I took the plunge and flipped my classroom...sort of.

I've been feeling really challenged this year by homework. I think that because the classes I teach are nongraded / no credit classes, students sometimes see them as "no effort outside the classroom" classes. Even those motivated students who are diligent about completing homework sometimes just don't know how to approach homework - they've never learned how to study and how to make the most use of out of class assignments. And because attendance is often an issue (sometimes for totally legit reasons; sometimes for pretty sketchy reasons), I'm always looking for resources for students who need to catch up on things they've missed. I've toyed with the idea of flipping my classroom for a while now and finally decided to give it a go this term because I believe that flipping my class can help me deal with many of those issues.

If you're not familiar with the flipped classroom model, here's the quick and dirty explanation: a flipped classroom inverts the usual model of "students learn something new in class and then practice the new skill/content outside of class." In a flipped classroom, students are first exposed to a new concept or skill before they come to class - usually via a video or reading - then spend class time practicing and applying the new concept/skill with the teacher's guidance. My hope was that flipping my classroom would make students more likely to do the assigned work because they would see more reason to do so, would give me more opportunities to help students with the practice part of the cycle, and would lead to a situation in which students who missed class could easily access information on the content they missed rather than just getting a make-up homework sheet that they hadn't been taught to do.

Since this was an experiment for me, I decided to start with a "mini-flip" of my math class. I began assigning my students a video (or videos) to watch on whatever topic I planned to cover the next day in class. Most of the time, I use Khan Academy videos and/or videos that I create. To add some accountability, I created questions to accompany each video - sometimes questions related to how information was presented in the video, sometimes questions related to the content itself, sometimes questions about the connection between the video content and what we'd already studied in class. Other times, rather than a video, I gave the students a reading and related questions. In class, we discussed what they'd watched or read, cleared up any areas of confusion, and did small group work or independent problems and projects to apply and practice the new material. I do still periodically assign practice and projects for homework, so I haven't truly flipped my classroom.

So far, this routine is working well. While there are still a few students who are not doing homework regularly, some of the students who were not doing homework before the flip have been willing to do the "flipped" work. Students show up to class with questions nearly every day, and we've had great discussions and "aha" moments. I did have to work out some technical bugs related to accessing videos - I started off posting links on our class web page, but some students who were accessing videos with their cell phones were bypassing the class page and trying to search directly for videos on YouTube, with varying results. I worked around this issue by continuing to post links on our class page, but also creating a playlist for our class on my YouTube page. Each week, I post a comment on my YouTube page that links to the class videos, which allows students to more easily find videos with a YouTube app or phone browser.

For more information, Vanderbilt University's Center for Teaching has a great explanation of flipping and suggestions for successfully flipping a classroom. A recent Inside Higher Ed article looks at the pros and cons of flipping. You can also check out the Flipped Learning Network for more information and resources.

Videos with Screencast-O-Matic

Despite my recent post about making instructional videos in which I teach on screen, I decided recently to make a set of videos using Screencast-O-Matic. Why? Two reasons. First, the practical reason is that I haven't gathered the tools and created a space for recording myself. Second, I've never used Screencast-O-Matic, and I know that it's been a popular tool for other instructors. In the interest of exploring options, I decided to give it a go.

For this project, I created a series of videos about place value, expanded notation, and writing numbers. I chose this topic because it's one that I used to cover in Math 10 but currently do not cover in my ABSE Math 3 or 4 classes. I've found that my students could often use a review of these concepts, however (especially if they are preparing to take the math placement exam). You can find the videos on my YouTube channel.

I created these videos on my laptop, using a Logitech microphone headset and my Wacom Bamboo tablet. Fortunately, I already owned the Bamboo tablet - I use it for editing digital photos - so I didn't need to buy or borrow one for this project. I love my Bamboo tablet, but as you'll see if you watch the videos, I did discover that I really need to practice handwriting with the tablet. Because of the small size of the tablet and the friction between the tablet and the pen nib, I found handwriting to be less than natural. I find writing on my iPad to be easier, and I think that most iPad apps also give you more pen/ink options. I used Powerpoint slides for my "background," and the pen options on Powerpoint are limited.

