tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75728704777380845652024-03-14T05:01:07.953-07:00Cogitations of Mr. CockrumTroy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-3808241070448139352015-02-01T20:11:00.004-08:002015-02-01T20:11:24.390-08:00New Blog AddressCertainly, you are welcome to read through my old blog posts here. However, I have moved to a new blog at <a href="http://flipyourglassroom.com/">flipyourglassroom.com</a>. Feel free to join me over there for my latest posts.<br />
Thanks!Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-68781821865197624002013-08-23T19:29:00.000-07:002013-08-23T19:29:44.707-07:00The Launch of our Chromebook NewscastA few years back, I was asked by my principal if we could start a morning newscast at my K-8 school. At the time, we didn't have the technical equipment possible to make it an easy process. It sat in the back of my mind for awhile not sure if it would ever become a reality.<br />
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This year, we launched TigerCast! A weekly newscast produced by our 7th & 8th graders. The show was made possible because this school year, we went 1:1 Chromebooks in our middle grades. With the ever increasing functionality of live Hangouts through YouTube/Google+ and each student having a Chromebook, I decided this was the year we could pull off a simple morning newscast.<br />
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Our first episode was put together by 5 students. We had 2 anchors, 2 reporters, and 1 director. The director was supposed to run the Hangout and did so brilliantly in our test runs. However, one of the other students didn't show up the morning we recorded, so our director became an anchor and I "directed" the first newscast. With the exception of me pushing a few buttons out of necessity, the newscast was entirely student produced.<br />
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Since I am my school's GAFE administrator, I was able to set up 4 different accounts that aren't student accounts and open those accounts up to Google+. The Hangout is run live from those 4 accounts so the students don't need to log in to their personal account. Their school GAFE account doesn't have access to Google+.<br />
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We ran 4 different Chromebooks (3 for cameras and 1 for "master control") and broadcast the newscast live to YouTube using the Hangout Broadcast feature. We used a Blue Snowball Mic on the main anchors and once I get a couple more mics, I will use those for the reporters as well. I then go in and edit some of the settings on the video and send to our teachers to show to their classes. Our principal emails it out to the parents as part of her weekly newsletter.<br />
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As we get better, we are going to make an intro animation, potentially play pre-recorded video packages using the video/screen share feature, and add an animated background as our technical skills improve. Below, you can see the first episode. I'm aware there are several mistakes, but as mentioned earlier, this was almost entirely student-produced and I like for them to learn "on the job." Feel free to follow along and see the progress my students make on TigerCast!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/GsjK6pCBXCw" width="560"></iframe>Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-50240736816454443682013-07-20T18:08:00.002-07:002013-07-20T18:08:38.590-07:00Newest 20% Project RevisionsLast year about this time, I blogged on the <a href="http://cogitationsofmrcockrum.blogspot.com/2012/08/last-year-i-did-20-project-experiement.html" target="_blank">revisions I made to my 20% Project</a> for the school year. This summer, I did some reflection and talked to other 20 Time teachers and made more revisions to how I am going to implement the project.<br />
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1. Specific Day for 20 Time<br />
At the end of the school year, I solicited feedback from my students on what should be changed. They said they wanted a day specifically dedicated to 20% time. I gave them autonomy to work on what ever assignment they wanted to work on each day. When students when got behind on an assignment or had a pressing deadline approaching, they would work on that rather than their 20% Project. At the end of the semester, many didn't accomplish as much as they could have because of this and many said that they simply ran out of time. When I pointed out the amount of time they actually had, they realized the had enough time, but just didn't use it as well as they could have. In essence, they asked to be given less autonomy and be told what day to work on their 20% Project. So, to start the year at least, I'm giving them a specific 20 time day each week.<br />
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2. Negotiate Points<br />
I gave 30 completion points to any student that was able to give a presentation about their project and keep up with their blog posts consistently. I chose 30 points because it was enough points to motivate those students who needed that little extra incentive, but not enough points to be the main motivator or really hurt someone's grade much if they didn't produce an adequate presentation.<br />
This year, I am going to have students negotiate their point total. They will get to grade themselves, but have to defend their assessment. I want students evaluating themselves and their effort. I don't really want to "grade" the presentations at all, but I got tired of watching some students try to work the system to get maximum points with minimal effort. We'll see how this works out.<br />
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3. After School Presentations<br />
I had the students give a Ted-style presentation to end the semester. They give the presentations to the class. I invited other teachers, parents, and community members to show, but no one else did. This year, I'm going to schedule the presentations in the evening at school. I'm going to set up our large projection screen and make the presentation a more formal event. I will promote it and maybe even broadcast it. My 8th graders will do theirs toward the end of 1st semester, my 7th graders toward the end of 2nd semester. I want the students to share their great ideas and be proud of themselves. Giving them that opportunity will hopefully help get more parents and community members to attend the event.<br />
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4. Blog and Email<br />
I still plan to have the students blog weekly, but I will also have them email me after they blog. I want them to blog so they can work on gaining an audience outside the classroom, but at the same time, emailing me weekly makes them feel a sense of responsibility to me personally as opposed to simply an anonymous blog post reader.<br />
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Those are the changes I intend to make for this year. I love the 20% Project and the students' ideas, but am pretty confident I can get more out of them. I believe these changes will help me get the most from each student. Let me know your comments.Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-31591864984416604622013-04-20T12:03:00.000-07:002013-04-20T12:36:12.017-07:00What is one way you use technology in your classroom?Yesterday, I was filling out on of those online entire school corporation job applications. Today, after a recommendation of a colleague, I was filling out an application for an award given to technology using educators. Both applications (and others I've seen in the past) had this question in some form, "What is one way you use technology in your classroom?"<br />
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Now, this question bothers me and here's why. My answer is really in what don't I use technology in the classroom. Narrowing it down to one specific way is difficult and lessens the value of what I do with technology.</div>
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For example, this past week, my 7th grade reading class participated in a Hunger Games Simulation as they prepare to read the book. Each day, students went to a blog that I had created and watched a video giving them directions created by one of their former classmates that now lives in England.</div>
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Example of one of the videos:</div>
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After they watched the video, they were to follow the instructions. They were given a variety of scenarios and they had to use what supplies they had earned or traded for to complete the scenario. They submitted to me through a Google Form a description of their solution. Based on their actions in the scenario, they would gain or lose points. They had a Google Spreadsheet shared with me in which they tabulated their score totals each day.</div>
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Also this week, my 7th Grade English class students were writing short stories. They had two videos to watch at some point during the week. One on Creating Characters and one on Creating Conflict. Toward the end of the week, they peer reviewed other stories using a Google Form and autocrat script similar to what <a href="http://kbakerbyodlit.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Kate Baker recently blogged about</a>. Their reviews and counter responses were immediately and automatically sent to the other student, and also to me through Google Docs sharing. I could not only review their stories in Google Docs throughout the week, I could also review the reviewers' feedback. At the end of the week, many of them also blogged about their 20% Projects.</div>
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I should mention that while all of this was happening in my classroom, I wasn't even there. I was in Washington, D.C. on our 8th Grade Class Trip. While in DC, using the WiFi on the bus and at the hotel, I was able to use an old iPhone donated to the school to blog about the trip with photographs and videos, tweet to parents our locations, check my students work and progress, and answer a few emails with questions from students almost immediately. Mind you, this is the same iPhone that an Apple Store employee told me would be "worthless" without a data plan and service contract.</div>
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So, how do I answer that question? In just this week, my students and I used video (both to deliver content and connect them to a former student overseas), Google Docs, Google Forms, Google Spreadsheets, an autocrat script, blogs (both to consume and to create), multiple devices, and Gmail all for classroom purposes. This was a pretty typical week for my students using technology even without me present. How can I narrow that down to one way I use technology?</div>
Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-31355238898673463402013-01-09T12:08:00.004-08:002013-01-09T16:34:59.453-08:00Research Paper: Explore Day 1It's that time of year. The dreaded formal research paper. I do what we call a No Paper Research Paper because with Evernote and Google Docs, we use no paper. Last year, I did the research paper unit as a traditional flip. I frontloaded all the videos before addressing that portion of the research paper. For example, the kids would watch a video on choosing a topic, or writing a thesis statement, then the next day in class would go through that process. This year, I wanted to convert this unit to an Explore Flip Apply (EFA) unit. I'll admit, I have a loose plan going in because I feel that is a key component of the explore stage - determining what the students already know. So, I envision this unit as a series of EFA activities until the final apply stage is writing their research paper.<br />
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Today, I did the first explore with my 7th graders. The first activity was having the students pull up the website <a href="http://allaboutexplorers.com/">allaboutexplorers.com</a>. If you aren't familiar with the site, it is a website with fake information about explorers. The site looks very credible and the information is almost believable enough to make you wonder about its accuracy. I had them choose any of the explorers and give a quick read of the information. Three of four minutes of silent reading passed. Some students looked a bit perplexed but kept reading. Suddenly a student says out loud, "Wait a minute....it says here he was killed with an AK-47?" I played dumb and said, "Really? You don't believe that?" Then another student said, "Mine says he thought he discovered America but then realized he was already there?" Then the flood came: "Mine says he was born in America but he was a Spanish explorer" "Mine said he traveled from 1690 to 1657." This led into a quick discussion about trusting what you read on the internet.<br />
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The next activity in the explore phase was having the students look up a Wikipedia page of something they know a lot about. We had 6 or 7, One Direction searches, a Kate Middleton search (did you know today is her birthday?), a Notre Dame football search (was a good example of how current Wikipedia can be with information), and a variety of other searches. I asked students to give a quick read through the page they selected.<br />
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The next activity was a free write on 4 questions:<br />
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<li>Is this information accurate?</li>
<li>How do you know or why do you believe that?</li>
<li>Is the site well written?</li>
<li>Why or why not?</li>
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We finished the class with the free write. Tomorrow, we'll discuss their answers in the free write and guide the discussion toward how to check for accuracy of information.<br />
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The next steps depending on how the discussion goes tomorrow:<br />
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<li>More exploration of evaluating sources will probably be needed later in the unit.</li>
<li>A discussion or free write on how the writing on Wikipedia is different from other writing.</li>
<li>A exploration/discussion of writing without bias using the same Wikipedia site.</li>
<li>An extension activity of revising and editing an actual Wikipedia page for some writing and accuracy practice before starting the research paper.</li>
<li>All this will lead into an exploration activity of choosing a topic and that is when the actually research paper "begins". </li>
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Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-24062802742712938682012-12-20T07:13:00.001-08:002012-12-22T10:12:24.555-08:00A 20% Success!Meet Kacy (not her real name). She's a student of mine. She's a fairly typical student. She is bright and capable, but also has her difficulties. She is a quiet kid, at least to adults. She is cordial and polite when I talk to her directly, but rarely asks questions on her own.<br />
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During the whole process of completing her 20% project, she changed directions 3 or 4 different times. She finally settled on learning to play a song on the guitar. She didn't keep up with her weekly blog, so it was difficult for me to monitor her progress. Since the project isn't really graded, I concerned myself more with helping her in other areas of need and hoped she was making progress on her 20% project.<br />
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Then yesterday happened. The students began presenting their 20% projects to the class. Coincidentally, another teacher got unexpectedly ill and couldn't find a sub. So, I took one of her classes in my room so she could leave. Therefore, the audience was larger than just their classmates with several students that had no idea what our 20% project was about.<br />
