'm on a leave of absence until we move back. At this point, I'm not sure if I would flip all of my lessons. I think it would take time to ease into it in the first place...for me anyway. I think I would start by flipping a few lessons in one semester and see how it worked for the students and for me. It's not that I'm re-thinking on taking on a flip, it's just that Crystal's tutorials made me see the bigger picture.

This new teaching process doesn't mean less work for the teacher. In fact, I think it looks like more work...at least to get started with, until you're comfortable with the process. There is a lot of planning that should go into every lesson and every method of assessment. Of course, I'm not saying that a lot of effort doesn't go into the "normal" teaching routine because I know VERY well how much time and effort I put into my curriculum. I can't just use a textbook, it's not me. I can't just use the same teaching method over and over - if I'm getting bored, then I know my students are too, so I always try to step it up so that we are all engaged and learning at the same time. I think with this model, however, you face critics and those that do not see this as a practical teaching model, so it's almost like you have to put in that little more to show the value in giving students responsibility for their learning.

Crystal talked about the "Backwards Design" when creating lessons. I don't think it should have to be called 'backwards'...I think all teachers should start with the first step, which is 1) writing your lesson objectives. So, teachers create lessons without knowing their objectives first? Well, anyway I think it's good that she points that out as step one. In BC, we have our PLOs (Prescribed Learning Outcomes) for each subject and grade level. They cover core learning objectives but can be extremely vague at times. Crystal really touches on how objectives should be clear and direct and refers to model for creating these very important objectives as
SMART.

SPECIFIC - make sure students know EXACTLY what you hope for them to learn
MEASURABLE - how will you see if the students have met the objective? Plan assessment suitably.
ATTAINABLE - are you expecting too much too soon? Or not enough? Set objectives at attainable levels.
RESULTS-FOCUSED - what is the purpose for the students? Do they know?
TIME-FOCUSED - ensure there is enough time to reach objectives. Don't spend too much time on simple objectives and break down larger objectives into smaller 'pieces' so that students don't feel overwhelmed by limited time.

The next step in the "Backwards Design" is still not creating the lesson, it's 2)planning your assessment. There are many ways to assess and it doesn't always have to be tests and quizzes. The great thing about the Flip is that it really caters to differentiation in the classroom and differentiated assessment is also key to success for many students. Some students thrive on test writing - they have good memorization skills or they function well under pressure...others know the information, but stick a test in front of them and they go blank. *And as an aside...in the real world, in terms of languages, it's not like you enter a foreign country and they throw a test at you to see if you can understand them, right? That would be bizarre.* Sometimes assessment can come in terms of simple in-class activities or games. It doesn't always have to be formal assessment for you to see how students are progressing. Projects, group discussions, portfolios, and self and peer reviews are all great ways to assess learning. I also like Crystal's suggestion of giving an assessment "menu". Perhaps in each unit, students are given choices for methods of assessment and they get to choose from the "menu" which one works best for them. You could make it so that at some point they're all choosing each method you created at different times per unit or per week. I remember having an English-Lit university class where the prof gave us a choice on assessment. We had to choose at least 3 different methods from about 5 or 6 different choices for each novel (one was on-going project that got handed in multiple times and others were a hand in once kind of deal). I LOVED it and forgot how much I WANTED to do the readings and work for that course until seeing the word "menu" in Crystal's slide.

The last part of the "Backwards Design" is now about 3)creating the lesson using technology (even without technology this is a good formula to follow). I think the most important piece of advice from this tutorial was to BE YOURSELF in your videos. We often tell students not to be robotic in presentations, so lead by example. Voice inflection and jokes (if that's your nature) become so important to maintain that bond with the students. For the lecture side of things, if you choose to do all lessons by video, students aren't getting that face-time with you. I'm seeing a little bit more how my friend thought that this could "take the relationship out of teaching". Some flipped classes have students interacting more with each other than the teacher which is great for students to really build mastery. I  think for me, a huge part of why I became a teacher is because I enjoy that bonding time. I know I would still have class time as a whole so they could hear my cheesy jokes and learn how clumsy I am. I love that part. So with the videos, it's important for you to carry on that personality that they see in the classroom. You're still teaching them after all - it shouldn't be, oh yeah a video taught me Spanish. It should be, oh yeah I had Spanish with Sra. V...she's loca.

So I'm on my way to creating my first flipped lesson....just for practice. We'll see how it goes! Pin It Now!

Exactly.

I have just discovered Crystal Kirch's flipping tutorials on Sophia.org and she says everything I have been thinking about.

