Small-Town Perspectives, Big-Time Motivation: Composing and Producing Place-Based Podcasts

A pal from Virginia sent a link to this ERIC abstract to me this week.

iMovie app

Hey guys,

    I was messing around with my iPad I got for Christmas (thank you Santa!!!!) and I noticed that iMovie, Keynote, pages, and a bunch of those other apps are free right now. Not sure how long it is going to last, or if anyone else needed to download them, but I thought I would share the news. Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Flipped Classroom Tips (From A Teacher Who Is Mid-Flip)

Great tips for flipping newbies:

Interesting Report of a Flipped Classroom in the UK

Be certain to check the links provided in this article:

connector for apple TV to projector

December 14 Flipped Classroom Session

The December 14 session of the June Harless Center Flipped Classroom group was very productive despite the coating of ice that coated many streets and sidewalks in the area.

We had review and enhancement sessions on iMovie, ExplainEverything and Touchcast.  We reviewed procedures for connecting to Google Hangouts from a PC and a tablet.  PJ, Summer, Nikki and Jason shared some of their instructional videos and how they used them in their classes.

Dr. Maynard made an announcement that significant donations are being made to the Harless Center to continue and expand the flipped learning project through the purchase of classroom sets of iPad tablets.  Dr. Maynard also submitted a proposal to the Higher Education Policy Commission to fund the professional development portion of the flipped learning project.

It was suggested that we take a look at Nearpod to determine if it will fill a niche in this project.  It is being used very effectively in many schools for blended delivery and reinforcing classroom instruction.  After we have a chance to download the Nearpod app and try it we should have a discussion of it in an upcoming session.

The Wayne County teachers have asked that the Harless Center follow up with Wayne County to determine when they can expect to receive their iPad tablets for the project.

The professional development session concluded by selecting Saturday, January 11 as the next meeting date.  The time will be from 10 am – 3 pm and the location of Drinko Library will be confirmed.  The agenda for the day will be supported development of flipped video.  Everyone will need to bring materials to prepare one flipped lesson.  This could be notes, a textbook, images, links or anything you think you will need to prepare a short lesson for your class.  We will breakout into small groups for the morning. Each small group will have a mentor who will assist with technical aspects of your choice of development tools (iMovie, Touchcast or Explain Everything).  After lunch, we will share our videos and help each other in making better resources for our students.  Of course, this January date is subject to weather.

The possibility of a February meeting as a Google Hangout was suggested with the focus on assessing flipped lessons.  We can split our Hangout into morning and afternoon sessions as we did in November if desired.  A sign-up sheet will be posted as before for the Hangouts if a Hangout is selected for February.

Edutopia's Take on using Google Hangouts for Classrooms

Short video on how to use Google Hangouts in a classroom setting.



Link to article:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/educators-schools-google-hangouts-mary-beth-hertz

Near pod information: http://www.nearpod.com/

Explain Everything Update

Hello all! The explain everything app has a new update available! Here are some of the new and improved features:
-configuration of toolbars to anywhere on screen
-INSERT SOUND FILES FROM DROPBOX, MUSIC LIBRARY AND OTHER CLOUD SERVICES! These files can also be edited with this app!
-inspector tool allows for flipping or rotation of objects (Pretty cool for physics demos!)
-compatible with their new presentation app called Final Argument
-fixed bugs with merging and adding re-recorded tracks at the end of projects

If you haven't downloaded this app, I recommend doing so. You can play around with our iPads at the FLIP meeting today and check out this apps new features!

Camtasia

I have found the links for Camtasia.  I really like this program.  Though it is expensive, I think it is worth every penny.  If anyone is interested, I can show them how to work with this program at some point in the future.


Here is the link for downloading a 30 day trial of Camtasia Studio.  http://www.techsmith.com/download/camtasia/

Here is the link for the pricing breakdown for educators:
https://store.techsmith.com/education.asp

Test generator

Notes from November 30 Flipped Hangout

I was really pleased that our Google Hangouts were so productive on Saturday.  In fact, since we had such quality discussions that we should consider scheduling another meeting as a Hangout this winter.  Hangouts are a great way to model some distance learning capabilities to supplement flipped units. 

We started the Hangout by exploring some of the features of Google Hangouts.

• ·         Discussions of potential educational uses for Hangouts included involving students in class discussions who are:

o   Confined to home or hospital

o   Unable to attend class due to weather

o   On an athletic or academic trip

• ·         We also considered ways to connect classes in WV with students across the country or even overseas via Google Hangouts.  Think about the ability to do a class presentation to students in another country!