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I let the students volunteer their order of presenting. Some were excited to be first or second and take center stage. As volunteer after volunteer jumped up, I could see her make anxious eye contact with me. She seemed eager to go, but apprehensive to volunteer. Finally, we had a moment where no one volunteered and I said, "Kacy, are you ready to present?" She jumped up with excitement, but then, like many teens, tried to play it off like she wasn't excited.<br />
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She went to the corner of the room and grabbed a guitar case she had left earlier. In her presentation, she talked about her difficulty in deciding on her project. She discussed how she decided to learn to play a song on the guitar and the process she went through. I limited their presentations to 5 minutes. At the end, she sheepishly asked if she could play her song even though it would go over her 5 minutes. Of course, there was no way I could say no.<br />
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Then she sat down, and began playing a Taylor Swift song. She also sang the lyrics which surprised us all. She made a mistake part of the way through and had to stop and re-position her fingers. She began playing again and made another mistake. This time, she put her head down in embarrassment. Then, the class began encouraging her on. Multiple students told her what a wonderful job she was doing. And the tears began to fall. But they were tears of joy. She finished the song to roaring applause. She was clearly uncomfortable with the attention, but was proud of herself at the same time.<br />
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When I conceptualized the 20% project for my class, I never imagined this. I thought many of them would learn something valuable to themselves. I hoped some of them would be proud of themselves and maybe even inspire others. I never expected tears and such a bonding moment for my class. What a wonderful gift heading into our holiday break!Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-74379777824083213282012-12-04T16:00:00.000-08:002012-12-04T16:00:42.680-08:00A Musical Flip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlt8ybK0FGbZccYijH9qdqBiSmrU7tGxMNQ7l4sQaif9JbVj8wdQeZ855PHF1LYBreBw4qYuJh0ob7hrGb_895CzhZrv7YUs_pO_jr9_BFge77iQDN2AaCR41MEoaUxS-xlQQXLWBaC7Tc/s1600/Adjectives.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlt8ybK0FGbZccYijH9qdqBiSmrU7tGxMNQ7l4sQaif9JbVj8wdQeZ855PHF1LYBreBw4qYuJh0ob7hrGb_895CzhZrv7YUs_pO_jr9_BFge77iQDN2AaCR41MEoaUxS-xlQQXLWBaC7Tc/s320/Adjectives.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Two years ago, I took on the wonderful, but time consuming task of directing our school's Spring Musical. These are middle school kids very few with an interest in doing serious theater in the future. So, rehearsal time needs to be very efficient and focused or it turns into chaos. And, believe it or not, I am also the Yearbook Adviser and our Yearbook goes to the printer 1 week before the Musical Show. The more production I can get out of each rehearsal, the fewer rehearsals needed!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjaV6rNQYYkCOrBXAlm-3Qp9_bg_wslMDvGXJrB_MZqOp50JukfZpfuvBNZ5zcPqh_GTDgZP6evODAjDhWl81z1vie1szcQ1nj0xPO6_Q0JHdQZBzldTEuUvcVKq57_XDpsjXDLTOp1y67/s1600/nouns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjaV6rNQYYkCOrBXAlm-3Qp9_bg_wslMDvGXJrB_MZqOp50JukfZpfuvBNZ5zcPqh_GTDgZP6evODAjDhWl81z1vie1szcQ1nj0xPO6_Q0JHdQZBzldTEuUvcVKq57_XDpsjXDLTOp1y67/s320/nouns.jpg" width="320" /></a>Last year, I recorded our rehearsals when choreography was taught and the students were expected to review the videos later and continue to practice. This year, I had epiphany. Why not flip the rehearsals? This year, I am appointing a small team of Dance Leaders. I will teach the choreo to this small group and record them doing the number. Then, cast members will be expected to watch the videos prior to rehearsals so they have an idea of what the choreo will be.<br />
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I was going to put one of the videos here as an example, but my top notch choreographer copyrights her material and doesn't want it pilfered from YouTube. I respect that. So, I just put up photos of last year's cast (mainly because I'm super proud of them) and am looking forward to this years show!<br />
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<br />Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-16323223258266569182012-11-19T21:16:00.001-08:002012-11-19T21:16:00.619-08:00How I improvised my 20% ProjectMy head is all abuzz from the night I just had....and no alcohol was involved.<br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-XipLHyi2rXg/UKsSBuK6JWI/AAAAAAAAAro/stNoUYhBeOE/s1024/Photo%252520Nov%25252020%25252C%2525202012%25252C%25252012%25253A04%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-XipLHyi2rXg/UKsSBuK6JWI/AAAAAAAAAro/stNoUYhBeOE/s500/Photo%252520Nov%25252020%25252C%2525202012%25252C%25252012%25253A04%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1353388560004.869" class="alignleft" alt="" width="304" height="228"></a></div>
Tonight, I had my "final presentation" for my personal 20% Project.<br/><br/>In the past, I've <a href="http://cogitationsofmrcockrum.blogspot.com/2012/08/last-year-i-did-20-project-experiement.html" target="_blank" title="">blogged</a> about the 20% Project I have my students do. It is a great experience for them and I'm saddened when a student doesn't take the opportunity to learn something meaningful for them. This semester, I allowed my students to work in groups and some chose the group over their project. In other words, they sacrificed doing a project they really wanted to do in order to work with a specific person or group.<br/><br/>As I was brainstorming how to inspire them next semester, I thought, <em>how could I model the process for them</em>. Then it hit me....do my own 20% Project. I kicked around some ideas and decided there was one thing I really have wanted to learn for a long time, but never had the courage to do....Improv Comedy!<br/><br/>So, for the past 8 weeks, every Monday night I met with 10 other aspiring improvers and learned games, practiced techniques, developed scenes, and had a wonderful time. I even used some of the games with my students to teach some aspects of storytelling and purchased a book about improv games in the classroom.<br/><br/>Tonight, we ended the class with a public performance attended by about 25 of our friends and family. Fittingly, it was our best performance in the 8 weeks. After the show, several of us went out for a celebratory dinner. One of my classmates asked us all why we took the class to begin with. We all had different reasons; One person wanted to be a profession improv comedian, a couple wanted to improve on public speaking skills, and some just thought it sounded like fun. But, whatever the reason, we all had that internal motivation to learn something new whether it had a practical application or not.<br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-czhkbeAQL98/UKsSDHZcnmI/AAAAAAAAArw/rdqAHABmW_Y/s1024/Photo%252520Nov%25252020%25252C%2525202012%25252C%25252012%25253A04%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-czhkbeAQL98/UKsSDHZcnmI/AAAAAAAAArw/rdqAHABmW_Y/s500/Photo%252520Nov%25252020%25252C%2525202012%25252C%25252012%25253A04%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1353388560043.0813" class="alignleft" width="309" height="231" alt=""></a></div>
I know it sounds cliche, but I really can't put into words the effect this class had on me. I do, however, know I want my students to experience the same rewarding feeling I had. I'm going to share with my students about my journey these past 8 weeks and let them see the enthusiasm that is created by learning something for the sake of learning.<br/><br/>The Level 2 class starts in January and most, if not all, of our makeshift troupe plans to continue this journey together. I challenge anyone considering or doing a 20% Project with their students to do one of their own. The personal fulfillment was so much more than I anticipated. Now, I just need to get the courage to take the next step in this adventure....inviting students to my next public performance.<br/><br/> <br/><br/><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-19425775114595182742012-09-30T18:14:00.000-07:002012-09-30T18:14:27.207-07:00Using YouTube's New Quizzing FeatureI've seen quite a lot of tweets lately about YouTube's new quizzing feature currently in beta format. All the tweets I see link articles that give me the same "press release" announcement, so I wanted to try it out for myself. This isn't really a review, as the feature is in beta and not meant to be full functional. <br />
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The first trick is activating the feature. It doesn't just automatically appear. You need to go <a href="http://www.youtube.com/video_questions_beta" target="_blank">here</a> and opt-in to the beta for your YouTube account. Once you've done that, it is available in your YouTube channel.<br />
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To use it, go to the video you want to add the quiz to and click "edit".<br />
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After that, click on the "Questions" tab.<br />
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From there, it is pretty self explanatory. Just click, "add question" and you get this screen:</div>
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It's really that simple. Much easier than adding several Annotations to make your own quiz feature. There aren't many options to make the questions more appealing. But, I'm guessing they may add that in later.<br />
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Now, for the analytics...<br />
Remember, this is in beta, so I didn't expect it to be perfect yet. With Annotations, the analytics tell you which annotations were clicked, by how many people, etc. With the quizzing analytics, at the moment, it just tells you if an answer was chosen or if the user closed the video. Not much detail at the moment.<br />
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<br />Also, another limitation over annotations is that your can not jump to different videos or a different part of the video based on the viewers answer. If they answer incorrectly, they are prompted with a hint and the video remains paused. If they click correctly, the video just starts playing again.</div>
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I like the promise of this feature, but since it is still in beta, it doesn't have a lot of functionality yet.</div>
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Here is the video I added the quiz to if you want to see how the quiz looks and operates. The quiz is 23 seconds in:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y2VCHgRF0g4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div>
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Please note this is just a simple practice quiz and not intended to be something identical to what I would use with my students. </div>
Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-25961616824167543972012-09-24T15:17:00.001-07:002012-09-24T15:42:32.878-07:00Why I'm Apprehensive About Sharing My VideosThat inevitable questions always seems to come up...<br />
"Is there a place where we can see your videos?" <br />
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I'm asked this question every time I present to an audience of new flippers. A substitute at my school even asked the other day because she wanted to show them to her daughter. And, every time the question is asked, I cringe a bit. I'm hesitant to tell them my YouTube Channel has over 70 videos public and nearly that many private or unlisted. I couldn't understand why that was my initial reaction. I'm not ashamed of my videos. Some people are embarrassed to have their face seen by strangers. Others worry their content isn't "up to snuff". I got over that a long time ago. There isn't anything a stranger can say about my videos that my brutally honest middle school students haven't shared. So, why the apprehension?<br />
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Then, last night while I was working on my presentation for NCTE in November, it hit me. I was thinking back to a conversation I had last year at NCTE with a well-respected teacher that was anti-flip. His biggest complaint was that flipping was just bad lecture on video. He asked if I could share with him what I thought was my best video. I told him that was difficult because the video is not the biggest piece of the flip. What happens in my class time is the key component. So, my best videos are the ones that complement what the students do in class and allow them to receive small bits of content efficiently and asynchronously. Replaying the conversation in my head made me realize that is where my apprehension lies. If my videos are viewed isolated from the entire learning cycle, they aren't that special. Letting strangers view my videos independently gives them an incomplete picture of what is really happening in my class. My hesitation then is not because I don't want them to see my video, but rather I don't want them to have an incomplete understanding of what #flipclass is and judge it based on that.<br />
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For those that want to see my videos, here is my <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/CockrumVideos" target="_blank">YouTube Channel</a>. But, if you really want to see what my flipped class is all about, you need to visit my classroom, talk to my students, and see our pre- and post- video discussions to really grasp what is happening.<br />
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Added Note: Visit a Flipped Class in your area on one of the <a href="http://flippedlearning.org/openhouse" target="_blank">Flipped Class Open House</a> days. You'll be glad you did!Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-56663417765188784442012-08-22T15:55:00.006-07:002012-09-20T17:32:46.763-07:00Using Google Docs and Explain Everything to do Video Writing Feedback on an iPadI like doing video feedback for my students so they can not only see the suggestions I make, but also hear my suggestions. A goal of mine this year is to find a more efficient way to do this so I can give more feedback to each student.<br />
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Since our school is a GAfE school, I wanted to find a way to incorporate Google Docs into the process. I knew of some apps on the iPad others were using to make quick videos and so the following is the process I came up with.<br />
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Using Chrome (although it is possible with other iOs browsers) on the iPad, I open the students' Google Doc and take a screen shot of it. If you don't know how to do a screen shot with an iPad, it's simple. Just click the home button and the sleep/wake button on the top at the same time. You'll hear a click sound like a camera taking a picture and you're done.<br />
It will look like this:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y0-tGx6Qc8c/UDVovhlYCrI/AAAAAAAAAoA/SfsB2wsqyLw/s1600/photo%2B%252810%2529.PNG"><img alt="" border="0" height="265" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5779640862478174898" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y0-tGx6Qc8c/UDVovhlYCrI/AAAAAAAAAoA/SfsB2wsqyLw/s200/photo%2B%252810%2529.PNG" style="cursor: pointer;" width="199" /></a></div>
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Next, I open Explain Everything. An app that costs $2.99. You could also use ScreenChomp or Educreations, which are free apps. The biggest decider for me was that Explain Everything allows direct uploads to YouTube where the others do not.<br />
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In Explain Everything, I select the icon for new project and get the options below:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1qsRb7pMX1c/UDVpahBvO8I/AAAAAAAAAoM/A7YAp4Lz_VA/s1600/photo%2B%25288%2529.PNG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5779641601063074754" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1qsRb7pMX1c/UDVpahBvO8I/AAAAAAAAAoM/A7YAp4Lz_VA/s320/photo%2B%25288%2529.PNG" style="cursor: pointer; height: 240px; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
