Flipped Classrooms - To Try or Not to Try

     I have started to discuss flipped classrooms with my friends and colleagues.  Some ask, "What in the world is that?"  Some say, "I have heard MARVELOUS things about this structure."  Others say, "No thank you, not for me!"  There are so many different opinions on this emerging trend.  After much thought and research about flipped classrooms, I finally have formed my own opinion and have decided... To Try or Not to Try?

     You may be asking yourself, "What exactly is a flipped classroom?"  According to Tucker (2012), "...the core ideas is to flip the common instructional approach: With teacher-created videos and interactive lessons, instruction that used to occur in class is now accessed at home, in advance of class." So what is the purpose? The bottom line and purpose for this emerging trend is TIME.  Time, time, time.  There is never enough of it, in education lives, personal lives, there is just never enough.  The idea behind flipped classrooms is that students are able to access information (teacher-created videos mostly) outside of class at their own pace. They should take notes and focus on a topic to prepare them for more collaborative learning inside of the classroom, with a readiness to begin practice and go more in depth with the concept.  This takes place of the traditional homework.  It doesn't sound so bad, does it?

     Opinion time!  I absolutely LOVE the idea behind flipped classrooms.  In one of my courses in Applied Technology in Education, I had to create two styles of flipped classrooms - one through an Educreations video, and another through a video of myself introducing a concept.  I used both of these in my fourth grade classroom to introduce topics, one about text features in ELA and one about types of resources in Social Studies.  Since then, I have created three other flipped classroom videos to use in my classroom.  My fourth graders love it and have been practicing taking notes.

     The only issue?  Many of my students do not have access to devices/internet at home, so it is unacceptable for me to assign these videos as homework.  This has been a struggle for me, but I have figured out a way for it to work in my specific situation.  Morning work time!  This time is usually used for short practices of concepts that my students have previously learned before heading to their daily Special class, which many times they do not end up finishing before they need to leave the classroom.  So, occasionally, I will choose or create a video for my students to watch and take notes during this time.  This prepares them for the new concept that I will be teaching later on in the day.  The times that I have used this approach, it has worked very well in my classroom, although my flipped classroom approach is quite different than the traditional one used.  If students are instructed to watch videos for homework, there are always situations where the students do not complete the assignment, so it will make them further behind than the other students.  My approach keeps this issue from occurring.  It has been a learning process, but I am excited to continue to use this trend in my classroom.

     Would you like more information on flipped classrooms?  Check out these educational articles that may answer some of your questions:
                                     Things you Should Know about Flipped Classrooms
                                     Education Next: The Flipped Classroom

Or check out these videos with information and examples of flipped classrooms:

References

Educause (2012).  Things you should know about flipped classrooms.  Retrieved from 

     https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7081.pdf.

Educreations (2016).  Educreations:  Teach anything to anyone from anywhere.  Website retrieved from https://www.educreations.com/.

Edutopia (2014).  The flipped class:  Is flipping for everyone?  Retrieved from 

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAWidtL7pKE.

MADDrawProductions (2012).  The flipped classroom model.  Retrieved from

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojiebVw8O0g.

Tucker, B., (2012).  The flipped classroom:  Online instruction at home frees class time     for learning. EducationNext, 12(1).  Retrieved from http://educationnext.org/the-flipped-classroom/. 

Adaptive Learning Technology: An Emerging Trend in Education

     Emerging trends are a hot topic in today's educational world.  Technology has increased drastically over the past ten years in our daily lives.  Why should it be different in schools?  Technology gives students and teachers the chance for unique ways to learn and teach because there are so many resources and personalized opportunities in the "Ed-Tech" world.  

     The emerging trend in education that I have researched and have become very familiar with is Adaptive Learning Technology.  EdSurge (2016) defines ALT as, "Adaptive learning is an education technology that can respond to a student's interactions in real-time by automatically providing the student with individual support."  This allows students to learn based on their ability level and allows teachers to differentiate.  There are so many uses and benefits for using adaptive learning technology in education.

1.     Instant Feedback for Students and Teachers - Technology allows for an immediate response to student abilities in many of the adaptive learning technology programs.  Both educators and learners have access to see how they are improving through quick responses.

2.     Formative Assessments that Help Students Grow -  Formative assessments are a crucial part of education.  Adaptive learning technology gives students the opportunity through technological strategies to check for understanding and gives teachers the opportunity to direct their instruction.

3.     Connect People through Data - Adaptive Learning Technology assists with understanding student ability and often tracks student growth. The data from this technology can be shared among educators, parents, students and administration.  

     As you can see, there are various uses and reasons to support this emerging trend in education.  One excellent example of how Adaptive Learning Technologies can be used in the classroom can be seen through this example of a school in Baltimore, Maryland. 

 Math with Meaning in Baltimore 

     In addition to this, check out my Adaptive Learning Technology infograph below!

                              

    For more information on this emerging trend, check out the following articles: 

                                 Adaptive Learning Close Up

                                 The Benefits of Adaptive Learning Technology

References

Dreambox Learning (2016).  Math with meaning in Baltimore.  Video      retrieved from http://www.dreambox.com/video/principals-perspective.

EdSurge (2016).  Adaptive learning close up.  Retrieved          from https://www.edsurge.com/research/edtech-wiki/adaptive-learning.  

Hicks, K., (2015).  The benefits of adaptive learning technologies.       Retrieved from http://www.edudemic.com/how-adaptive-learning-technology-is-being-used-in-online-courses/.