We briefly discussed our thoughts on the example flipped videos that were posted to Vimeo?

• ·         What advantages/disadvantages are there to using video?
• ·         Keeping video open, available to everyone or putting behind a password

Opportunities for expansion of the flipped program

• ·         WE forum gift

o   Amount to be determined

o   Will purchase class sets of iPad Mini tablets

• ·         ITQ grant development

o   Expansion of program in Cabell, Mason, Mingo and Wayne Counties

o   Funding to include training, software, expenses to national conference

We had a discussion of a number of tools for flipping:

• ·         Cam Studio, Adobe Presenter, iMovie, Explain Everything, Touchcast, etc
• ·         Vimeo, YouTube, TeacherTube, Weebley, Moodle, Edmodo, etc

Next steps:

• ·         Steve needs to check on tablets for Wayne teachers
• ·         Jason Gibbs will post information on academic pricing for Cam Studio
• ·         Lewis will post a link to an online assessment program
• ·         For the December 14 meeting (10 am at Drinko Library) everyone needs to bring, bring a video to share.  Post the video on some video service (YouTube or Vimeo) and submit a request to get the video whitelisted.  Be prepared to discuss the video at our December meeting.
• ·         A guest from Gilmer County plans to attend our December meeting to learn how we are doing flipping and to contribute to the discussion by sharing ways that he is doing flipped units in his rural county.
• ·         Please bring your calendar to the December meeting so we can schedule sessions for January – May 2014.

As always, it is a pleasure working with such quality educators.  I am very proud to be a part of this project.  Teachers in this part of the state continue to show the innovation and leadership that characterizes our region.

Vimeo is Back . . . sort of

There is some great news regarding Vimeo.
I have been in communication with the technology folks at WVDE regarding Vimeo.  At this time, Vimeo is blocked at the state level, however, you can send links to specific videos to filtering@access.k12.wv.us to get those videos whitelisted.
I sent the URLs of six Vimeo videos to WVDE for approval last week.  I had an immediate confirmation email letting me know that the request was received.  Less than two days later, I received an email that all six were whitelisted.  Of these six videos, one was Bonnie's, one was Jason's, one was Lewis', one was Rob's, one was mine and one was just something that I found on the web that looked interesting.  All were approved.  In fact, the videos that are in the November 16 and November 18 postings have been whitelisted.
Before I sent the URLs to filtering@access.k12.wv.us I made certain that there was no offensive content in the video, description or, perhaps most critically, the comments.  I disabled comments on my video to prevent offensive comments from jeopardizing the approval.
With this small victory, I plan to contact WVDE to see if we can get a Vimeo channel whitelisted that will allow us to post videos that are available to educators and students.
That all being said, this is the filtering that is done at the state level.  Each county has the ability to impose additional filtering.  While most counties accept the filters at the state level, a few block sites that the state permits.  If your district blocks Vimeo and YouTube videos that the state has whitelisted, I would encourage you to work with your district administration to get these valuable educational videos available to your students.

Connecting to Google Hangouts

As our November 30 flipped professional Development session nears, we need to to a few things in preparation.  Please sign up for a time slot to join a chat (morning or afternoon) on November 30 using the link Jason sent a couple of weeks ago.
You may also need to configure your computer for Google Hangouts.  The Vimeo video below give a summary of how to set Google Hangouts up on your computer.



Google Hangouts also work well on iOS or Android tablets and telephones so feel free to install these apps on your iPad or other device.

I will look forward to "hanging out" with you on Saturday, November 30.

Discussion videos for November 30

In addition to viewing the TED Talk posted by Jason earlier this week, please watch the following flipped lessons by some of our 2012-13 group.
We will discuss these lessons in our November 30 Google Hangout.
Please keep in mind that the content of the lesson isn't what is important to us at this time.  We are looking at delivery methods and ways of making the material accessible to students.
Since these videos are on Vimeo, you will need to view them from a site outside of the school network where they are blocked.  If you view them from home or a public hotspot you should be fine.

Mr. Grady's lesson on calculating density

Mr. Marcum's lesson on kinematics

Ms. Conner's lesson on momentum triangle

If you go to Vimeo, you can see many videos from Ms. Connor, Mr. Grady, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Marcum using the links provided on their names.  Feel free to check any of their videos to discuss on the 30th of November as well.
I will look forward to hearing from you on November 30.