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I choose "Import from photo" and select the screenshot I took of the student's work. Once in Explain Everything, I size it to fit the way I want and then record my critiques as I also write them using a stylus pen.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PFZHN0VEsjw/UDVp6OzrDoI/AAAAAAAAAoY/CqZ1j5PG98g/s1600/photo%2B%25287%2529.PNG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5779642145928056450" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PFZHN0VEsjw/UDVp6OzrDoI/AAAAAAAAAoY/CqZ1j5PG98g/s320/photo%2B%25287%2529.PNG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
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You can also pause the recording and re-start in order to prevent dead air and wasted time. After the recording is finished, I select upload to YouTube. I could also email the file and it send it as an mp4 file. I chose YouTube instead so as to not have to worry about if students had a computer able to view mp4 files.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TZD25I9q2ME/UDVqVlSeUpI/AAAAAAAAAok/H3CSGd-OTrU/s1600/photo%2B%25289%2529.PNG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5779642615819293330" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TZD25I9q2ME/UDVqVlSeUpI/AAAAAAAAAok/H3CSGd-OTrU/s320/photo%2B%25289%2529.PNG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
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That whole process takes me 4-7 minutes per students. I think that is reasonable to give students feedback on one page of their writing. You also have the option to import from Dropbox and use a full pdf of the document.<br />
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Now, this is where the process slows down significantly. Once I hit upload to YouTube, Explain Everything must first compress the files, then goes to another screen to "finish compressing", then goes to another screen to upload to YouTube. This process can take 15 minutes or more. Fortunately, I don't have to sit at the iPad while this is happening. It would nice to have a batch upload option. As it is now, I set it to upload and check on it every 15 minutes. I then hit the next one to upload.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BwtNeJYoucI/UDVrU_tpbzI/AAAAAAAAAow/bKCs44tBOac/s1600/photo%2B%25282%2529.PNG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5779643705244348210" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BwtNeJYoucI/UDVrU_tpbzI/AAAAAAAAAow/bKCs44tBOac/s320/photo%2B%25282%2529.PNG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; width: 320px;" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FGaDmWTrA0E/UDVrVbK3cHI/AAAAAAAAAo8/lh4crBPRUg8/s1600/photo%2B%25285%2529.PNG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5779643712614658162" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FGaDmWTrA0E/UDVrVbK3cHI/AAAAAAAAAo8/lh4crBPRUg8/s320/photo%2B%25285%2529.PNG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; width: 320px;" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YmtOrAbgrek/UDVrVzksAgI/AAAAAAAAApI/GrUVvQaN8ew/s1600/photo%2B%25286%2529.PNG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5779643719165411842" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YmtOrAbgrek/UDVrVzksAgI/AAAAAAAAApI/GrUVvQaN8ew/s320/photo%2B%25286%2529.PNG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
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After it is uploaded, you have the option to send via Email which I do and then the students have a link to a private video critique of their work.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y0NSRP4KRf4/UDVrWfeX8jI/AAAAAAAAApU/LkT0GmwqQDc/s1600/photo%2B%25284%2529.PNG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5779643730950091314" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y0NSRP4KRf4/UDVrWfeX8jI/AAAAAAAAApU/LkT0GmwqQDc/s320/photo%2B%25284%2529.PNG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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And the process is over. Like I said, the critique process doesn't take long. It is the uploading process that is time consuming. If I find a better way, I'll let you know. If you know a better way, please share.<br />
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UPDATE: I found a quick way to compress and upload video. Under the the export menu, select "preference" and change the video settings. When I changed the resolution to 640x480 and the quality to medium, it still had enough resolution to be read fine, but significantly lowered the video size. The upload time for these are less than 5 minutes. Now we're getting somewhere!<br />
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<br />Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-89192550887973162162012-08-07T11:46:00.003-07:002012-08-07T19:33:18.677-07:00My 20 Percent Project Revisions<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Last year, I did a 20% project experiement with my 7th and 8th graders. I blogged about the start of it <a href="http://cogitationsofmrcockrum.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-google-20-project.html" target="_blank">here</a>. I've been spending the summer reflecting and discussing with other teachers Kate Petty (@techclassroom<span class="Apple-converted-space">), Amie Trahan (@amiet731), Cheryl Morris (@guster4lovers), and others, trying to decided how best to proceed.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-converted-space">The issues I ran into last year:</span></div>
<span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Issue #1. Accountability. I didn't grade the final product. I asked them to blog weekly on their progress, but didn't assess it in anyway. I checked their blogs and had a discussion with them frequently about their progress, but had no consequence if they weren't making progress. I wanted the students to focus on a learning objective and not a grade objective. I knew some students would take advantage of that and not produce anything, but I wanted to see exactly how many. In the end, I had about 20-30% of the students complete very little to nothing.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I go back and forth on this one. The reason we require accountability in schools, as I see it, is to make sure they learn certain skills. As I was evaluating this process, I realized I need to determine what it is I want them to learn. I need to tie this project to a skill or standard. Then, I don't have to focus necessarily on holding them accountable, but more what I want them to learn. Therefore, I determined my goals for this project best fit all or part of 5 Common Core Standards:</span></span><br />
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SL1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">SL1-c: Pose questions that connect the ideas of several speakers and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant evidence, observations, and ideas. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">SL4 Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">SL5: Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">L4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">L4-c: Consult general and specialized reference materials.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">W6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, that was my first change. Now, as I assess (for my own purposes, not a grade) their progress, I can refer back to these objectives to make sure they are on their way to mastering these skills. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The project could meet other standards, but I choose to focus on these in this project. Unfortunately, showing creative initiative isn't a CCSS.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Issue #2: How do you guide without deciding for the student? I had some students that were stuck in the deciding/planning stages way too long. Or, they would begin one project, then change, then change, etc. This goes back to accountability somewhat. But, I need to find that balance between pushing the students to move forward and allowing them the freedom to explore. I like <a href="http://www.iteachithink.com/" target="_blank">Kevin Bookhauser's</a> reference to <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5864004/the-done-manifesto-lays-out-13-ground-rules-for-getting-to-done" target="_blank">The Done Manifesto</a> and to Facebook's creed: <i>Done is better than perfect.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other part of this issue was that some kids are so grade-driven and/or teacher-pleasing that they want to know what I expect from them. I kept telling them, I just want to see a creative project. But, they wanted to a visual, an example, of what is "good". I combated this by praising every idea or acting genuinely excited to see the outcome. I believe that freed some students up to take risks they might not have tried before.<i> </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> </i>The change I made here is I've decided I'm going to have to give some "checkpoint" deadlines. Adding in a proposal stage early on to make sure they're on target to move forward. Adding an adult mentor to the equation in order to have one more accountability piece. And, adding a presentation at the end gives them manageable deadlines, but forces them to make progress on something.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Issue #3: A whole year or one semester? My experiment lasted one semester. I've considered making this a year long project like others do. In the end, I decided, for my students, I think one semester is best. That way, they can refocus on a new project the second semester and correct decisions they made first quarter. If a student is really into their project, they can continue on and make it even better. However, this gives them a fresh start to regroup and improve.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is how I plan to lay out the project to my students (note: this is borrowed heavily from Kevin Bookhauser and Kate Petty):</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rules:</span><br />
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<li>You may work alone or with a small group. Choose your group wisely. It is not acceptable to abandon partners mid-project.</li>
<li>Choose a project that is new to you and something you wouldn't normally do in another academic class.</li>
<li>Choose an adult mentor with special knowledge related to your project and set up a schedule to meet with them regularly (in person or via Skype). Mentor must be approved by Mr. Cockrum before the proposal is due.</li>
<li>Write up a proposal and pitch it to the rest of the class that includes a purpose, audience, timeline, and resources you will need to complete the project.</li>
<li>Reflect on the process once a week in your blog. Posts need to be 200 words minimum.</li>
<li>If at any moment you feel lost, overwhelmed, or uninspired, you must set a meeting with me to find a solution.</li>
<li>At the end of the semester, you will present your project and reflect on the process in a five-minute TED-style talk in front of other students, teachers, and community members.</li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The proposal will be a completion grade. If the student has a proposal that addresses rule 4 in the proposal they get credit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The blog posts will average out to a completion grade. I put all their blogs in Google Reader and I can check to see how many new blog posts they have. If a student is not keeping up, we can have a discussion about why or a different way they can document their progress. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The presentation at the end is a completion grade. Give a presentation about a completed project and the student gets the grade.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The point totals will be enough so that the students take it seriously, but not enough to really hurt their course grade if they don't do well. I don't want them afraid to take risks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am also considering ways Amie Trahan and I can get our classes to collaborate on projects, so I may revise slightly based on that. However, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">these are the changes I plan to go with this year on my 20% percent project.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd love to hear about your 20% projects. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-38936740707030604242012-07-24T11:04:00.001-07:002012-07-24T11:04:05.563-07:00My real-world #flipclass lesson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Gv9jCaYPDig/UA7jJOEsUgI/AAAAAAAAAm0/3_4JR0Nwj34/s768/Photo%252520Jul%25252024%25252C%2525202012%25252011%25253A25%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Gv9jCaYPDig/UA7jJOEsUgI/AAAAAAAAAm0/3_4JR0Nwj34/s243/Photo%252520Jul%25252024%25252C%2525202012%25252011%25253A25%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1343152997853.1174" class="alignleft" width="243" height="324" alt=""></a></div> Spending a week along the Gulf Islands in Alabama and Florida, I was watching for a chance to do something I've wanted to try for a longtime now: standup paddle boarding (or SUP). Yesterday, I found Onboard Fitness near Fort Pickens and set up a time for this morning. <br/><br/>I spent a lot time on the Internet learning about SUP and how to do it. Surely, that was enough for me to be a seasoned paddler, right?<br/><br/>When I arrived at the site, I surveyed the water and noticed a strong wind heading west-to-east. Being an experienced kayaker, I knew to paddle upstream first, because returning downstream when you're fatigued is much easier. I guessed the same strategy applied here. Once I checked in and got my board, the attendant told me the same thing. He suggested I start into the wind because the return would be much easier. Awesome! I had used previously learned content from another discipline and applied it here. I was well on my way.<br/><br/>The attendant pushed the board into the water for me and explained a few last minute details like how to find the center of the board. "Blah, blah, blah," I thought. "I learned all this on the Internet. Just let me get on the board." The attendant adjusted the paddle to my height, which I wouldn't have known how to do. "That wasn't on the Internet."<br/><br/>Then the time came, I got ready to step on the board and realized I had no idea how to get on without immediately falling off. The attendant held the board in place while I climbed on. I guess I needed him a little bit. Later I watched a more experienced person get on her board and learned the proper technique for launching a board yourself. Oh yeah, and that more experienced paddler was a 12 year old girl.<br/><br/>I paddled around the bay learning different skills as I glided across the water. Since you can only paddle one side at a time, I was inefficiently going in a zigzag line. After about 20 minutes of this, I realized if you lean your weight to one side while paddling, you can keep a relatively strait path. <br/><br/>My feet were getting extremely sore. I realized I was too tense trying to keep my balance with my feet. I knew from surfing, you need to relax your feet and balance with your core. So, I tried that.<br/><br/>Again, I knew from kayaking that you can turn tighter if you paddle backwards. But, it took a turn almost running me into a buoy before I remembered that detail.<br/><br/>I had the board for 2 hours, but returned it about 30 minutes early because my feet were cramping, I was sweating from the sun beating down on me, and I was just finished.<br/><br/>So, what did I learn about #flipclass from this adventure?<br/><br/>1) Although I thought I knew a lot from reading on the Internet, the was a lot I would never have learned without getting on the board and actually doing it. How many times prior to me flipping did I ask students to use material learned without them actually doing it first?