I meant to write this in my last post as well - this flipping model isn't exactly a new concept if you went to college/university. Of course profs lectured AT you, but students were still expected to have completed specific readings/tasks BEFORE attending lecture or going to your tutorial. Then, readings were discussed more in-depth and you got a better idea of what the point of that reading was in the first place (...or you didn't do the reading and you sat in tutorial clueless the whole time and hoped the TA didn't ask you for your opinion....)

Anyway, this video is a great introduction to the flipped classroom:

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So what is it to me? "I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand." - Chinese Proverb

I'm sure most people in the 'flipping world' are familiar with this infographic:

Created by Knewton and Column Five Media

Basically, flipping is a shift from the "normal" teaching world. Standard IN-CLASS lectures are replaced with another preferred method by the classroom teacher. The most common I've seen are videos created by the teacher or supplemental videos that already existed (it's not always videos though!). NOW, in-class time becomes focused on application and practice of the learning objective. The method to which this all gets undertaken varies depending on how the flip is being implemented in the classroom. There isn't just one formula for a flip, just like there isn't a formula on how to "properly" teach your class.


Flipping isn't just about videos - I've seen this written in many articles. I think people that don't quite understand the approach see it as a teacher cop-out - "ummm....you're not really doing your job...the students aren't even learning from you..." Okay, you can choose to see it that way, but if students are sleeping on top of their textbook or looking on their phone while they wait for the next page of notes to copy down then what are they learning then? Regurgitation isn't learning. I feel that the flip focuses more on application rather than the notes. This Chinese proverb might be a little deep, but I think it fits, "Give me a fish and I eat for a day.  Teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime." I think this proverb says it all as well, "I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand."


Teachers can use the videos (or other preferred resources) to cut out the "dead space" time in the classroom. It's a flip because students view the lecture as homework and come to class ready to put that new knowledge into practice. In-class time is spent answering the questions students might have had had they taken that written/project work home. At some points, students may be working in groups on different assignments, but they would be working at a pace that works for them. At other times, the class may all be working together as a group and with the teacher. It doesn't seem out of the ordinary to me - the only change is that now we have more time to learn and practice and that half a class spent on note-taking is now spent on a project, a speaking exercise, a class vocabulary game, a reading, etc. I think there would be less: "I wish we had time to do that" from the teacher and less: "I didn't do my homework 'cuz I didn't get it" from the student.


In an ideal world all the students will do their flipped homework. I'm sure it doesn't always work out that way, but hopefully the accessibility of the videos/resources opens up that possibility. Pin It Now!

Flip? Feels like it takes the relationship out of teaching...

In my current state of obsessiveness with this whole flipped model, I didn't even stop to think about how other teachers in my circle of friends would view it. Of course I thought about how traditional teachers would view it and how there would be people opposed to the idea (I did briefly see an article "out there" about the Pros & Cons of this model sort of in a debate format...I hope I can find it again because it's always important to look at both sides of an argument), but I guess I just assumed that any teacher friend I talked to would be like, "wow, really! Let's research together!" ...optimistic thinking.

Yesterday, I was texting with a teacher friend back in Vancouver. Towards the end of the "conversation" I asked if she had ever heard of the flipped classroom. She wrote, "What's that???". As briefly and as quickly as my little fingers could type, I explained that is was an approach where lecture notes are watched at home by the student and class time would now be spent on application of the concept, further practice, and extra help. She said her brother had mentioned something about it, but that she didn't like it. This was when it hit me that of course we don't all like the same teaching styles. Makes sense.

She then asked about the videos and I said that some teachers choose to make their own, but I'm sure there are pre-made videos on many topics. Then she wrote that, to her, it "feels like it takes the relationship out of teaching..." ...??? Whoa...we really were on a different page here! The first time I read about it, my thoughts automatically went to how great this would be to develop a stronger classroom relationship. Of course, it could depend on your specific approach because I'm seeing that there are different levels of a flip, but as I saw it, my students and I would now have more time together to really build fluency and comprehension. As I wrote the other day, I don't want to teach them this language just so they can do well on a test. Some students come in feeling that way, of course! I do realize this, I'm not a clueless teacher, but when you have the passion for them to want more I believe that you do reach out to a few of the ones that come in with the "if I get a C, I'm happy" attitude.

There is always going to be a point in the class where students are working independently from the teacher (I can't imagine a class where the teacher is at the centre all the time...how exhausting and BORING!), but why should the majority of the time we do come together as a class be to write down notes? In a language class, coming together for speaking, reading, and listening is so important - and not just as a whole, but giving them time with each other to practice and feel comfortable is a huge thing too. The relationships that grow in a language class happen when we are applying our learning. Interacting with each other builds us up as a little family; I mean, we're learning a language together! Students are taking risks in front of each other to learn (something some adults don't even try doing!) a completely different language than the one they are going to speak to each other in at lunch time (...and while I wish they would use Spanish together outside of class time...well, MAYBE it happens, but I think that's pushing it).

