Ideas and Tools for Ed Tech Leaders I Reprinted from may 2013 Flipped How to do it the right way “We wanted to manage and improve the wireless infrastructure to support not just flipped classrooms, but what we need in the future. What we pick has to be highly scalable and future proofed to serve us for teaching and learning and for Common Core assessments. The network [has] to provide fair access to learning resources, no matter what the age of the device a teacher or student uses.” - Charles Thacker | Director of Technology | Farmington Municipal Schools. (See page 4) toolS & tipS FoR the Flipped claSSrooM By ellen Ullman 38 | May 2 013 | w w w . t e c h l e a r n i n g . c o m 1 T hese days many teachers are thinking about flipping their classrooms. in case you’ve been offline for the last year, flipping a class means taking normal classroom activities, such as lectures or demonstrations, and substituting them for activities that are typically done outside of the classroom. By providing classroom instructions via a podcast or video, teachers allow students to absorb the material in their own time frame. according to teachers who have successfully adopted a flipped classroom format, the best part of the process is devoting more time to deeper discussions, small-group projects, and one-onone interventions. Here are the stories of four teachers who’ve flipped over flipping. mAth For Stacey roshan, flipping her classroom was toolS She uSeS one way to reduce anxiety. “i started flipping my aP calculus class because there was so much content to get 4camtasia Studio by through,” says roshan, who teaches at the Bullis School Techsmith in Maryland. “My lectures had so much new material. 4 Fujitsu tablet Students would wildly take notes, go home, digest it, pc and then try to do homework.” rather than forcing her students to struggle at home, roshan began recording Sample VIdeoS her lectures. Now she answers questions in class while students tackle assignments. if necessary, she can work one on one with a student, something she never had the opportunity to do before flipping her classroom. aP scores have also improved in roshan’s classroom. She believes it’s because students review the videos as needed. She enjoys flipping, but cautions that it requires students to be independent. “it’s an excellent growth opportunity, but the student has to be willing to put in the time and be an active participant in the learning. Some kids listen, do a little homework, and get by. that won’t cut it in the flipped classroom.” Still the benefits outweigh any negatives. “it’s more effort to set up a flipped classroom, but it makes more sense and you’re teaching them how to be a good student.” ILLUSTRATION BY BRI hERMANSON since she flipped her class, Roshan spends time helping students work through challenging calculus problems. www.techlearning.com | M ay 2 01 3 | 39 2 advertorial Flipping Classrooms on a 21st Century Network Flipping Classrooms: what it is, how it works, why it is effective for 21st century learning Flipping classrooms is a model of teaching and learning that inverts the traditional structure of teachercentered instruction in class and homework at home. The advantage for students is that they can watch an explanation and demonstration of a concept on their computers at their convenience and use classroom time to hone their skills and apply learning under the guidance of their teacher and fellow students. Teachers can differentiate instruction more easily and students can learn at their own pace and take responsibility for their learning. Profile: Farmington Municipal Schools, Farmington, NM • How Linda Gutierrez, 6th Grade Math Teacher at Heights Middle School in Farmington uses flipped classrooms for improved student engagement and achievement. • How Charles Thacker, Director of Technology in Farmington selected a wireless network to support digital curriculum delivery. Linda Gutierrez 6th Grade Math Teacher Heights Middle School How has your teaching changed? Six years ago my classroom was teacher-centered and I taught all content. I used a lot of time to prepare and gather resources, and I couldn’t differentiate instruction to match diverse learning needs. The result was mediocre test scores. Today my classroom is student-centered with little direct instruction, just quick reviews of content and I have a huge amount of resources. It saves me time and now it is easy to differentiate and pinpoint a diagnosis of student weaknesses and remediate. The result is better student engagement and better test scores. For me it is a paradigm shift from being the “sage on the stage” to being a “guide on the side.” What was the catalyst for you to move to a flipped classroom? 