<br/><br/>2) I wouldn't have gotten on the board successfully with the attendant's help. How many times do students need our help just getting on the board? If that was my SUP test, I would have failed. Not because I didn't know at least the basics of SUP, but because I didn't know how to get started.<br/><br/>3) Previously learned content from another discipline was very helpful.<br/><br/>4) I knew not to paddle with the wind, but the attendant advised me anyway. Had I not known and he not said, I most likely would have take the path of least resistance, literally, and paddled too far out of my ability to return safely. Some things just need to be said to avoid almost certain failure.<br/><br/>5) I returned early because I was too fatigued to continue and I was satisfied with my outing. How many times has a student turned in incomplete work and we thought the to just be lazy or apathetic? With a flipped class, I can see the student is fatigued and satisfied at the moment what he or she completed.<br/><br/>6) Once I returned, walking was difficult because of the tenseness in my feet. What would happen if I had to go paddleboard another waterway for an hour immediately after? I would certain not succeed. How many times are kids sent home with mentally taxing homework and once they finish, they have to start on another mentally taxing assignment?<br/><br/>I gained a lot of knowledge in the short time I was on the board. I was given the freedom,with minimal instruction, to just get on the board and practice. I remember a surfing lesson I took several years ago that spent nearly an hour of on the beach instruction telling me how to surf. Once I got in the water, that instruction was useless. And, each time I fell, I paddled to shore and the instructor would tell me what I did wrong. I didn't truly learn how to surf until I rented a board and just tried over and over again until I found success.<br/><br/>If I was graded on my SUP experience, I probably would have earned a C or B-. Good thing this was only practice.<br/><br/>As I was leaving the SUP rental dock, the attendant told me, "We also have onboard yoga every morning!" Unless this is going to be on the state standardized test, I have no interest in advancing my skills that much.<br/><br/> <br/><br/><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-15969220405906772632012-07-12T07:40:00.002-07:002012-07-12T09:55:31.565-07:00Reading at Home Discussing in Class Part III consistently hear Flipped Class speakers, presenters, proponents, and even some opponents make the statement, "English teachers have flipped for years. They have students read at home and then they discuss in class."<br />
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I <a href="http://cogitationsofmrcockrum.blogspot.com/2011/10/reading-and-discussing-is-not-flipped.html">blogged on this last October</a>, but recent events have compelled me to blog again. My previous blog post convinced some to stop using that example. However, at ISTE and the Flipcon, I heard it more often in a few presentations and discussions on Flipped Class.<br />
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I am bothered by that assertation because I believe it doesn't fit the core basis of what is a flipped classroom. Here's why:<br />
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1) Reading at home is usually not a lower level processing skill. In a flipped environment, we offload material that takes lower level processing skills and place it in a technology that can be consumed at a time and place of the students' choosing. Unless my students are reading for purely entertainment value, they need to be processing what they've read using reading comprehension skills and making connections to previously learned content. In other words, they should be applying what they've learned at this point and not simply consuming information. If they are unable to do this, I need to be assessing why that is and how we can fix that, which is difficult if they are reading at home.<br />
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2) Discussion isn't individualized instruction. As teachers, we use discussion to create connections and deeper thought on a topic. I think we've all had students that are very good at manipulating the "system" to make it look like they comprehended the reading. Whether they are mimicking others' comments, talking a lot on the easy questions so they can avoid being called on for other questions, or reading spark notes right before class to get enough of an understanding to BS their way through. And, the kids that clearly aren't getting it aren't getting the 1 on 1 attention that would be helpful for them. If some content is not understood by the group and the teacher must derail the discussion for a lesson, that usually become direct instruction. I'm not saying we should never do whole group discussions. I'm just saying they don't make for a flipped classroom.<br />
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Here's an example:<br />
I use Lord of the Flies to teach about symbolism. I send my kids home to read and then we discuss the symbolism in class. What if my students don't know the definition of symbolism? Then I need an instructional step, maybe a video to explain it. Now, they know the definition, I still can't just send them out to read. Because, as we all know, knowing the definition and even understanding what symbolism is, does not mean a student can identify it. So, I believe I need to get my students to at least the identifying stage before I can comfortably send them home to read on their own. Then, class time can be used for analyzing and evaluating the symbolism. Ultimately, I'd like to get them to the creating stage of using symbolism in their own writing. If I can't get them to those higher level stages in class with me, then simply reading at home is not a productive use of their time.<br />
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I suppose one could argue that reading at home is creating a desire for the tools necessary for understanding and the discussion is the application of that understanding. In that regards, that would appear to me to be Explore-Flip-Apply (EFA) without the flip. In that regards, we're missing an instructional step in the learning cycle.<br />
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Why does this matter?<br />
Well, as we progress with the Flipped Class movement in Language Arts, we want a clear understanding of what Flipped Class is. We can agree it looks different in every class and there is no prescriptive model, but oversimplifying to the point where people believe that reading at home discussing in class is a flipped model is detrimental to our growth. We will lose potential supporters and future flippers. We minimize what it is we do and how hard we work to create a student-centered environment. I want people to know I do a lot more in my class than send kids home to read and discuss it in class.<br />
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I'd love to hear your opinion.Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-35930492857795516492012-07-05T08:57:00.005-07:002012-07-05T09:55:02.388-07:00English Flippers Summit AnnouncedThe date has been set for Tuesday, July 10 at 8 pm Eastern.<br /><br />I'm seeing a need and now I'm trying to fill it......<br />At last year's (2011) Flipped Class Conference, I met 3 English teachers out of approx. 150 attendees. So, this entire past school year, I have been searching for English teachers using a flipped model in their classroom and haven't found many at all (probably less than 10). That doesn't mean they aren't out there. They just weren't active in blogging or tweeting or presenting, etc where I could find them. I envied the math and science teachers that could collaborate on videos, bounce specific ideas off each other, and commiserate together. I took what I could from the math and science folks and customized it to my class. But, when I would turn to them for some very specific implementation advice, I commonly heard, "Well, I really don't know much about English....." Not that they wouldn't help me, they just didn't have the experience to help me in that situation.<br /><br />At NCTE in November, I searched and searched for English flippers again and <a href="http://cogitationsofmrcockrum.blogspot.com/2011/11/why-has-flipped-classroom-evaded.html">blogged about it</a>. There were no sessions on flipping. I heard one presenter mention that she was planning to flip her class during her presentation. Everyone I talked to or tweeted during NCTE gave me one of three responses: "ummm....what's flipping?", "I like the concept behind flipping, I just haven't done it and am not sure where to start", or "you can't flip an English class." I'm oversimplifying their responses, but that is mainly what I got.<br /><br />Then came this summer....<br />I presented at the Flipped Class Conference (2012). There were 300+ attendees. My session was one of the first sessions after the opening keynote. There were approx. 40 people in my session and I asked how many were English teachers. About 30 hands went up!<br /><br />In addition, many people began actively tweeting about being or becoming an English flipper. <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/guster4lovers">Cheryl Morris</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/rickylynne76">Erica Speaks</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/MsRossEnglish">Carrie Ross</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/thomasson_engl">Andrew Thomasson</a> are just a few of the tweeps starting to come out. In true flip fashion, it appeared a grassroots movement was taking off.<br /><br />In private conversations with all these different individuals, it appeared to me that since this English flippers movement was growing, we could benefit from a common direction. We all had a lot of the same questions and were piecing together answers. I was thinking during a morning run one day, "Wouldn't it be great if we could get all the current and new English flippers together and discuss our common concerns, questions, and intentions?" Then, it hit me.....through the power of the internet, we could.<br /><br />So, introducing the first English Flippers Summit (if you have a better name, do share). I crowd-sourced the idea at ISTE12 and decided to try an open webinar. The date has been set for Tuesday, July 10 at 8 pm Eastern. The summit can be found <a href="http://www.anymeeting.com/FlippedEnglish1">here</a> (I will tweet out the link closer to the date as a reminder). We will cap it at 1 hour. If we are still going strong at 1 hour, we'll plan another one. I want this summit to be an opportunity to "meet" each other and generate some English flipped dialogue. Where it goes, I do not know. I don't know if we'll solve anything or if we even need to solve anything. But, with so many new English flippers out there, it would be nice to connect with resources. It's free. If it turns out to be worthless, it will only take an hour of your day.<br /><br />Stacy Roshan told me once, as a math teacher, she used to walk by English classrooms and envy those teachers because of the exciting activities they could do in their classrooms. Because of the flip, that has flipped (pun intended). Let's figure out a way to make those math and science teachers envy us again!Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-56470800059708709832012-01-20T15:18:00.000-08:002012-01-20T20:07:19.437-08:00What does Apple's Announcement Mean for the Flipped ClassI'm sure most tech savvy educators have heard about Apple announcement Thursday regarding iBooks 2 and iBook Author. I received an email from my cousin, who works at an Apple Store, early on Thursday highlighting the announcement. I got the impression from his email that he was buying into the Apple hype that these products would revolutionize education.<br /><br />It's still early and all the details aren't fleshed out yet. Initially, I wasn't particularly impressed. Sure, a multimedia textbook on an iPad can be more engaging than a traditional textbook. However, from my perspective, in the past 5 years, I've used my textbooks a total of maybe 10 times. That doesn't mean I don't follow a curriculum and meet standards. I just don't believe the textbook is the best way to do that. Would iPad textbooks change that for me? I believe, as Jac de Haan of <a href="http://www.technologywithintention.com/">Technology With Intention</a> said in a recent <a href="http://www.techwithintent.com/2012/01/apples-e-textbook-announcement-critiqued/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TechWithIntention+%28Technology+with+Intention%29">blog post</a>, "It is still a one-way delivery system." Or, as Ronnie Burt of edublogs.com puts it in his recent <a href="http://theedublogger.com/2012/01/19/3-major-problems-with-apples-education/">blog post</a>, even with iBook textbooks, "(s)tudents are still thought of as 'content consumers' in this scenario as opposed to active participants."<br /><br />I had this discussion with a Middle School math teacher at my school. He has joined me this year by flipping his class, but he uses textbook publisher provided video tutors. He still sticks strictly to the content provided by the textbook. I asked him, or rather challenged him, to see if he felt he could teach his class without a textbook. He wasn't sure that he could.<br /><br />I expressed my concern to him that this announcement by Apple didn't revolutionize the way education would be delivered. It just revised how textbook teaching could/would be delivered. My co-worker made a good observation. He pointed out that, when it comes to infusing technology and a student-centered learning environment, I was ahead of the curve. He speculated that the ability to have pre-packaged content on a device like the iPad could pull more teachers into a better teaching environment. Maybe? Maybe not?<br /><br />I have an iPad that I use personally and a classroom iPad the kids share. I also have laptop carts that creates almost a 1-to-1 environment. I've implemented a small BYOD program and approximately 15% of my students bring their own device. So, I certainly have the ability to use multimedia textbooks. Given Apple's history though, I do have concerns about the cross-platform compatibility of the iBooks textbooks.<br /><br />As I read another Jac de Haan <a href="http://www.techwithintent.com/2012/01/ibook-author-30-minute-challenge/">post</a>, I began to think about the use of iBook Author with my Flipped Class. Currently, I used Google Apps for Education to organize my classroom content. I am very happy with the ease of the management system I've developed and the students and parents are as well. However, there is an outside possibility I could move to a 1-to-1 iPad environment next school year (those who know me personally, please don't start speculating or spreading rumors). That aside, I am intrigued by the possibility of using iBook Author to, in essence, create a textbook for my class. This "textbook" however would be populated with content that I have created for my Flipped Class along with other resourceful content that ties in. In addition, I could place in assignments, interactive elements, etc. specific to my class. I still need to explore this idea more in order to determine all the applicability of this process. But, I'm thinking it could become a Classroom Management System of it's own.<br /><br />In addition, if I'm distributing my content via iPad, I could, in theory, shoot my video with the iPad, and even edit content with my iPad if I choose, making everything more streamlined and compatible. I can see a not very tech savvy teacher that is hesitant to flip his or her class finding this method appealing.<br /><br />I'm still holding out judgement on the ramifications of this announcement by Apple. I'm not sure the iBooks textbooks are a huge game-changer quite yet. However, the ability to create a one-stop Classroom Management System for Flipped Classroom teachers in the form of a textbook could be a real bonus, especially if you're already working in a 1-to-1 iPad school. In the meantime though, I'm certainly taking notice and plan to begin experimenting more to see the potential of iBooks Author.