Tech tools are dope! Exploring new tools to create videos, lessons, assessments is exciting. I feel as if somebody unlocked a drawer filled with a lot of cool stuff and the more you play with one item, the more you want to play with others. I only wish my students approached the tools with this kind of attitude. I get it though, learning a new app, website or tool is different and if you are not in the right state of mind, different can be frustrating, irritating and annoying. The more tools that are weaved in and out of our lessons, the more students gain confidence and the more their skills with being tech flexible (transliteracy) emerge.
In the flipped classroom lesson, I knew I wanted students to preview content for our lesson on solving equations with fractions using Fraction Busters (yes, it is semi-algorithmic but a VERY useful tool nonetheless). Also, instead of completing a large problem set of fraction-containing equations, giving an opportunity for students to go deep with one equation allows students to write about each step and really start to break down why Fraction Busters works. The process went down like this. I first created a digital whiteboard video using AWWAPP (free) but after reading Jon Bergmann's writing in Flipped Classroom 101, I knew I had to do something more than just have students watch a video of me solving/explaining the use of Fraction Busters. EdPuzzle provided the technology for questions to be inserted during the video which I believe will keep the viewers engaged and focused on the specific aspects of the video that are important. As students came into class, the information from the video was then put into question form within our daily Padlet writing. This gave me a quick understanding of how students were thinking about multiplying whole numbers by fractions (yes, high schoolers need reminders of this) and the process of using Fraction Busters. The application portion of the skill came in the form of a task card created using Google Docs (hyperdoc) that ended in students creating a digital poster to post to our class Padlet as we concluded with a digital gallery walk to look at each others work. This process worked well, mostly. There is definitely (in my experience) a push against using videos to understand. Quite a few students still wanted to be guided directly through the process. When this situation arose, I gave my spiel, it went something like this, "The great thing about the video, created by yours truly allows you to have the flexibility to pause and think, go back to understand or skip it all together if you already understand. I wouldn't want to bore you with explaining something you already understand". Most students get his reasoning and will give the video another shot. If the students still have questions, I probe for specific questions on the process rather than just reexplaining what was in the video. Side track. Our upcoming unit involves having students create a digital portfolio using Weebly (much like we are doing in the Touro program) and we plan on using blogging as a means of getting students to write and critically think about relevant issues surrounding their community and selves. While scanning Start a Reading Revolution: Flip your Classroom with Blogs, I couldn't agree more with Brian Sztabnik about allowing students to write in their own voice to gain, as well as show understanding. I really have high hopes for this end of the year unit and like always I will blog about it when it happens.
1 Comment
Emily Feil
4/17/2018 03:32:57 pm
I had not thought of using EdPuzzle with a video I created myself. This is brilliant! It allows you to control the content, so you know students are learning the strategies you're emphasizing. More importantly, because it is your voice, students are positive you really want them to know this material. When I played with EdPuzzle, I only worked with an existing video. The process of snipping just the two portions that were relevant to my lesson was way more time consuming than recording my own screencast would have been. Thanks for opening my thinking to a new way of using this tool.
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AuthorHello, I'm Joe. Welcome to writings about my thought process throughout the journey of Touro's Innovative Learning Graduate Program. Archives
July 2018
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