1:1 was the first catalyst. All of us are trying to find ways to implement the wonderful technology we have. I was intrigued by the “flipped classroom” idea. After watching Bob Sun’s video “The Power of Math,” I became convinced that my students would do better if I could guarantee them practice time in class. How do you deal with students who may not have the Internet at home? I encourage the students who do not have Internet in their homes to find free Wi-Fi and use it when they have a chance. There are local companies that provide discounts to students or families in need. For those who absolutely cannot find a Wi-Fi to use, I offer them time after school to play catch-up. Flipped classrooms don’t necessarily require access to online resources at home if we can save them to the local device for off-network access. Today my classroom is student-centered with little direct instruction, just quick reviews of content and I have a huge amount of resources…For me it is a paradigm shift from being the “sage on the stage” to being a “guide on the side.” How do you handle kids moving at their own pace and not tuning out? I use a preferential seating policy to keep a close eye on those who aren’t getting it and I also provide more support. But, most students do participate. Even my most reluctant learners work hard because they really enjoy the immediate feedback, the gaming aspect, and all of the little “rewards” the websites offer. Most kids show understanding of what we are learning, so their grades are better than in past years. I think this boost in confidence has helped to keep some of those kids more motivated. How do you do testing? Is it online? I currently use Discovery Education and its test banks. I give assessments based on a cluster of standards from the Common Core. After the assessment, the program lets me assign videos 3 advertorial that the students can watch. I don’t require those, but many students choose to watch them to try to bolster their understanding. After more practice, the students who weren’t proficient get another chance at the assessment. How has the ability to access online resources and videos easily out of class impacted learning in your classroom? For me, flipping my classroom so instruction is done outside of class is part of the paradigm shift away from our factory model. It is about using technology to differentiate for each student. It is about the students, not me, becoming consumers and creators of their own knowledge. It is teaching them to learn how to learn on their own. And it is about improved student understanding of mathematics. The result has promoted student improvement and increased student engagement, It affects all students, especially those who used to not do well in math; now they are excited and show improvement in math skills. This is especially meaningful in a high poverty, highly diverse school district with students whose math confidence was low. Changing the way we teach and learn makes such a difference. Charles Thacker Director of Technology Famington Municipal Schools What program drives flipped classrooms in your district? The Farmington Learning Initiative (FLI) is the primary strategy for improving student achievement through the use of technology. The FLI provides every secondary student with a laptop and provides teachers with technology equipment and professional development to integrate technology into their curriculum. They are introduced to the Flipped Classroom model so they can provide students with opportunities to demonstrate learning using technology and acquire skills to access, synthesize, analyze and leverage information. The result is greater engagement, learning and achievement. How does the district fund technology? This is a large project and funding is drawn from a variety of sources. It should be noted that all of these sources are specifically earmarked for the purchase of educational technology, instructional materials, or professional development. The ease of management and deployment has reduced the amount of user complaints and technology requests related to wireless access by approximately 90% over the prior wireless network. Funding resources include: • Educational Technology Fund • Educational Technology Equipment Act • Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) • Instructional Materials state funds • Community Partnerships • Other Sources; grants from state, federal, and private sources What were the needs and challenges for wireless in the district? We wanted to manage and improve the wireless infrastructure to support not just flipped classrooms, but what we need in the future. What we pick has to be highly scalable and future proofed to serve us for teaching and learning and for Common Core assessments. The network had to provide fair access to learning resources, no matter what the age of the device a teacher or student uses. Specifically, our needs were to increase the number of mobile/ laptop clients; provide the connectivity required in locations that are difficult to cable; guarantee Anytime, Anywhere Access; have the ability to connect more clients without additional costs of cabling, and increase the use of wireless only clients such as handhelds and iPads. The challenges we faced included supporting high density of clients per AP and multiple wireless protocols; providing high reliability and high throughput, and making sure it was easy to manage and easy to grow or modify quickly. What does your wireless solution look like? Our live environment tests identified Meru Networks as an excellent solution for our specific needs. The ability to support multiple wireless protocols with no degradation of