Flipped Classrooms

             A flipped classroom is a classroom which the students learn away from school and put the learning into practice in the classroom. The teacher plans lessons for the students to complete at home. This may be a video of the teacher instructing, an interactive program, or a workbook to follow. The students are responsible for completing this at home and the next class day, they will practice what they have learned at school. This is flipped because it moves the learning to home and the practice to school. The purpose is for the teacher to be able to monitor the practice of the students. This allows her to monitor the students and see where they are growing and handle misconceptions. The teacher is able to be more hands on with the students as they practice the skill they have learned on their own. Students are also held accountable for their learning. They will not be able to do the classwork had they not done the learning at home. It will only take one or two times of being unprepared for them to realize that it is important.

            A flipped classroom setting takes creativity on the teacher’s part. She must come up with a lesson that is accessible to all students and that each student is capable of doing on their own. The lesson must be created with the student in mind and creatively put together. While planning, the teacher may have to create a video of her teaching the lesson, working problems, and going through an interactive program. This is challenging for the teacher to complete, forcing them to be creative.

            Students must collaborate with one another outside of class in order to understand things they are having trouble with. The teacher will facilitate that by encouraging the students to participate in a chat with one another about the lessons as they are learning them. They will also collaborate in class as they work the problems.

            Critical thinking is facilitated in the flipped classroom by asking the students to think through the lessons on their own. They are being asked to work on their own to figure out and think through the lessons. They must come up with methods that work for them while learning. They will adapt to the lessons but are being challenged to critically think about it on their own.

            The students and teacher must communicate in the flipped classroom. If the student is not understanding something, the teacher must be aware of it. The student should feel like there is an open line of communication between the teacher and the student. If there are misconceptions or problems, communication is the key to success in a flipped classroom.

Student-Led Conferences and Digital Portfolios

            Student-led conferences are on the rise right now. When a student is leading their parent teacher conference, they are in charge of telling the parent about their work and growth in the classroom. What an amazing opportunity for the parents to see their students talk about their learning! The students are in charge of their conference, not the teachers! Some teachers use digital portfolios to aid in this process for the students and parents. The students add to their portfolio while they complete tasks in class. Once it is time for the meeting, the students will pull this portfolio out and allow their parent to view everything they have completed. The parent is able to get an accurate picture of the student’s growth from their own work!

            Student-led conferences promote creativity by allowing the students to come up with what goes into their digital portfolios. They are able to determine what goes into the portfolio and how the conference will be conducted. The student has full control of what happens and how it happens allowing them to be creative with the process. The parents are also able to view the student’s creativity through the portfolio and the span of the interview. The parents leave the conference feeling amazed at their child and their student and the creativity they showed!

            Collaboration is evident in student-led conferences. The students and their teacher must collaborate and communicate while getting ready for the conference. The teacher proofs all that the student has put together and they must communicate with them to guide their plans. The students are in full control of the conference, but the teacher assists with the planning of it. They collaborate with one another to ensure that the conference is planned. The students are also given time to collaborate with one another. They can bounce ideas off of one another and gain more information for planning their own portfolio and conference. This generally will work more effectively in older students.

            The students must critically think while completing the tasks for the portfolio. They are pushed to have the end in mind when completing them and this requires them to dig deep and think critically while completing them. They must think outside of the portfolio and plan while completing the assignments.

            Student-Led conferences are the best way for a parent to get an accurate picture of the student’s growth and the student’s growing independence. The students use the digital portfolios to wow their parents and teachers!

Digital Storytelling

Digital Storytelling was another mode of Instructional Technology we learned about. This technology gives the teachers the ability to create a story about anything they choose- digitally. This is wonderful for the special needs students in the classroom. These students need help with transitioning from one phase to another, doctors’ appointments, things out of the norm, and any new experience.  Digital storytelling is a way for teachers to ease these students into comfort confidence in their new experiences. Digital storytelling is also a great opportunity for the typical students in the classroom. They are able to create something all their own to show their learning in the classroom.

Students are asked to be creative when using digital storytelling to present understanding to the class. They would be asked to create a story using an app that shows their learning of the subject being taught. For example, the student would create digital story about a book they were asked to read in class. They may use an app such as Little Bird Tales to voice record themselves talking about the certain book or retelling it. This is a way for the students to get creative with the activity and gain confidence and ease presenting. They are able to make the presentation and story their own and it is up to their creativity to do something wonderful with it!

Students collaborate while creating a digital story by working with one another to create a script or a plan for the story. They must work together to plan what to do and what information to include. Collaboration is key in this method. Students are given a well of information to draw from and asked to work with their peers in order to come up with the most important parts of that information! They also have to collaborate with the teacher while doing the story. They will need help from the teacher about what information to include and how they need to organize it within their digital story.

Critical thinking is also key for digital storytelling. Students have to think deep enough to create a story that will help their classmates understand the material being covered. Whether that be a book reflection or a digital story about a life in a time period. The students are asked to give their perspective of the story or to look at it from another character’s point of view. This requires them to put themselves into the character’s place which requires critical thinking. They must use their judgement to create the story.

Communication is facilitated through digital storytelling because when used in certain ways, it carries a student through something difficult for them. The student is able to see you communicating through the story to them. Digital stories are also a way for students to communicate with us. The students who have disabilities and are nonverbal could benefit from digital stories. They could use pre-made stories to tell us how they feel or what they need. This could help them with anxiety and break the communication barrier between these students and their teachers!