<br /><br />Where do you think this could go? Could this development help or hurt the Flipped Class momentum? Feel free to weigh in.Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-58133454766220249172012-01-09T17:50:00.000-08:002012-01-09T19:03:20.094-08:00My Google 20% ProjectThis summer, I got to attend the Google Teacher Academy in Seattle. I came away with multitude of ideas for my classroom. I had one idea inspired by Google's "20 Percent Time" policy. If you aren't familiar with Google's 20 Percent Time, in a nutshell, it is that Googlers can spend 20 percent of their work time (and resources) on a personal interest project. The idea is to give their employees more autonomy in their work environment and foster more motivation/inspiration for creative work.<br /><br />With that in mind, I wanted to motivate my students in the same way. I was implementing too many other new concepts/projects in the first semester to add this into the mix. I decided to work the project through in my head for a few months and introduce it in the second semester, which began last week. Coincidentally, almost the same day I introduced my project, AJ Juliani blogged about <a href="http://educationismylife.com/the-20-project-like-google-in-my-class/">his 20% project</a>.<br /><br />I introduced it to my 7th and 8th grade Accelerated English classes as a "20% Project". Initially, I didn't cover the Google part (and, for the record, Google isn't the only company to do this, nor was it the first company to do it) right away. I explained to my students that they can do any project they want related to English and use 20% of their class work time (or 1 day per week) to work on that project. The other 80% of their time should be devoted to assigned work. Since these classes are also flipped classes, having plenty of in-class work time would not be a problem.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br />I didn't say how the students would be graded or even if they would be graded. I told them I only ask that they blog about their progress weekly. I gave them no rubric, no accountability lecture, nothing. Just said that I'm hoping to get some creative and unique projects from them.<br />My 7th graders were the first to learn about the project. Tons of questions began to fly. What do you mean any project we want? I threw out a few ideas (screenplay, documentary, etc.). How do we tie it to English? My answer was, "Why don't you just decide what it is you want to do for a project, and I'll help you tie it into English?" I didn't want to tie their hands at all. There were a lot of questions about what they could do, but not one single question about grades, points, rubrics or anything. I was surprised and impressed that my students were already embracing the idea.<br />My 8th graders had the same initial response. Really? You mean, we can do anything we want? Yep! Finally, a student asked, "How many points is this worth?" I just responded, "I'll get to that." and moved on. The question didn't come up again. Later in class, while the students were working on their current assignment, I pulled the student aside and explained to her why I don't want her focused on a grade. I just told her to focus on the project and have fun with it. She got it once I explained "the research" behind it. Quite simply, I told her, I want this to be an outcome or learning goal and not a performance or grade goal.<br /><br />My 7th graders have really taken to it. As a matter of fact, they are spending more than 20% of their time on their project right now. I'm allowing them some time to develop that balance. I love to see them excited, but I don't want them to forget their assigned work.<br /><br />My 8th grade was a slightly different story. About half of them were immediately excited to get started. The other half were working diligently on their poetry anthology due at the end of the week because they were behind on their work. During class today, there was a group of 3 girls looking at a laptop screen and one said, "He's so cute." I wandered by and saw a Google Image Search of the boy-of-the-week. I reminded them to re-focus on their work and one of the girls blurted out, "20% project!" I treated it light-heartedly this time and said, "I'm confident you'll come up with something better."<br /><br />I'm sure this will be a problem for a few of the students. And, I can probably tell you exactly which ones will try to take advantage of the freedom. How I will handle that yet, I don't know. If it becomes a problem, I will have specific conversations with those students.<br /><br />I'm excited to see what projects the students come up with. I'm also hopeful the students will learn to balance their time between multiple projects. They already do that with my flipped class, but this will add a level of independence they've not had the opportunity to explore. So, as I take on this adventure, I'll blog more updates. I may also share some of my students' blogs, with their permission, down the road. In the meantime, I'm going to sit back and enjoy the show!Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-29297413965324023352011-12-20T18:03:00.000-08:002011-12-20T19:12:29.119-08:00The software I would like to use for my Flipped ClassInspired by JD Ferries-Rowe's (@jdferries) <a href="http://geekreflection.blogspot.com/2011/12/dreaming-big-software-i-need-for-my.html">recent blog post</a> on the software he would like to use in his Flipped Class, I decided to take a shot at throwing out some things I would like to see. It is Christmas after all.<br /><br />JD wrote his ideal software from the prospective of the average user. I certainly understand that perspective. Just as I don't want technology to be so difficult it gets in the way of my students' projects and objectives, I also see the need for not-so-tech-savvy teachers to be able to create videos without a lot of technical know-how. I agree with many of the features JD was asking for, so I didn't put those here unless I felt I had more to add.<br /><br />However, it is difficult for me to come at this from a novice perspective. Here's why......I spent nearly 10 years as a Video Writer/Producer/Editor. I haven't worked in the field for 8 years now, so I'm not current enough to be considered the whiz I once was. I used to work in six figure editing suites with Avid Media Composer (at the time, and still is I believe, the dominant industry standard for non-linear editing). I also used Media 100 and was an early user of Final Cut Pro as it was just being introduced in the marketplace when I left the field. There are three categories of video and editing products: professional, consumer, and prosumer. Having previously been considered a professional user, it is difficult for me to use consumer level products and thus find myself falling more satisfied with prosumer products. So, my wish list will include items that aren't necessary, but having seen them in other non-linear editors, something I'd like to incorporate.<br /><br />Another disclaimer is that I use Camtasia Studio's PC version. I had an interesting conversation with Dave McCollom from TechSmith at the Flip Class Conference last June about tools I'd like to see in Camtasia. Many of them he said are or may be available in the Mac version at some point. I have not used the Mac version. If you see things on my wish list that are available in the Mac version, feel free to let me know.<br /><br />With all that said, following is my wish list for a software product that I would like for my Flipped Class:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Simultaneous multiple outputs:</span><br />As many flippers do, I output to a few different platforms in order to provide my students multiple ways to access content. This requires me to render, produce, share, create (whatever term you use for final output of video) multiple times. I would love to have the ability to select multiple platforms prior to output and that will happen one after the other without my having to continually return to my computer. In addition, if someone could add the ability to upload the video to multiple websites at once (and produce a hard copy in a selected location on my portable hard drive, that would be great.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Built in feedback feature:</span><br />As JD mentioned in his post, I would like some kind of interface built around the video that would allow the student to submit feedback, fill in a form, maybe even attach a document, all with the same user interface. Many of us have found ways around this by implementing blogs, Google Forms, etc. into our students' viewing process. However, I would like this to all be done in one program, through one interface, and synced together for simplicity.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Multiple layers of video:</span><br />I don't expect unlimited layers of video as with many professional editors, but 4 or 5 would be good. And don't tell me what has to go into each layer (i.e. Picture-in-Picture). Just give me 4 or 5 open layers and let me build what I want. If you want to incorporate nesting, that would be a nice feature. I anticipate rarely going about 5 layers, so nesting would be more of an organization tool than anything else.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. Multiple layers of audio:</span><br />Just as I would like multiple layers of video, I would like the same with audio. I'd like to be able to split the audio across channels allowing me to clean up and blend audio better across tracks. I rarely would use more than 3 layers as a music bed isn't a highly-used tool in screencasts and teacher videos. However, the ability to overlap audio tracks and dissolve between them would be a nice feature.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5. Audio Scrubbing:</span><br />This is a time-saving feature I would love to have. Audio scrubbing, for those that don't know, is the ability to hear the audio while you drag your slider along the timeline. An experienced scrubber can quickly find a point on the timeline they want to get to more efficiently. I can use the audio waveforms in Camtasia to pinpoint places on the timeline, but still not as quickly as if I could scrub my audio as well.<br />6. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Motion Path Keyframes:</span><br />OK, I'll admit this is a big one and a bit greedy to ask of a simple video editor, but I would love the ability to motion path my keyframes. Put simply, if I make a keyframe and then place an image at that keyframe, then I go 1 second down the timeline and create a second keyframe and move the image to a second position, my editor should path the movement of the image from one keyframe to the next for me. Right? I know it's possible in After Effects and professional level non-linear editors. Can someone give me that, please? And, since it's Christmas, throw in some bezier handles too?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">7. Easier customizable transitions:</span><br />Let's face it. The only transitions we need are cut and dissolve. Seriously, good editors know this. Don't give me star filters, shutter wipes, and spin outs. Just give them the ability to easily place a dissolve and determine the frame length for it. And, since I'm being greedy, don't default it to 1 second and ask me to change it every time. Default it to 15 frames, which is what I consider the best length for most dissolves, and then I can change it if I want from there.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">8. Multiple multimedia format import:</span><br />As JD mentioned, the ability to easier import a variety of common multimedia formats would be beneficial. And please, if you could, allow video and/or image alpha channels. I'm not a big fan of the performance of consumer level chroma keys, so an alpha channel would help me create much cleaner layers. But, back to the imports....allow me to import video, audio, images, etc without having to convert and give me the ability to plug them into my project seamlessly.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">9. Multiple timelines in a project:</span><br />Maybe I'm missing this in Camtasia, but I frequently want to create videos from the same media bin. The videos may be similar in content or part of a series. I would like the ability to work in one project, but create multiple timelines. This would allow me to work more efficiently by sharing resources in one project, but still creating multiple videos from those resources.<br /><br />I don't think I'm asking for too much really. If you can give me this product at a low price, that would be wonderful. How about you? In the spirit of Christmas, I'd love to hear what others are searching for in the perfect flipped class software suite. Maybe an elf is working on it right now and will make it happen!Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-91748331327534232722011-11-19T21:07:00.000-08:002011-11-20T08:03:19.062-08:00Why has the Flipped Classroom evaded English Classrooms?<span style="font-weight: bold;">Why has the Flipped Classroom evaded English Classrooms? or Why has English instruction avoided the Flipped Classroom model?</span><br /><br />I attended the NCTE convention in Chicago the last few days and these two questions, virtually the same, have been bouncing around in my head.<br /><br />What led me to really begin asking these questions?<br />Up until 2 years ago, I had been gradually introducing more technology to my classroom. One piece this year, another piece the next. However, I decided one of my strengths as a teacher was my ability to infuse the curriculum with technology. I worked formerly as a Television Writer/Producer and was required to continually learn and be on the cutting edge of technology. I was stupefied to come into the classroom and see such an aversion to technology in a lot of areas. I decided to take the leap to more technology by cannon balling in and stop the piecemeal disorganized way I had done it in the past.<br /><br />I already used the Writing Workshop model. Then I read "The Digital Writing Workshop" by Troy Hicks and got inspired to forge forward. Last school year, I also attended the NCTE Convention in Orlando. One of the biggest highlights happened on day 1 when I saw Troy Hicks, Bud Hunt, and Sarah Kajder present in a session titled "Creating Opportunities for Learning with Newer Literacies and Technologies: Three Reports from Cyberspace". Hearing these speakers not only gave me great ideas and inspiration to bring into my classroom, they also validated my decisions on the uses of technology.<br /><br />After that, the convention sessions where informative but not mind-blowing until day 3 (Saturday) morning when I lucked into a session called "Using Google in Ways That Haven't Even Been Invented Yet: Visionary Reports From Cyberspace." In this session, I watched Andrea Zellner, Sara Beauchamp-Hicks, and again Troy Hicks talk about their uses of Google Apps. I sat in that session seeing small snippets of what they could do and said to myself, "I want to do that." Their presentation inspired me to become a Google Certified Teacher, which I accomplished this past summer in Seattle.<br /><br />One of my biggest take-aways from the convention was there were people doing what I was trying to do. And, these people were getting respect and adulation for that work. There was hope!<br /><br />As my teaching and technology infusion progressed, I came across the Flipped Classroom. As I researched this, I saw it as a way to effectively implement the Writing Workshop model. I previously <a href="http://cogitationsofmrcockrum.blogspot.com/2011/07/thoughts-on-flipping-my-class.html">blogged on my decision to move to a Flipped Classroom</a>, so I won't rehash all that here. However, up until this point, the most support I've found in building my Flipped Classroom PLN has been from science and math teachers.