service due to older wireless clients as well as the single channel model that removes co-channel interference and the need to carefully plan access point channels and placements were key factors in our selection of Meru Networks. The ease of management and deployment has reduced the amount of user complaints and technology requests related to wireless access by approximately 90% over the prior wireless network. For more information: Watch the Webinar on demand and download the slides for full list of resources. www.merunetworks.com/FCwebinar Visit the education section of Meru’s web site: http://www.merunetworks.com/industries/education.html 4 toolS & tipS FoR the Flipped claSSrooM science In Gudenrath’s flipped English class, students try to find quotes to support their individual thesis statements. english lAnguAge Arts “i flip all the redundant materials that are ‘time suckers’—like how to properly format your paper in MLa style,” says april gudenrath, who teaches english at discovery Canyon High School in Colorado. She also records her traditional lectures, including historical backgrounds, author biographies, themes, and toolS She uSeS motifs from the works that she assigns to her 4camtasia students. thanks to flipping, gudenrath can 4Jing use class time for “amazing discussions about literature and in-class writing workshops that 4teachem i have never had time for before.” to flip her 4youTube classroom, gudenrath relies on the following four technology products: Camtasia, youtube, Sample VIdeoS teachem, and Jing. She uses Camtasia to record 5- to 10-minute videos about her lectures, and then she exports the videos to youtube or teachem, a site that lets her upload videos, add flash cards, and review questions. gudenrath also uses Jing to record feedback on her students’ writing. For gudenrath, time is the biggest challenge to delivering a flipped classroom. as she says, “Flipping your classroom takes a constant level of engagement that can be very tiring because of the research and content that you have to create prior to the lesson itself. However, it is worth it.” Since she started flipping, gudenrath notes that she’s seen positive changes in her students. “i have seen huge improvements in engagement and test scores in both reading and writing on state, national, and international tests.” 42 | May 2 013 | w w w . t e c h l e a r n i n g . c o m Marc Seigel eases into a flipped format toolS he uSeS by starting with teacher-led instruction 4camtasia and transitioning into learning that occurs outside of class. as the first semester 4google docs progresses, he assigns one or two videos 4lenovo tablet per unit as homework. “Many of the early pc videos (youtu.be/yQP4UJhNn0i) are 4Moodle used more as ‘do now’ activities to spark 4youTube discussion rather than as instruction,” says the college-prep and honors chemistry teacher at Middletown High School South in Sample VIdeoS New Jersey. “they help students realize that videos can be for learning rather than just for entertainment.” when he started flipping, Seigel didn’t realize how much extra time he’d have in class every day. the activities he previously used were not as effective because they were designed around the idea that he would control the pace. today, every unit contains a guided-inquiry activity, assessments that involve engaging in a conversation with classmates and the teacher, and critical-thinking questions in labs that require an internet search to produce more complete answers. “the biggest challenge i face every year is getting the students accustomed to thinking for themselves. often i hear, ‘Can’t you just tell me what to do?’ or ‘Can’t you just lecture today? i don’t feel like thinking.’ Thanks to flipping, siegel’s science students spend quality class time working on labs. 5 toolS & tipS FoR the Flipped claSSrooM EQ Objectives Activity Liquid, Solids, Solutions How would the properties of solutions change if water was not bent? 1. Explain how to make a solution based on its intended concentration. 2. Determine the change in freezing point and boiling point of a solvent after the addition of a solute. 3. Explain how solubility can be effected based on observations of chemical reactions. 4. Explain how intermolecular forces determine the properties of a solution. Assignment Name “Due Date” Grade Podcast Liquids/Solids, Heating & Cooling Curves, Solutions --No Molarity/Molality conversions podcast HW The Necessary Tools charles Thacker, director of technology Signature None Solutions HW (1, 2) required 3/15 / 20 Quiz Solutions Quiz 1 (1,2) required 3/11 / 5 Quiz Solutions Quiz 2 (1,2) required 3/13 / 5 Worksheet Heating/Cooling Curve Worksheet (4) 3/7 / 21 Lab Heating and Cooling Curve Lab (4) required 3/7 / 20 table access to technology you have to Lab Introduction to Solution Making (1) required 3/11 / 30 facilitate it through Byod, 1:1, or a com- Lab Solubility and Temperature (1,3,4) required 3/19 / 45 Review Sheet Review Sheet—Solutions 1 & 2 (1,2,4) Ongoing None bination. We chose to provide the equip- Review Sheet MOCK Liquid, Solids and Solutions Test (1,2,3,4) Ongoing None Test Liquids, Solids, Solutions Test (1,2,4) required 3/21 / 100 whose teachers