On the 26th and 27th of September I was privileged enough to attend the first South African/African Gafesummit in Cape Town. Held at Parklands College (Thanks Guys, awesome conference) the conference was Google exemplified!
Parklands and Schoolnetsa invited the http://www.edtechteam.com/ to present the conference and the team blew us away with their knowledge and energy, considering many of them flew in from all over the world I am sure that energy was hard to find.
The sheer amount of learning made this conference, in my opinion, the best conference I have been to this year.
So what did I take away form the conference besides some new people to follow on twitter (@followmolly, @scubagirl812, @rushtonh and @markwagner among many others) and Google+? Well, lets try narrow it down to 10, starting with some observations and then some cool tech:
1) Amazing Video's
In every presentation there was a video to make you think! What it brought home was the power of a video used in the right place at the right time. As teacher we tend to see you tube as a time waster (and it can be, I just spent 10 minutes following recommended links) but to our students it allows entry to a world of knowledge. 2) Sheer Enthusiasm! Over the 2 days of the conference there wasn't a moment where the teachers were not talking, connecting, sharing ideas or just plain whooping at new ideas and technology that just blew us away. 3) Boomerang ...and it's pal The Email Game, both brilliant and both so simple. If you haven't already you really need to check them out! The goal is inbox zero (9000 odd to go, wish me luck). (boomeranggmail.com) 4) 45 tips for Google Apps for Education A short presentation by mark Garrison that gave so many new ideas that I had to read it over and over. 5)Flubaroo Self marking Google forms, what could be better. Well, emailing the results automatically at the same time!! 6) Maps Engine Lite Customised maps of anything on earth. @scubagirl812 showed us how to bring Google Maps to life. Although I had heard and seen this before it was brilliant to see how much could be done. This session was so inspiring that you could nearly hear the new teaching idea's popping into people's heads. 7) Productivity Dozens of tips and tricks provided by @markwagner to make Google Apps work faster for you (and other program's as well). I especially liked my introduction to AlternativeTo.net which gives, you won't believe it, alternatives to favourite pieces of software for various platforms. 8) http://search.creativecommons.org/
Thanks to @rushtonH for this, all creative commons resources all the time! This search engine along with the Google reference tool that can be switched on in Google Doc (Tools --> Research) are very powerful for everyone who is concerned about plagiarism, did anyone say Matric?
9) Customisation
What I was most reminded of during the conference is just how flexible Google is. It is, at heart, designed to try and make every individuals life easier. Tell it how you like to do things and it just does them. Even better, Google is starting to figure out things for you. The seamless integration across technologies and platforms is just brilliant.
10) The Demo Slam
Great staff development tool, each teacher presents an idea for 3 minutes. Best is it can even be used outside of 'tech' and just to blast several idea's at one sitting. I loved it and well done to @KShermanTweets for the outstanding win. Big applause by the partisan local crowd.
All in all this was a brilliant experience. What struck me most (even above the 10 things I took from the conference) was just how easy it is to customise Google for each user's needs. Every teacher, IT guy and 'other' at the conference could probably write a completely different but just as relevant and exciting '10 things' list. If you do please let me know about it, i would love to read it!
The rise of technology in the classroom has given impetus to two major trends in the average or above average (depending on your point of view) classroom or lesson.
The question is how to make this change effective?
At a recent conference I (briefly) presented a talk on flipping and blending the classroom, during the preparation for that talk I did a bit of research on the exact definitions of the two models. The conclusion of most of the sites that I visited was that the change must happen and is happening in many schools and tertiary institutions but that there is not really a common consensus on what both models are or how best to use them.
Picture from Wikipedia
Lets start by looking at the blended classroom:
This type of classroom combines 3 types of learning to try and achieve a model of learning that allows different types of learners to access information in a way that they are comfortable with. In other words, "The goal of a blended approach is to join the best aspects of both face to face and online instruction. Classroom time can be used to engage students in advanced interactive experiences."(http://weblearning.psu.edu). It further allows students to access information at their own convenience and at their own pace.
To help explain I found a great little video.
I, personally, love the idea of a blended learning model and see many benefits for students in an institution that has the scope to provide the material in various ways. The video describes it as a cheaper way to educate people but that, i would guess, depends on the quantity of people who access the material (UNISA are you reading this!)
And then the Flipped classroom:
I love this explanation! Watch it and you will understand why I am not going to say any more. PS I don't just use video's to explain things in my classroom.
The flipped classroom lets the students gain 'content' at home and then arrive at school to develop that knowledge through teacher facilitation.
In other words we take the cognitive development aspect of learning out of the parents hands and put it back in the hands of the people who are trained to do it. This might also, hopefully, lead to a recognition of the true skill of an educator. Their ability to engage a disparate group of kids and make them want to learn.
Finally the question must be: How do we use these models to enhance learning in our own classrooms?
Some teachers who have been doing this longer than me gave the following tips (Commentary by me):
(http://campustechnology.com/articles/2013/01/23/6-expert-tips-for-flipping-the-classroom.aspx)
1) Use existing technology to ease faculty and students into a flipped mindset.
Don't expect every teacher to be immediately comfortable with using either of the models. Encourage then to try it in a controlled way. Baby steps...
2) Be up front with your expectations.
The more honest you are the more successful the change will be. Use examples to show how it works and, maybe most importantly, let them know that it won't work properly every time!
3) Step aside and allow students to learn from each other.
Probably the toughest part of the process for the 'traditional' teacher. We need to step back and allow the learners develop their own knowledge through debate, discussion and reflection with their peers. There are great examples of teachers who have managed this and seen incredible success in transforming the way the kids approach their lessons. We, as teachers, need to step aside and allow the students to make the decision on how to approach the application parts of learning.
4) Assess students' understanding of pre-class assignments to make the best use of class time.
Use quizzes that are completed at home (we use Edmodo at our school) to lead you in how to approach the content in the classroom. There is still space for a lecture now and again, especially for more complicated idea's, however don't expect the parents to have to develop the understanding of a topic. That is the teachers job.
5) Set a specific target for the flip.
Make sure the pedagogy is in place to enhance the learning experience, use the correct technology to support that pedagogy and finally, let the student decide which part of that technology suits them best.
Use critical thinking along with Blooms taxonomy to help plan a 'flipping' route for your own classroom.
6) Build assessments that complement the flipped model.
The traditional assessments have their place but it is important to allow other, more cooperative ways of assessing the development of knowledge. Use sets of questions that can be answered in pairs or groups. Use online quizzes and allow Google (research skills are vital). Use a debate. Make something up that suits you.
The most important thing is to use the technology available to enhance and drive your teaching. Do not use the technology for technologies sake but rather use it to transform the way you teach!