3 Rules to Spark Learning

I remembered this video from last May when I started thinking about flipping our November meeting. Mr. Musallam speaks of how it took a life-changing event to shift his teaching to a level that drove students to ask the questions that expanded learning opportunities. As you watch the video, think about your thoughts on learning, asking the difficult questions, and how this endeavor will modify your teaching. Share your thoughts with the group using the comments feature below.

Disable Comments for Videos in YouTube

I checked this afternoon and this is now white listed by WVDE. Feel free to share with anyone that needs the information.

Women's Education (WE) Forum Support of the Flipped Classroom Project

As you are aware, the Women's Education Forum (WE) is supporting our flipped classroom project this year.  Information about the project and the WE group was covered in the October 30 Herald-Dispatch.

‘Flipped’ classroom offers promising results

 

Touchcast Poll Test

Follow the link below to watch a short video and vote for November training.

http://www.touchcast.com/jasonjackson/Touchcast-Poll-Test

A couple of quick guides to adding a calendar, adding pizazz to your site as well as Google site basics:

Adding Pizazz

Creating a new calendar

Adding a calendar to your site

Color and Fonts

Google Basics

YouTube Whitelist through Webtop

Short video tutorial on how to whitelist a YouTube video in WVDE Webtop.

WEEBLY

Jason Jackson reminded me a little while ago about a cool FREE site creator called Weebly. The interface is really easy to use and all the bells and whistles makes me want to leave my Google site and jump on the Weebly bandwagon. I just got my students to access my site through Google so Weebly may be something that I use next year. My advice would be to try different sites out to see which would be best for you, your parents and your students. Happy creating!

Google Site Creation

This 8 minute video walks you through the creation process.

This second video gives the highlights of the "manage site" menu

 Feel free to take a look at my google site: Mrs. Conner's class

Flipped Classroom and Student Engagement

This one showed up in my news feed. A study from Canada shows that students perceptions of learning are different than those of the traditional classroom. They include:

• Increased communication opportunities
• More relevant classroom activities 
• Time to complete homework in class
• More enjoyable learning experience

Brief overview is here:

Student Perceptions of the Flipped Classroom-New Research

Full article may be retrieved from:
Student Perceptions of the Flipped Classroom

Hello all!

Touchcast is a pretty cool app that allows you to create videos with manipulatives that your students can use during the video!

I intend to use this one the next time I create a video to see if I like it and also if my students like it as well.


Currently this app is FREE so try it out because it isn't going to be free for long!


http://www.touchcast.com/

This is a pretty cool video as well that shows from the student's perspective how one teacher flips her classroom.Flipped Mastery Video (works best to view on the iPad)

Fun with iMovie Trailers

From our meeting yesterday:

Remember that you can use iMovie to create interest, have students build content, and to edit your lessons or resources for flipped.

Jason passed this interesting article along to the group earlier this week.  It is worth reading the preliminary conclusions from a multi-year study of student performance.
Since the flipped classroom is still a fairly new concept, there aren't many studies that have collected empirical data on student performance.  This one may provide some of the data that supports what we have been seeing in our classes.

The Flipped Classroom Boosts Grades 5%. Why That’s As Big As We Can Expect.

Thank you for finding the article and passing it along to the group.

Interesting articles

Here are a few "flipped classroom" articles worth checking out.  These have been sent by Ms. Sawrey, Judge O'Hanlon and Dr. Barbara Maynard.

• http://remakelearning.org/blog/2013/06/18/how-the-flipped-classroom-helps-students-take-charge-of-their-own-learning-a-qa-with-aaron-sams/
• http://campustechnology.com/articles/2013/06/18/report-the-4-pillars-of-the-flipped-classroom.aspx

• http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/education-technology-flipping-the-classroom/ - although the video is nearly an hour long, it is worth watching.

Hello all! I have been doing so research before I let my iPads go out into the world (*tear*) Loretta and I are so thankful to be given the opportunity to use these devices with our students! Here is a link for some apps to use in the classroom. Also, here is the link to set up the iPad.

Flipped Feedback from Students

CC Image from http://goo.gl/m9Q8N

I came across this tonight about the flipped classroom model. There are lots of examples of why students and teachers are embracing the model. My favorite quote though comes from the student in pre-calculus class.

"You're not falling asleep in class, "said senior Monica Resendiz said. "You're constantly working."

I hope I can "flip" working to mean learning. The whole article is here and is a short read. Feel free to comment below. 

Here is the link for my first video that I have uploaded on Youtube for my students. Not the best...but does the trick!