are flipping their classes: if you expect all students to have equi- ment to make sure everyone has the same hardware and software. it simplifies our support, filters content automatically, and Powdered drink modification (Quiz)—Rewrite the procedure for making Kool-aid (or any other powdered drink mix) so that instead of making a solution based on total volume (Molarity) it creates a solution based on total volume of water added (Molality). New procedure must create a solution of equal concentration as what is currently on the package. (1) ensures security. Make sure teachers are comfortable using the technology. you need to do pd to Bulletin Board (HW)—Create an instructional bulletin board explaining concepts from Liquids, Solids, and Solutions. Should have graphs and calculations explaining basic concepts as well as pictures from lab experiments. Board should be creative and eye-catching as well as interactive for the viewer. (1,2,3,4) discuss the shift in education. ideally, you Kool-Aid Ice-Pops (Quiz)—Write a procedure for making Kool-Aid ice pops (or any other powdered drink mix). Solution must be made following the directions on the back of the package. Include, at the end, the calculations to show the temperature at which the solution would need to be at in order to freeze. (1,2,4) technology and curriculum people. our an example of the assignment charts siegel uses for each unit in his flipped science classes. Because students have been trained to work at the pace the teacher sets, it takes time for them to be comfortable learning in an alternative environment.” professionAl Development (pD) Kristin daniels and wayne Feller are elementary technology and innovation coaches at Stillwater area (MN) Public Schools. they wanted to increase the effectiveness of technology Pd and the impact of technology in their teachers’ classrooms, so they flipped the Pd. “we create a variety of digital resources for our teachers, ranging from how-to videos to project-showcase videos we use to share ideas and final products with teachers across the district,” says daniels. “the goal is to provide teachers with enough information so that we can spend face-to-face time working through the details of implementing classroom projects instead of lower-level tech skills teachers can learn outside of our time together.” thanks to flipped Pd, daniels and Feller have created individual learning plans for every teacher (bit.ly/mnpdflip), which they believe are producing better results than the traditional, large-group Pd previously in place. “teachers are more invested because the content and learning is theirs. everything we do with them is personalized for their interest and skill level,” says daniels. although she admits her biggest challenge is getting the teachers to watch the videos, she knows that increasing technology skill and comprehension is critical to the success of the diy teacher. Find out more at www.flippedpd.org. 100208 offers the following advice to districts Possible Alternate Assignments: Student Designed Project (TBD)--Propose a project of your own design. It can be anything as long as you get it approved first. What type of assignment it can replace will depend on the nature of the project. 44 for Farmington (nM) Municipal Schools, Ongoing should have a person to work with the district provides tech coaches. our teachers use different methods to provide videos. Some teachers use their MacBook pro laptops to record their own content. Some use materials from Khan academy and other resources, while many do both. We have lots of collabora- toolS they uSe tion tools on our network or they can use 4camtasia outside services. 4explain everything What they uSe 4ipads 4 edsby 4Screencast-oMatic 4 Firstclass Unified communications 4Snagit 4 ilife Sample VIdeoS 4 garageBand 4 iMovie 4 iTunes 4 MacBooks/MacBook air/ MacBook pro laptops 4 Meru Wireless lan 4 pages, Keynote, numbers 4 powerSchool 4 QuickTime Posted with permission from the May 2013 issue of Tech & Learning ® www.techlearning.com. Copyright 2013, New Bay Media, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information on the use of this content, contact Wright’s Media at 877-652-5295 | M ay 2 013 | w w w . t e c h l e a r n i n g . c o m 6 Today, Sasha is learning to wait. Waiting is not learning. Laptops, tablets and smart phones have become today’s learning tools. But when they all hit your wireless network at once, learning can come to a stop. Meru Networks can help. Proven in thousands of schools around the world, Meru education-grade Wi-Fi supports uninterrupted learning, whenever and wherever you are. Fast, reliable, flexible, scalable. Easy to install, centrally manage, and inexpensive to own. Contact a Meru representative today: [email protected] • (877)952-6725 © 2013 Meru Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Meru Networks is a registered trademark of Meru Networks, Inc. Resources to help you flip your classroom: • Meru Wi-Fi Supports Schools’ New Flipped Classrooms video www.merunetworks.com/FCvideo • School Wi-Fi Network Connects 9,000 Laptops at Farmington Municipal Schools customer testimonial www.merunetworks.com/farmington www.merunetworks.com