I generally liked using Screencast-O-Matic. I found the controls intuitive, and I liked that I didn't have to create an account or download any software to create videos. I might go ahead and sign up for the pro account, though, because I would like to be able to use some of the pro features, such as the greater variety of publishing options, editting tools, and the ability to publish screen shots.

I also recently downloaded another screencasting app for the iPad, called Playback. Stay tuned for a review!

More on Instructor Made Videos

Since my first experiment in creating videos for my class, I found a journal article that addressed a few issues I'd been thinking about around course videos. Merlot, the OER repository, has an online, peer-reviewed journal focusing on the use of web-based resources in higher education. The Journal of Online Teaching and Learning (JOLT), is open-access and published quarterly. The article, "Instructor-Made Videos as a Learner Scaffolding Tool," can be found in the December 2012 issue (Vol. 8, No. 4).

For this article, the authors specifically focus on the use of instructor-made videos for online courses, but I believe their findings can be applied to hybrid and traditional courses as well. As a basis for their research, they cite several benefits and disadvantages of the use of videos as an online learning tool. On the positive side, they note that 38%  of adult internet users report watching educational videos online, and that number is expected to rise over the next few years. In addition, many learners can attend to video for longer than other resources, and instructional videos allow users to control the learning environment - pausing, rewinding, and replaying content as much or as little as they wish. Also, the visual and auditory nature of video leads to more effective encoding of information. Finally, videos can now be accessed on a wide range of devices, which is especially convenient for students who squeeze studying into work breaks, bus rides, etc.

On the negative side, many instructor-produced videos are of poor quality because they are produced with low-end equipment. Students may experience connection or playback issues. Recordings of classroom lectures and demonstrations may include class business, downtime, etc. that viewers either need to sit through or try to fast-forward through. Many professionally produced videos are long, don't align with course objectives or content standards, or may spend too much time on basic concepts rather than more problematic concepts. 

For this study, instructors of three online college courses - a business course, a chemistry course, and a math course - created a series of short (10 minutes or less) videos on topics that the instructors knew to be commonly problematic for students. Instructors used the videos to model decision-making and thinking patterns, recommend tools and resources for students, and demonstrate procedures. At the end of the term students were asked to complete an online survey about the helpfulness of the videos.

About a third of the students registered in the courses eventually completed the online survey, and of the 32 who responded, 30 students rated the videos as a "favorable" or "very favorable" resource. (Two students chose "neutral.") Students reported liking that the videos were tailored to their specific needs. Many commented that seeing the instructor in the video was important for several reasons - first, it helped them feel connected to the instructor and the class, and second, they felt that being able to see the instructor's facial expressions and gestures helped them process the information and made the videos more like a one-on-one discussion. Surprisingly, students were split on the importance of video length. While the authors had predicted that students would prefer short videos, about half of the respondents stated that they were open to longer videos (up to 30-40 minutes) as long as the concepts were clearly presented. Finally, a few students did state that while the videos were helpful, they were not those students' preferred learning media.

Instructors involved in the study felt that they had greater involvement with students when they used the videos - one instructor reported receiving more emails from students in sections that watched the videos. Instructors also felt that the videos made their classes more interesting and helped hold students' attention. Instructors appreciated having a forum in which they could express their own opinions and thoughts on the other resources used in the class. Lastly, instructors did agree that creating a script or story-board for their videos was essential.

What interested me most about this article was the point about being able to see the instructor in the video. I've thought about this quite a bit since making my first videos. I had heard that it was a good idea to include a picture of yourself in your videos so that students can put a face to your voice, so I did include a little video clip of myself introducing the video, but as I was working on my second or third video, I began to feel disconnected from the material I was explaining. I worried that if I felt disconnected, students would also feel like they were learning from a disembodied voice. Also, I realized how often I use pointing and other gestures in my teaching - especially with math - and while the screencast software does have a pointing tool, this doesn't always translate perfectly. I began to think that when I make my next set of videos, I should tape myself in front of a white board, explaining as I would in front of a classroom. Even though this is a little out of my comfort zone (I don't care for being video-recorded), I think it would better replicate the classroom experience and connect with students. The students responses quoted in this article really confirmed my belief, so I guess that's where I'm headed with my next videos.