<br /><br />A few weeks back, in a twitter #edchat, the topic of the Flipped Class was discussed. As I have done some presenting on the Flipped Class and had been researching it extensively, I followed the chat and contributed when I felt I could. Brian Bennett was going a great job of answering many questions. Then one of my responses drew criticism from Bud Hunt. Yes, the same Bud Hunt that I had admired just 11 months ago (and still do). It seemed to me that Bud didn't agree with the Flipped Classroom model. I felt he was oversimplifying the issue, but in his defense, in 140 characters, everything is oversimplified. I don't think I swayed his leaning much, if any. I told a colleague the next day that it was difficult for me to have someone whose work I admired be against something I had so embraced. I hoped maybe I mis-interpreted Bud's argument because of the concise nature of twitter.<br /><br />When the online program was released for NCTE11 in Chicago, I immediately began searching for sessions that I would like to attend. I typed "Flipped", "Flip", "Flipping", and any other variation into the search box and came up with zero results. There were still many other good sessions I planned to attend.<br /><br />On Thursday evening, I participated in a Google Plus Hangout with a handful of Flipped Class gurus (Aaron Sams, Brian Bennett, Dan Spencer, Jerry Overmyer, Ramsey Musallam, and Karl Fisch) discussing a project. I was the lone English teacher in the discussion. All the others are math and science. I was the "red-headed step-child" of the group. Here I sat in a hotel with 6000+ English teachers and I was spending my time talking with math and science teachers. It didn't quite seem right (no offense, guys).<br /><span class="proflinkWrapper"><span class="proflinkPrefix"></span></span><br />I sat in 8 hours of sessions on Friday and got some good information. Almost every session, I noticed, brought up Google in some way. I saw presentations by fellow Google Certified Teachers, and learned small tidbits of useful knowledge here and there. But, nothing was said about the Flipped Classroom anywhere.<br /><br />Things changed in my second session on Saturday. I have been considering implementing a NaNoWriMo project with my students. For those that don't know, NaNoWriMo refers to the National Novel Writing Month and helps writers gain the skills to write a novel in one month. I attended a session that included Tracy Becker. She seemed very knowledgeable and well-read as she quoted John Jazwiec, John Steinbeck, and others. Her work was clearly researched based. Then it happened....she mentioned the Flipped Classroom. My ears perked up and my tail started wagging like a dog hearing its name. Tracy was looking for ways to get more in-class work time and had decided to try the Flipped Classroom model later this school year. There was no reaction from the audience. None. Almost as though they hadn't heard her. And, like that, she was on to her next point.<br /><br />I listened to the rest of her presentation and the two presenters following her. After the session, I introduced myself to Tracy and told her about my experience with the Flipped Class. (Jon and Aaron, since she is from Michigan, I also told her about the Flipped Class Conference coming to Chicago in June!) We only had a few minutes to talk, but listening to her verbalize her decision to move to the Flipped Class, I saw she was where I was about 7 months ago. I was thrilled to meet another English teacher, a respectable, intelligent one at that, come to the same conclusion about the Flipped Classroom that I had. Coincidentally, she got the idea from some math teachers at her school.<br /><br />This leads me back to my original questions: <span style="font-weight: bold;">Why has the Flipped Classroom evaded English Classrooms? or Why has English instruction avoided the Flipped Classroom model?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></span></span></span>I'm not saying the flipped class is right for every teacher. But, I'm surprised more English teachers haven't embraced or even tested the Flipped Class in a small way. I was discussing with a parent early in the school year the amount of English teachers that have flipped. I said, "I realize that if I am one of the few people doing something, I am either 1) extremely progressive or 2) terribly misguided."<br /><br />The Writing Workshop, while a great method that I am still implement, wasn't fully meeting the needs of my class. So, I toil forward, either being extremely progressive or terribly misguided, hoping to find more English teachers willing to try Flipped Instruction. Thank you, Tracy, for giving me hope. Thank you, Bud, for challenging me to really assess what I am doing. I am still committed to the Flipped Classroom because I am seeing great learning happening in my classroom and wonderful work coming from my students.<br /><br />I've proposed a session for ISTE in June titled "Flipped Instruction in the Language Arts Classroom". I am considering a similar proposal for next year's NCTE. I know it's a gamble (that's a joke for the NCTE folk as they know the conference is being held in Las Vegas). But maybe it will put the Flipped Classroom on more English radars.<br /><br />So, in answer to my initial questions, I have no idea. Do you? I'd love to discuss this with any English teachers either for or against the Flipped Classroom. Comment here, tweet me @tcockrum, or accost me at an upcoming conference.Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-64864554255542372392011-11-18T19:04:00.001-08:002011-11-18T20:56:29.335-08:0021st Century Skill: AdaptabilityCurrently, I am in Chicago attending the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention. The events of the day made me really think about what we should be teaching our students. I decided to write this post. And, although some people may take offense to parts of the post, as all good blog posts, it is intended to generate thought and discussion.<br /><br />We hear this term "21st Century" learning/tools/skills/etc thrown around a lot in the educational field. The implication being we need to teach children skills that will help them in our ever-changing world.<br /><br />In Adam Bellow's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vevGmzmWnI">Tech Commandments</a>, he asserts that the most important 21st Century skill is Collaboration. He argues the tools we use aren't that important because tools will change, the skills needed will not. I agree with Adam. After the events of today, however, I believe adaptability should be right up there with collaboration.<br /><br />As <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/klbz">Karen LaBonte</a> said in her session, "The first rule of technology is something will go wrong." Those of us that use technology frequently in the classroom understand and accept this.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reliance on Paper</span><br />I use Google Docs extensively with my students. Before I left for NCTE, I told my students their most recent assignment needed to be submitted to my by printing it on paper. My students were stunned. I explained to them that I would be traveling and may potentially not have access to the internet and I wanted to be able to grade their work regardless. I was planning ahead for my own sake, but also modeling that skill for my students.<br /><br />The first session I attended today was called "Power of Audience: A Collaboration in 21st Century Literacy". I will admit, it wasn't my first choice, but that session was full when I arrived, so I moved to my next choice. To my delight, it was an excellent session by <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/tom_zuzulock">Tom Zuzulock</a> and Perri Sherrill from Bozeman, Montana on using Google Docs for collaboration. Their presentation was well organized, demonstrated at a level I thought was appropriate to the audience, and gave some good "take-aways". They opened the last 10 minutes up for questions and the very first question was, "Do you have a handout available?" The presenters handled the question well and responded, "Send me an email and I will send you a Google Doc." I wanted to scream, "Have you not been listening to this entire presentation?"<br /><br />Why such a reliance on paper? I was taking notes on my iPad2 and saw many others as well. I saw some taking notes with a notepad, which is fine if that's what works best for you. But, to sit through a "21st Century" presentation and expect a paper handout seemed unreasonable to me.<br /><br />Until the next session that is. I won't mention the session title nor will I give many details as I don't want to insult the presenters. They seemed to know their content well and were very qualified to be presenting. However, their presentation relied heavily on paper handouts. When many participants didn't get a handout, they had no back up plan. If you didn't have the paper handout, it was difficult to participate. So, I left the session and went to an informative session on using video games with writing.<br /><br /> The next session I attended was titled "Fly Me to the Moon: Making That Giant Leap Into Digital Pedagogy". One of the presenters was <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/JenRoberts1">Jen Roberts</a>. I knew Jen from our time together at the Google Teacher Academy and knew she was technologically very savvy, so I expected a good presentation. I was not disappointed.<br /><br />The first presenter was Karen LaBonte and her main message was that we need to embrace technology. We need to embed it (pun intended) into our daily lives. Jen Roberts followed. Her main message, which I whole heartily agreed, was that our goal as educators should be getting to the moon (she made an analogy to Apollo 8), but many of our colleagues aren't even in orbit. Therefore, we need to help them get "into orbit."<br /><br />Along these same lines, tweeted by <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/carl_young">Carl Young</a> during the day was the statistic that only a little over 5% of teachers are using technology for writing instruction. And, the main technological tool is an overhead projector. He got that information from a session by Arthur Applebee and can be found <a href="http://www.albany.edu/cela/reports/NSWI_2011_methods_procedures.pdf">here</a>. It seems we have a significant amount of teachers that aren't even looking up, let alone preparing to be in orbit.<br /><br />I wish our paper reliant colleagues had seen this presentation. I felt it was a gentle push in ways teachers could get into digital pedagogy. I have a Masters in Mass Communication (from a life before I was a teacher) and there are some principles of advertising known as the push strategy and pull strategy. I won't spend time explaining them. I think you'll figure them out using context clues. But, applying them to education, I'm more of a pull strategists. I move forward at a fast pace and expect my colleagues to be "pulled" along with me or to drop out. These presenters did a better job of using a push strategy than I could have. They are "pushing" colleagues through the process. I certainly admire that. I just don't have the patience to do it. And, again, no paper handouts were provided! The presenters instead posted a link to their presentation and also encouraged the use of twitter to communicate with them and others.<br /><br />My afternoon sessions were great, but don't really apply to this post, so I'm not detailing them here. However, I did find out the Jon Scieszka was a very humorous individual and had great interplay with M.T. Anderson and Chris Van Allsburg. I hope to attend his session on humor tomorrow.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What? No Wifi?</span><br />Speaking of Twitter, I was following the hastag #ncte11 all day. The "trending" complaint of the day was the unavailability of wireless. Many of the tweets seemed to imply NCTE was to blame for this. Many pointed out the irony that the title of the convention included the phrase, "writing the future".<br /><br />Granted, lack of WiFi was a bit frustrating, but it is far from NCTE's fault. As a matter of fact, NCTE books their conferences 5 years in advance. I'm basing this on the fact that they have the next 5 years published in their program. Could NCTE have known 5 years ago that the Chicago Hilton wouldn't provide free and/or reliable WiFi? WiFi could be purchased for like $15 for a day. I didn't check the actual price because I didn't need it. My hotel right next door had free WiFi! But, that is what I think I heard someone say. I'm sure NCTE will make a note when booking their conferences 5 years away to get WiFi included if possible. But, by then, we could all have 14G technology in our mini-tablets or whatever device is the popular choice at the time.<br /><br />I heard one attendee complain that a session put on by two very good presenters ran awry when they couldn't access the WiFi for their presentation. My thought was, "What was their plan B?" Would we accept this excuse from our students? I don't. Every time my kids give a presentation, I tell them to have a plan B. If the technology fails for some reason, they should still be able to give a reasonable good presentation given the circumstances. I've presented at conferences with spotty WiFi and I downloaded the Google Presentation to my computer in advance just in case.<br /><br />Interestingly enough, I just wrote an extensive grant to get multiple Chromebooks for my school. One could argue that, had I brought a Chromebook to this conference, it would have been virtually unusable. I love working "in the Cloud." I'm a Google Certified Teacher, so I embrace new technologies before many others do. I love to see technology perform the way it was intended.<br /><br />However, opposite to our paper reliant colleagues, we also seem to have many WiFi reliant colleagues. This is why I believe adaptability should be looked at as a vital 21st century skill.<br /><br />What do we teach our kids when we allow lack of access to frustrate us? What do we teach our kids when we panic when technology doesn't perform as expected? What do we teach our kids when someone gives a presentation and doesn't present it in the manner we prefer (no paper handouts)? If we're teaching students to be good learners, we must to teach them to be adaptable.<br /><br />What do you think? Is adaptability vital? Or, should it be realistic to expect certain givens in our field? Should NCTE have provided us with free WiFi? Let me have it if you disagree. Let me have it if you agree. As I said, I want this post to generate discourse. That's how we improve our field.Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-69960956559054396672011-10-30T13:02:00.000-07:002011-10-30T13:53:37.382-07:00Digital Anne Frank Museum Final ThoughtsPreviously, I wrote about the <a href="http://cogitationsofmrcockrum.blogspot.com/2011/08/digital-anne-frank-museum.html">process behind converting </a>my Anne Frank Museum project into a Digital Anne Frank Museum. This is my follow up post to let you know how it went.<br /><br />Here is where you can find the <a href="https://sites.google.com/a/staindy.org/annefrankmuseum/home">Digital Anne Frank Museum</a> final product. Overall, I was pleased with the outcome of the project.<br /><br />Positives:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Creativity:</span> I didn't specify the technology that needed to be used in order to encourage the creative use of technology. I was pleased to see some impressive projects I myself would have never thought of. Two students created the Annex residents in Sims 3 and then recorded some of their daily interactions. Two other students used Minecraft to build a model of the Annex. I am familiar with both of these programs, but would not have thought of tying them in with Anne Frank. Two groups used Glogster and one took those Glogsters and embedded them into webpages without any help from me.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Content:</span> I felt the students did a good jo of showing understanding of content. Only one project, although very creative and artistic, failed to show a solid understanding of the book. I use the project in lieu of a test to assess understanding. It appears the majority of the students came away with a firm grasp of what Anne Frank is all about. However, I don't just want content understanding, but also a clear understanding of the significance of the book. In my opinion, that was achieved.