Last week I was able to be a part of the 4th annual Innovation Institute in Springdale, Arkansas. I have been fortunate enough to be a part of the planning committee for this event and present at it every year. This year, we invited the Arkansas Commissioner of Education, Johnny Key, to come and give a short speech before our keynote.
Key made the excellent point that "technology will never replace great teachers/teaching." A point that many of us have all made before, and agree with. Then he added, "However, it can extend your reach." An excellent point, and one that isn’t stated enough.
It is easy to get wrapped up in “cool EdTech” for the classroom. How often do we get wrapped up in “extending our reach” to our students through EdTech? To do this let’s make sure we are asking some of the following questions as we plan our lessons:
Does this app deliver content to my students in a way that can’t be done without it?
What 21st Century Skills (Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, or Communication) are my students engaged in while using the tech?
Is the feedback process to students and/or parents improved by using this app?
Does using this tech offer student voice and choice opportunities? (Such as sharing their learning with peers in and outside of the classroom)
Does the tech/app allow for anytime/anyplace learning?
We can use EdTech for efficiency and engagement, but our goals should be using EdTech to extend our reach as educators.
For the last 3 years or so, this blog has really focused on apps and tools to use in the classroom. While I feel that I've been able to help teachers through that aspect, I've decided that it's time to start to shift that focus. This shift isn't because I'm not proud of what this little blog was able to do, but more so the fact that I want to help teachers by offering more than just tools. I want to help teachers think about how technology effects their pedagogy, as well as the learning in their classrooms. I'm looking forward to this step in having my reader's grow along with me.
A large part of "flipping your classroom" involves giving students multiple opportunities to respond and interact with content that is being delivered to them. Students no longer have to wait until the next day to turn in a piece of homework, or have a conversation with students or teachers about their work.
There are many tools that this blog has shared over the last few years that explain that purpose. This post will highlight some of those tools, as well as introduce some others.
Video Interaction - EdPuzzle & PlayPosit
These two EdTech tools offer an interactive video instruction experience to students and teachers. PlayPosit (formally known as EduCannon) and EdPuzzle allow you to upload a video, or take one from YouTube, and add multiple question types. You can even prevent skipping ahead in the video, so the students must watch it in it's entirety.
Multiple Choice, Open Response, Voice Instruction, and Voice Response, are just a few of the options available in the tools. They both have subtle changes in what they offer, so it really is a matter of personal preference.
Video Response - Recap & FlipGrid
Let's Recap and FlipGrid allow teachers to ask their students questions and receive a video or audio response back from them.
I personally like to use Recap if it is just going to be a question that I want to keep in the classroom, no outside sharing. They have a newer feature called Journeys where you set up a lesson flow for students to follow and complete. Recap also allows you to use it's platform for free, without asking you for upgrades.
FlipGrid allows teachers and students to share globally. They can send out links to their grid globally, and have control of who can see responses. Conversations that start in one classroom can quickly get traction from all over the world. FlipGrid allows you to have one Grid for free with some options. To utilize the full experience of the tool, you do need a paid FlipGrid Classroom account. UPDATE 6/18/18 - Flipgrid is now completely free for all educators.
Gamification Interactivity - Quizziz
Similar to Kahoot, Quizziz is a game styled quiz experience for students. It allows them to compete with each other for the best score. What Quizziz has to offer is that it has a homework option. The teacher can assign a Quizziz between a specific window for the students to complete. It still allows students to compete by showing a leaderboard according to correct answers and time taken to complete. Teachers also have the ability to shuffle questions and answer options.
Other Online Response Tools
Here are links to two other previous articles from this blog on Classroom Response Tools:
It's the idea that most direct instruction moves from whole group class time to an individual space. This allows the classroom to become a place where the teacher is allowed to take on more of a facilitator of learning roll, as opposed to a lecturer. In part, you are setting up a piece of your classroom as an asynchronous learning environment. Meaning that you can and will learn outside of the classroom: at anytime, anyplace.
A misconception about the flipped classroom is that it is dependent on the teacher making all of the content in a classroom for students to read and view. If that were the case, you would simply be recreating a digital textbook. A flipped classroom involves communication from all stakeholders involved. In other words, teachers & students are involved in the creation process of a flipped classroom.
This post will be the first in a series that will focus on tools that both students and teachers can use for a Flipped Classroom.
Production Tools
Apple Clips
iPhone & iPad App
Clips is a newer app from Apple that I think of as a cross between the camera app and iMovie. It has some editing abilities, but keeps it very simple for users of all ages to quickly produce a short video.
A great bonus for Apple Clips, is that the app does real time subtitles as you are talking! Here is a clip that I made right when I learned about this feature
Ideas for flipping your classroom with Apple Clips are:
Sending out class announcements.
Showcasing Student Projects
Book Summeries
Field Trip Highlights and Learnings
Screencastify (Free & Pay Versions)
Google Chrome Extension
Screencastify is a simple yet powerful tool that anyone can use with just a few simple clicks. As the name implies, the Chrome Extension allows students and teachers to record and voice-over anything on their computer screen. The camera function also allows recording the presenter’s face in the corner of the screen to add personality to the clip. Along with its ease to use, Screencastify automatically saves all files directly to your Google Drive automatically. The extension is free for 10 minutes of recording time per clip, with 50 clips to record per month.
Ideas for flipping your classroom with Screencastify are:
Recording teacher lectures for students to review
Recording student presentations
Creating virtual tours with google maps or google earth
Making quick tutorials for multi step procedures students may need to follow to complete a task
Spark has a few creative options, but let's just focus on Spark Video.
Spark video allows teachers and students to put together videos through a "PowerPoint style" format. This is a nice feature because it will allow for voice over to be recorded on each individual side, as opposed to having to do an entire recording in one take.
Spark allows users to import video clips into a project, but is not set up for recording videos straight into it. In other words if a teacher or student wanted some video slides, they would need to record them with another program or camera and import them.
Spark will save all projects into its cloud system so you can access them from multiple devices.
Explain Everything(Trial then Pay)
Multi-device - Chrome OS & iOS Friendly
Explain Everything is a recordable whiteboard that teachers can use for their classrooms. The trick on a laptop will be trying to free draw with a mouse, but if you have a touch screen device with a stylus or a Smart/Promethean Board, you may be able to use it with ease.
Explain Everything is actually much more than a whiteboard app, it allows you to import documents, videos, and more and then annotate and record on top of them. You have unlimited pages to add to your project, and each page has unlimited zooming capabilities (both in and out). You may also record page by page in your presentation and pause in the middle of your recording.
Explain Everything also has it's own cloud storage where your projects can be accessed from multiple devices.
