I've worked pretty hard this summer putting together math (and a few science) video lessons to flip the instruction in those subjects. No, I'm not the Khan, but I'm reasonably pleased, at least for now, with how they turned out.
Now what?
They're cool and all, but how do I know who did and didn't watch? Don't tell me to get the parents to sign for it. I sign for stuff A.J. says he did pretty regularly, without backchecking it. Every once in a great while, when he was in elementary school, I'd sign for reading that never happened. We were busy; we'll make up for it this weekend. Really.
I've solved most of that by requiring examples and notes in the math notebook, but that doesn't mean the kid didn't just copy from someone else, and while that's not the end of the world, copying a notebook and missing a whole lesson is a bigger deal than copying the answers for a random worksheet.
Compound that with this - Video lessons aren't meant to teach to mastery; they're to prepare kids for the doing that will get them to mastery. Still, how will I know when I've left them completely clueless? Shouldn't I know that before the math session starts? I'd think so...
So I was in a bit of a quandry. Then I went to camp.
At EdCamp Forth Worth, Texas, Todd Nesloney, @TechNinjaTodd on Twitter and his sidekick @TechNinjaStacey (Yes, you should follow them.) taught a session on flipped classrooms. They introduced us to the platform they use, Sophia. (Cue sunshine parting the clouds and angels' singing.)
You will find this free tool here at sophia.org It allows me to integrate my video lesson, links to more practice, more audio or video files, a multiple-question quiz, and more on one screen. It also gives me a stats page so I know who watched, for how long, and how he or she did on the attached quiz, if I made one. It also runs on a Sophia screen, so even though the video is on YouTube, a kid isn't technically on YouTube while watching, which may make parents less scared of the whole thing.
I couldn't find a video about Sophia's teacher features, so I slapped this one together:
Now what?
They're cool and all, but how do I know who did and didn't watch? Don't tell me to get the parents to sign for it. I sign for stuff A.J. says he did pretty regularly, without backchecking it. Every once in a great while, when he was in elementary school, I'd sign for reading that never happened. We were busy; we'll make up for it this weekend. Really.
I've solved most of that by requiring examples and notes in the math notebook, but that doesn't mean the kid didn't just copy from someone else, and while that's not the end of the world, copying a notebook and missing a whole lesson is a bigger deal than copying the answers for a random worksheet.
Compound that with this - Video lessons aren't meant to teach to mastery; they're to prepare kids for the doing that will get them to mastery. Still, how will I know when I've left them completely clueless? Shouldn't I know that before the math session starts? I'd think so...
So I was in a bit of a quandry. Then I went to camp.
At EdCamp Forth Worth, Texas, Todd Nesloney, @TechNinjaTodd on Twitter and his sidekick @TechNinjaStacey (Yes, you should follow them.) taught a session on flipped classrooms. They introduced us to the platform they use, Sophia. (Cue sunshine parting the clouds and angels' singing.)
You will find this free tool here at sophia.org It allows me to integrate my video lesson, links to more practice, more audio or video files, a multiple-question quiz, and more on one screen. It also gives me a stats page so I know who watched, for how long, and how he or she did on the attached quiz, if I made one. It also runs on a Sophia screen, so even though the video is on YouTube, a kid isn't technically on YouTube while watching, which may make parents less scared of the whole thing.
I couldn't find a video about Sophia's teacher features, so I slapped this one together:
I'm relieved! I was starting to feel like I was pulling at straws, but now everything feels tied together.
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