<br /><br />Negatives:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Death to Powerpoint:</span> Like I said, I didn't specify technology as to allow creative uses. However, I strongly considered banning Powerpoints. Forty percent of my projects were Powerpoints. All of them had good content, but just weren't very original. Also, all of them had a technical issue the students couldn't solve. Some didn't get their fonts or images to appear as planned. Others couldn't get their audio to work correctly. I would say that this was my biggest disappointed. I encourage them to use Google Presentations (this was prior to the recent Google Presentation upgrade), Slide Rocket, Keynote or some other presentation tool. I, personally, can't remember seeing a good Powerpoint presentation, or actually any Powerpoint presentation at many of the conferences I've attended over the past few years. I've been to NCTE, ISTE, and a few smaller conferences and just don't see it. Maybe its my personal bias, but Powerpoints always looked dated and cluttered to me. Recently, I saw on YouTube <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vevGmzmWnI">Adam Bellow</a> giving his Tech Commandments at the 140 conference. The MC implied Adam used Powerpoint for his presentation. I was surprised how good it was and didn't think Powerpoint could do many of the things he did. However, I asked Adam what he used and apparently he used Keynote '09 for his presentation. I assume the introducer was using Powerpoint as a generic term, like Kleenex. <br /><br />Another teacher at my school recently assigned a Powerpoint specifically (even though we are a Google Apps school). I believe that is a lot of the problem. Too many teachers are still assigning Powerpoints, making students believe making a Powerpoint is an important skill. Presentation skills are important, the ability to make content presentable is important, but the actual Powerpoint program, I believe is counter-productive to that goal. Feel free to disagree and send me wonderfully produced Powerpoints that prove me wrong. I just haven't seen them.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Classroom iPad:</span> We have a classroom iPad2 that the students share. I was hoping to see some students use it for something extremely creative. About halfway through the project, I had one group that was having difficulty with getting video to a mac to edit. Since the iPad has iMovie on it, I suggested they record video with it and edit on it. They got all the video complete and did some work in iMovie, but ended up exporting it and editing on a Macbook in iMovie because that is what they were familiar with. One other student used it to search for images for his Powerpoint. Oddly enough, he moved the images to his Google Docs account, so he could work on his Powerpoint at home. Disappointingly, other than that, no one came up with a creative use for the iPad on this project. At the point, students still see the iPad as media consumption only and are not seeing the production capabilities it has as well.<br /><br />Overall, it turned out to be a good project that I will continue into the future. Some of my disappoints will require a cultural shift in thinking, not only amongst the kids, but also other staff members. Small steps I guess. Small steps.<br /><br />Feel free to let me know what you think of the project.Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-73129254738204033782011-10-28T11:27:00.000-07:002011-10-28T13:35:33.795-07:00Reading and Discussing is not a Flipped ClassroomI had read the <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2011-10-06/flipped-classrooms-virtual-teaching/50681482/1">USA Today article about Stacey Roshan</a>'s Flipped Classroom a couple of weeks back. This morning, while going through some other sites, I came across a <a href="http://www.thedailyjournal.com/VideoNetwork/1203446076001/Flipping-the-classroom">video</a> of the same story. What jumped out at me was a quote by Ms. Roshan where she said, "In an English class, you send the kids home to read a passage, and then in class, you discuss that passage."<br /><br />As I wrote this, Jon Bergmann tweeted out a story in the <a href="http://hamptonroads.com/2011/10/suffolk-educator-turns-teaching-math-its-head">Virginian-Pilot about Megan Edwards</a>'s Flipped Class. This article reads, "She compares it to English teachers asking students to read a piece of literature at night, then having them discuss the work in class the next day."<br /><br />Before I continue, let me say, I don't know Stacey Roshan or Megan Edwards personally and I'm not being critical of them at all. I agree with much of what was presented of them in the story. Having had a story done on <a href="http://stateimpact.npr.org/indiana/2011/10/12/how-youtube-is-changing-the-classroom/">my flipped classroom</a> recently, I realize you are at the whim of what the reporter decides to use.<br />In addition, I am a huge supporter of the Flipped Classroom. Many proponents that I have a great deal of respect and admiration for have also presented this argument to support flipped instruction.<br /><br />The gest of this argument as I understand it is that teachers in English have done the flipped method for years by assigning a novel or other reading to be completed at home and then discussing it in class. I guess at a basic level, it is similar, but I would argue it is not the same thing.<br /><br />Here is how I would describe the flipped class at its most basic: a method to free up class time to individualize instruction in the classroom. Those of us who use the flipped class know it is so much more than that, though.<br /><br />Using that basis, sending the kids home to do their reading is the same as sending math students home with math problems. In other words, we are still asking students to use skills at home which they may not possess yet. I'm referring to reading comprehension skills.<br /><br />In my school, we have reading and English as two separate classes. In English, I teach writing and grammar. In reading, I teach reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition. Discussion is a common practice in many Language Arts classrooms. I believe discussion is used for three main reasons: 1) to promote higher level thinking, 2) to assess understanding, and 3) to link basic text to societal, historical, or cultural context. These are all great goals, but is there a better way?<br /><br />I'm not proposing I have all the answers. I just know, if my students don't have solid reading comprehension skills, discussions aren't productive, nor are they the best method for students to learn.<br /><br />Last year I was meeting with a parent about her daughter. My 7th graders were reading <span style="font-style: italic;">A Chrismas Carol</span> at the time. The parent told me she liked how I posted the pages to be read online, because she would look them up, read the assignment during the day, then sit with her daughter at night and help her understand the passage. The parent wasn't complaining, but rather praising me for listing their assignments online. But, I couldn't help but feel like that parent was doing my job for me. Wasn't it my responsibility to make sure that child had the ability to read and understand the material? And, if the child didn't understand, was it not then my job to identify what skills she lacked and help her get them? How could I do that if the student was primarily reading at home?<br /><br />Based on that situation and other similar ones, I am attempting to flip my reading classroom. I have successfully flipped my English classroom and am enjoying great success with it. I'm still bouncing around ideas for successfully flipping my reading class. To this point, I've added video content of terms or ideas that would come up in a reading discussion....like antagonist or plot structure. I've also given days were students read entirely in class and I circulate to have individual discussions to assess understanding. But, the individual discussions don't allow me the time to have deeper meaningful discussions that can be attained in a collaborative group setting. I've also considered and dabbled with a Socratic questioning method to ignite better understanding.<br /><br />When I was interviewed for the NPR article, the reporter asked me if there was a "light bulb moment" where I knew I was going to flip. I couldn't think of a particular moment. It happened gradually as I researched it more. I attended The Flipped Class Conference and had multiple "light bulb moments" if you will. However, something of this magnitude, I explained to the reporter, isn't something that just happens. It takes time to grow and develop. I believe I'm trying too hard to force flipped instruction into my reading class. I need to take my own advice, it seems, and let it grow more organically based on the students' needs.<br /><br />I've preached to many that no two flipped classes are alike. Well, it appears even for the same teacher (me), no two of my flipped classes are alike!<br /><br />So, back to the main topic of this post that got me thinking: I'll say it again, simply reading at home and discussing in class is not the same as the flipped classroom. I cringe when I hear that comparison, because saying that, I believe, takes away some effectiveness in one's argument. Please, keep that in mind during future flipped classroom discussions.Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-27269948098480134272011-10-04T06:03:00.000-07:002011-10-04T17:48:25.532-07:00ELA Problems, Explore-Flip-Apply SolutionLast summer at the Google Teacher Academy in Seattle, I had the pleasure of sharing a table with Ramsey Musallam and heard him speaking about different models of the Flipped Classroom. Of particular interest to me was the Explore-Flip-Apply model. Currently, I am doing the traditional model (isn't it odd to call a flipped instruction method "traditional"?), where I front load the information and then assign a project or activity to assess that content. I liked the concept of the Explore-Flip-Apply for the Language Arts class and decided I eventually wanted to move to this model. I wanted my students to get familiar to flipped instruction first and transition them into what I would consider a more difficult model.<br /><br />Ramsey Musallam recently posted a more detailed explanation of<a href="http://flipteaching.com/files/category-inquiry.php"> Explore-Flip-Apply</a> and gave some examples from his Chemistry background. This post really got me thinking more about how I can use the Explore-Flip-Apply model. The more I think about this, the more I'm realizing this might alleviate some of the obstacles I've seen in English instruction. I realize every discipline has its own set of challenges. Following are some that I've seen in English Language Arts that many struggle to address. And, after each problem, I've presented an Explore-Flip-Apply solution.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Show your work</span><br />When was the last time you heard a teacher talking about all the extra English tutoring she did? How often do kids come in before or after school for English help? At my school, our principal runs after school math help (he was a former math teacher), but kids rarely ask for after school English help. My point being, for the most part, kids don't think they need extra help in English as often. If a student has trouble with an English assignment, they will call a friend and get the answer. There isn't the need to show your work as would happen in a math class. There doesn't seem to be an expectation to show your work in English. Sure, we teach writing as a process and may require rough drafts to "force" kids to show their work. But, students used to doing English work at home in isolation, tend also to not to see the need for showing their work.<br />On a similar note, I love the "revision history" in Google Docs. I can see my students' writing process and "rough drafts" right there in the document.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Explore-Flip-Apply Solution:</span> This model seems to be based around "showing your work". I'm envisioning a lesson in which I present a problem or task. Ken Shelton presented an awesome <a href="http://sites.google.com/site/gtaresources/events/2011-07-28/search">activity</a> at the GTA on Google Search tools that required us to work in groups to fill in answers to some questions in a short time period. I can see doing something like this initially as exploring. Give the students a short time period to answer some questions. At the end of the time period, hopefully, no one will have completed the activity. Then, have the students brainstorm how or what tools they needed to be more efficient. That's the Explore.<br />Next would be providing a video, screencast, podcast, or other digital means for them to be provided a list of tools and their uses. Maybe you could even demonstrate finding the answers in the allotted time emphasizing what tools you used. That's the Flip.<br />Finally, the students return to class and are given a similar, but possibly even more difficult, task. Again, they are given a specified time limit to find the solution using the tools they learned about the previous night. Once they've shown progress in their search efficiency, assign a larger research project. That's the Apply.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />2. A lot of writing is collaborative</span><br />If we think about times we use our writing skills in really life, many times it is in a collaborative process. Right now, I am working on two presentations and a conference proposal with other teachers. We are collaborating the writing process. Unfortunately, when we ask students to collaborate, all students don't learn or focus on the same skills or content. With some projects, that's acceptable. However, even when students contribute equal work, they still contribute to different tasks. Students will work toward their strengths, which is what real-world collaborations are, but we need them to work on their weaknesses.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Explore-Flip-Apply Solution: </span>I can see doing a project where students teach each other as part of the explore. For instance, I assign a presentation. The presentation has to teach the class a skill or topic on which the group has a lot of knowledge (sound like a conference presentation?). As a group, they have to brainstorm what topic they will be covering and then proceed to determine what skills they need for a successful presentation. If you want to narrow it more, it could be a topic of some content related to your class. Students determine what they are going to need to complete this project successfully. At the same time, they have to identify and document what each partner's strengths are. That's the Explore.<br />Next, they watch a video, podcast, or other means and see which skills they really do need. Here, I might throw in a twist and require them to perform a weakness of theirs as opposed to a strength. And, at the same time, they need to teach their other group members their strengths and learn from the others how to improve their weaknesses. That's the Flip.<br />Then, they use all the tools they learned and put together their presentation. That's the Apply.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Authentic writing</span><br />In English, we always want to work on what is known as authentic writing, or real-world applications. While I love this idea in theory, I don't always see it as attainable. Maybe it is the fault of standardized testing, but students struggle sometimes to make that connection between what they know and how it applies to the real-world application. For instance, I do an advertising unit with my students to cover some media literacy skills as well as persuasion. Rarely do I get a student that makes the connection between the formal persuasive essay they write for class (either my class or other teachers' classes) and persuasive advertising. Here in lies part of the problem. On a standardized test, they are going to asked to write a letter to their principal explaining why school uniforms are bad or good, or some other contrived "real-world" problem. It is simply asking for a persuasive essay in the form of a letter. Some kids don't get that and write these long drawn out letters with poor organization or supporting evidence. I've even had some kids ask if the principal was really going to read the letters. Do you think that kid is formulating good ideas and focusing on the writing process? Not likely. And that is the crux of the problem. If we focus too much on formula writing that the tests want to see, kids miss real-world applications. If we focus too much on real-world applications, kids can struggle to make the connection needed for standardized test type writing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Explore-Flip-Apply Solution:</span> Well, both my other examples were real-world solutions. However, in this case, I may use a similar contrived assignment that could be seen on a standardized test. I could assign writing a letter to our principal about some topic that needs persuading.