Lectures/note-taking is when I feel like interaction is at it's lowest because students zone out - I know for a fact that some of them don't even listen to what you're saying because they're just worried about writing down the notes. Then time is spent waiting for students to catch up so that I can further break things down or add examples. No matter how long you wait, someone is always writing and others are always waiting. If I literally covered up the notes to speak, I knew that there were now anxious students STILL not listening but more focused on when I was going to uncover the notes (I used an overhead projector...that was my available 'technology').

In my head, the flip would equal moving away from this basic formula of vocab/grammar notes, practice, homework, check homework, practice...repeat playlist...test. I like how Caitlin Tucker put it in her blog post: "The goal of the flipped classroom should be to shift lessons from “consumables” to “produceables.” " She also adds a note about how she realizes she just made up a word, but she hopes the meaning is clear. I see it as the classroom model should no longer be about memorizing and regurgitation; class time spent on applying learning and having students really showing their learning at a deeper lever would be so much more valuable. For example, how wonderful is it when a student memorizes the the uses of SER vs ESTAR using the preferred mnemonic device of choice (DOCTOR P vs CFL PP or COMET vs PLACE or this new one I just saw Sharpie/Eraser DR EVE HELPP)! Great...now use it in conversation. Uhhh? Yes, learning the facts is one thing, but can they use it? Having more time to develop these fluency skills in the class together and in groups would be so great! So do I feel like flipping takes the relationship out of teaching? No way! For me, it is an opportunity to create an even stronger relationship with each one of your students. Pin It Now!

Why Flip?

After a year and a half into my time at Byrne Creek, my husband was offered a job that would propel him up the experience ladder and open other doors in the future. It was great! ...but it was in Quebec City. Newly married, no kids, and still renting, we thought: Let's do it! That meant leaving behind my dream job, but I was all for it at the time.

We're still in Quebec City just over a year later, and I'm still a teacher, but I've been working at the elementary level...something I thought I'd NEVER do. What a growing experience! However, I miss teaching high school Spanish so much!!! The opportunities for teaching Spanish in high school here are limited...

So why am I writing this blog? Well, even though I'm not teaching Spanish right now, I know I will again very soon! And after the year and a half I had as a new teacher, I cannot even explain how excited I am to even delve deeper into my Flipped Classroom research! I feel flipping my class would allow me to do all the things I only thought would be possible in another lifetime as a teacher!

I'm not even sure how I stumbled across the my first 'Flipped' encounter. I'm so sure it was something I saw on Pinterest that lead me to an amazing blog (that I read like a novel and got sad about when I had caught up with the real time posts) by
Heather Witten that details her adventures with a Flipped Spanish classroom. Reading her blog led me to other sites and other blogs and pretty soon I was starting to feel overwhelmed by all of the info.

As soon as I started reading more, I started thinking: did I really flip my Intro class? Was a flip the solution to my split? Could I actually call it a flip? Maybe a baby flip?...or a somersault at least? Whatever it was, it helped me and my students stay sane and allowed me to guide their learning without forcing them to 'turn the page' when they weren't ready to....or at the opposite end they could 'turn the page' as fast as they wanted without having to wait for others and grow bored and doodle all over the desk....noooo...students wouldn't write on desks, would they? ;)

Reading Heather's account intrigued me because on some small level I had done this and I saw that it could be successful. It also made me think about all of those times I wished you could set a writing speed for the entire class because the clock was ticking and there was so much to do! It was stressful and I imagine it wasn't very fun for the students - if I felt rushed, then they felt it for sure. What would happen if we had more class time?

I was always so proud of how much my students had accomplished by the end of a semester, especially the Spanish 9s and the Intro 11s because they start with nothing (majority) and end up being able to write, read, and speak another language at a basic level, but still! So, it always made me feel that with more class time they would grow so much more and in the following years, their language level would develop even further. I don't want to teach Spanish so that students can answer all the questions on a test, I want to teach it because I'm helping them with another form of communication.

Do I know if the 'Flip' is perfect for me and my future students? No. However, it excites me and I see more of the advantages of the approach than any disadvantages. I don't have my Spanish class right now, but I'm staying positive (as much as I have enjoyed elementary!) and thinking I'll be the Spanish teacher somewhere soon again. So, I'm using my time to research, learn, plan, and contemplate what 'Flipping" is all about.

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