<br />In class, students brainstorm on what skills they need and what steps they'll take in the writing process to compose a solid letter. That's the Explore.<br />At home, they'll learn the links to other assignments they've had in the past.....persuasive essay, compare/contrast, cause and effect, etc. whichever one I want them to apply here. Or, I may just give them videos on these types of essays and see if they make the connection on their own. That's the Flip.<br />Then, they compose the letter in class. That's the apply.<br />Note to self: this exercise might be good to try a couple weeks before we begin statewide testing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. Common Sense or "I've spoken English all my life"</span><br />Students oftentimes see English as common sense to them. English content is what I like to call cyclical. Or so it appears. As opposed to math or science, in which you build on each topic, English content comes back around and is re-covered time and again, year after year. I can look at my school's 5th grade textbook and find many of the same concepts as my 8th grade textbook. We begin talking about nouns, for instance, and my students say, "We already know what a noun is. We had it in like 5th grade." What they don't realize is that nouns in 8th grade are subtly more comprehensive than in 7th, 6th, and 5th. They might be thrown some collective nouns or gerunds. But, they have their blinders on and are thinking "I already know nouns; I can tune out for awhile." Therefore, they aren't going to ask for help understanding nouns because they haven't even realized there is new content being presented.<br />Many teachers believe, as do I, that grammar is best taught in context. Meaning skill and drill worksheets, while possibly good for picking up terminology, don't improve grammar in writing.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span>And, isn't that where we want to see good grammar? In their writing? I've always been a bit bothered by our standardized tests that say, "Identify the preposition and object of the preposition in this sentence." My students can write wonderful and correct prepositional phrases with ease. Yet, some of them come to that question and can't identify the preposition. When they get older, will they be more aptly served writing prepositions or pointing to them?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Explore-Flip-Apply Solution:</span> This might be bit harder to pull off in the Explore-Flip-Apply model. I might be reaching here, but I'll still give it a go.<br />In class, students might be presented with a problem. Explain what goes into writing an effective paragraph. Maybe even focus it more by adding nonfiction or fiction. Let the students brainstorm what makes a good sentence, attempting, at the same time, to use proper grammar terminology. While they are throwing out what they think are grammar terms, asked some pointed questions like, "does the type of noun we use matter?" Or, "why might introductory clauses be important?" At the end of the period, we should have a list or guide to writing an effective paragraph, with what they believe is proper terminology (but not telling them if they are correct or not). That's the Explore.<br />At home, they watch a video explaining all they really need to know for writing an effective paragraph, confirming some of their previous work or dispelling any myths or misunderstandings. That's the Flip.<br />Next day in class, use my list or guide, maybe even spend some time comparing the two guides and coming to a common agreement about certain items. Maybe even have a discussion on why my guide is wrong and theirs is correct. Ultimately, you have them write a paragraph using the guide they learned, at the same time, identifying prepositional phrases, introductory clauses, etc. That's the Apply.<br /><br />In this post, I solely covered the writing part of English Language Arts. I didn't tackle the Reading Comprehension part at all. That's down the road some time for me. As I stated earlier, I'd like to move my students to the Explore-Flip-Apply model away from, or complementary to, the Tradition Flip model. I have my sights set for doing something like this after Christmas break. We'll see if it happens. In the meantime, I'd love to hear other suggestions on using the Explore-Flip-Apply model to solve the problems I presented. I would also love to hear your problems (content problems that is) so I can help brainstorm solutions. If you have ideas or literature units using the Explore-Flip-Apply model, let me know those as well. I see this model having so much value in the ELA classroom.Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-79420888511949302752011-09-26T18:54:00.000-07:002011-09-26T19:17:13.008-07:00Flipped Class Week 5My thoughts on Week 5 of my Flipped Class<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Pages of content...</span><br />It's official, based on my students' notebooks, I have delivered as much content as I did all last year. Well, that's not entirely true. However, last year, students took notes on my lectures, but I never really had the time to check the quality of their notes. I checked a students' notebook I had from last year. It had 36 pages of notes. No, I didn't count them. I have my kids number their pages and put in a table of contents. I noticed this week that several kids are easily to 36 pages already. By that standard, I will deliver at least 4 times the amount of content. I'm not sure that is true, but I know I am still delivering significantly more content than I've ever been able to in the past. As I'm planning my videos, I've already finished my list for 2nd quarter and have made most of the videos. I am beginning to plan 3rd quarter videos and am having a bit of a struggle filling out the video list. I know some content I traditionally cover in 3rd quarter. But, with the extra time flipping provides me, I am stretching to come up with content. I'm worried I may run out of material in the 4th quarter. I'm realizing that I will have the ability to teach the kids material that I haven't even considered in the past.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. My new toy...</span><br />I mentioned in my last post that I received a Livescribe Pulse pen. I found an excellent use for it last week. Many of my students were struggling to determine the difference between linking verbs and action verbs. As I circulated the room, I was getting many of the same questions. I went home that evening, pulled out the Livescribe pen, and created a quick pencast explaining an easy way to tell the differences along with examples. The pencast was 6 minutes long. Including upload time, the whole process took maybe 20 minutes. I offered it to the kids as extra credit. The feedback I got from the kids that watched the pencast was that it was very helpful.<br /><br />That's all the thoughts I had for this week. I'm really getting into a groove with the video process. Most of the kids are as well. I did have a kid say one day, "I hate this flipped class, online thing." She was actually saying,"I'm not organized enough to keep up with my work and that frustrates me." Her and I had a short conversation about her organizational methods. I plan to follow up this week. Just one more benefit to the flipped class!Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7572870477738084565.post-76924933107939774452011-09-03T11:08:00.000-07:002011-09-17T17:32:33.587-07:00Flipped Week 4 - Are Middle Schoolers Mature Enough?I was out most of last week with my 7th grade homeroom at an outdoor leadership camp. That was a positive experience and is always worth the time taken away from school. So, I returned for week 4 of my Flipped Class anxious to see how things would be when I returned. Here are my thoughts from Week 4.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Is it the Middle School age?</span><br />I remember at the Flipped Class Conference this summer, someone said that most Middle School kids don't have the maturity to handle the independence of the Flipped Class. I knew some of my kids would struggle, as mentioned in previous posts, but I thought most could. My belief is that if you make the expectations clear and reasonable and hold them accountable, most Middle Schoolers will meet that expectation. Many have told me they like the independence they're given and appreciate being trusted to do their work. They like being treated "like high school students" since they are getting older, as opposed to the teachers that still treat them like "little kids".<br />Well, before I left for the camp, I gave the kids all the work they were expected to complete in my absence. They had ample time to complete it in class. I left the list with the sub and asked her to remind them everyday what they had to complete. In addition, they had other assignments that they could work ahead on if they completed the due work. When I returned on Monday, I expected every student, with the exception of maybe 1 or 2, to be ahead of schedule. I got no notes from the sub about any disruptions to class, so I knew they had 3 full class periods to work. She also said the kids were well-behaved, so I went in to school on Monday very encouraged. Unfortunately, that was short lived. I have all my 8th grade classes early in the day and it turned out roughly 75% of the students completed little to none of the work. I was baffled. How could so many students have 3 full class periods to work complete absolutely nothing? Even worse, they didn't do the work over the weekend to have ready on Monday.<br />They came to class and seemed to expect to be allowed and capable to complete all of it during that period. I was very discouraged to say the least. True, this isn't a product of the flipped class. But, up to this point, most of my students have shown excellent responsibility in completing their worked with flipped instruction. What this told me is that these students (and maybe most Middle School students) can't be trusted to complete their work without me checking in with them almost daily.<br />I gave the kids zeros for the work they didn't complete. I did get one parent email that claimed her child should not be responsible for the work because, according the her daughter, "the sub told them they didn't have to do it." But, don't we always have one of those regardless of the instruction method?<br />I'm going to be out for a day in October for a conference. My thought right now is to assign a worksheet due at the end of the class period. No computers, no ipods, nothing can be used during the class period. Just their textbook and a pen.<br />What do you think? Do Middle Schoolers have the maturity to handle the flipped classroom?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Textbook is still available....</span><br />With each video, I include the textbook page number for the same content. I got that idea from Aaron Sams. Most kids payed no attention to that part of the list and have kept doing the videos. Which is fine. On Wednesday, I saw a student diligently working from a textbook. At first I thought she was doing work from another class. As I made my way towards her, I noticed she was using my English textbook. I was pleasantly surprised by this and asked her what she was working on. She said the video didn't make a lot of sense so she was trying to learn it from the textbook. "Great," I said. "Let me know if you have any questions." I normally keep the textbooks stacked in the classroom for their reference. At the end of the period, she asked if she could take a textbook with her to keep at home. Certainly, I told her I had no problem with that as long as she returned it at the end of the year. The next day, another student asked a question and she suggested he use the textbook. His surprised response, "You mean its in there? Cool!" I was thrilled that one student is figuring out optional ways to learn the material. I was disappointed that the other student was amazed that the content would actually be in the textbook. I have to remind myself that its a process and they're still learning.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Excuse to be a bad teacher?</span><br />I will have to say, on Thursday of this week, I was extremely tired. I had made a couple videos on Wednesday night and was up later than I should have been. As the day went on, I was dragging more and more. My classes were working quietly and being productive. By the time my afternoon classes rolled around, I realized I was doing a lot of sitting and not engaging with students. With the flipped method, it became easy to sit doing nothing, just watching the students work and become a bad teacher. Now, this was only one day, so I'm giving myself a pass this time. But, it is certainly something to be cognitive of in the future. I went to this method so I could have more meaningful conversations with kids about their learning. I need to make sure I'm doing that even on the days its easy to not.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. New technology</span> - <span style="font-weight: bold;">Livescribe Pen</span><br />I received a Livescribe pen this week as part of their Educator Ambassador Program. I saw Jason Kern at the Flipped Class Conference discuss ways a Math teacher at his school used it. I would like to find a way to use it with grading students' work. I plan to do some pencasts and turn them into video lessons, but haven't figured out the topics I want to use it for yet. I'm also considering having some of my better note takers take some of their notes using the Livescribe pen and notebook, having them talk through their thought process as they decide what to write in their notes. Then, I can use that as a model for some students that need help with note taking skills. I showed the pen and some of the things it could do to a few students and 1 other teacher. By the end of the day, I had 3 other teachers come ask to see the pen in action. I'm talking with our Resource Department about putting together a grant to get more of the pens.<br />I can think of a lot of math pencasts using the pen, but am struggling with Language Arts pencasts. Any suggestions?<br />If you haven't seen these pens in action, Google them. They're pretty cool.<br /><br />Those are my thoughts for Week 4 of my Flipped Class. I was concerned the kids might start getting burned out on the videos. I asked a few kids for some informal feedback on the workload and videos. The ones I talked with still liked the system and didn't feel the workload was too demanding. Our 5th grade teacher wants to try some flipped methods with her math class. Our GT teacher is considering doing this with her 3rd and 4th graders. Her and I brainstormed some ideas for lessons that it might work with. I showed her<a href="http://www.flipteaching.com/page2/index.php"> Ramsey Musallam's Models of Flipped Instruction</a> and she really liked the Explore-Flip-Apply model. I want to move my students towards this model more often, so I will be interested to see how it works in her class.<br /><br />I'm still very encouraged by the results I'm observing. I'd love to hear your thoughts to the question I presented above. Do most Middle Schoolers struggle with the maturity it takes to handle the independence of Flipped Instruction?Troy Cockrumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05549316426469972835noreply@blogger.com2