The Flipped Classroom - Would it work in Brazil?

In my previous post, I talked about a concept which I first heard about in Khan's lecture at TED "flipping the classroom". The idea of recording videos of lectures and devoting classroom time for practice activities seems to be VERY INTERESTING.


Created by Knewton and Column Five Media

Then, I thought, how could we flip our English classes? In my context, in language institutes, we normally start our classes presenting a new topic (vocabulary or grammar) and then move on to exercises (written and oral) to help students consolidate knowlegde by using it.

I guess a way of flipping our classrooms would be to record mini lessons presenting the topic beforehand and then practice, practice, practice in class.

My question is: would students watch the video at home?

I've just talked to 3 Brazilian teenagers at home (my son and 2 cousins) and I made them the same question:


If you had to watch a video for homework, would you watch it?
Boys- Maybe not.


But if your teacher told you to watch a video in order to be able to do some exercises the following class, would you watch the video?
Boys - We would, we would be afraid of not being able to do the exercises the following class but many of our classmates wouldn't. They would ask the teacher to explain again.

And if you had access to lots of video lectures before tests, do you think it would help you study?
Boys- Sure, if we had problems we would be able to watch the video lecture again and again.

Well, I think the idea is fantastic, however, I don't know how well Brazilian learners would adapt to it. The problem is that our students have been accustomed to the traditional format for too long and end up having a passive attitude to learning.

Is it worth a try? I truly think so. If I'm brave enough, maybe next semester, I'll post about a flipped experience in an English Class.


This is a video from Students who have tried the Flipped Classroom

GRAMMAR VIDEO LESSONS

Inspired by Salman Khan's presentation at TED, I thought of how to help my students get ready for their final English tests and I humbly created some GRAMMAR VIDEO LESSONS.

Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education | Video on TED.com via kwout

Although our main focus is not grammar, something my EFL students  always complain about is UNDERSTANDING how to use grammar. Many of them only have a chance to listen to an explanation once in class and others who have missed that specific class feel totally lost. This is the reason behind these videos. I tried to make the explanations simple / short and give them examples.

PASSIVE VOICE


REPORTED SPEECH


RELATIVE CLAUSES


The idea Khan presented of maybe flipping the things around in the classroom made me think.
What if we offered grammar explanations via video and used the time in class to learn how to use it in practice? Well, let's see if they find it helpful.

Oh, to create the slides, two programs were used: Powerpoint or ActivInspire. Then, I used http://screencast-o-matic.com/ to record my voice while explaining the topic.

TUBEIT - developing a discussion with Teachers

I've posted about TOKBOX many times before, and it used to be my favourite site for video messaging. However, with the changes that happened to the site and their choice to focus on the chat feature, I ended up giving it up, at least for teaching purposes.

This afternoon, I invited some teachers from CULTURA EDTECH (online course I facilitate) and a couple of friends from facebook to join me in a new trial.

The site we tried was TUBEIT . It allows you to create an instant chat room where participants have access to their webcam and microphones and also watch a selected YOUTUBE video chosen by the person who sets up the room.

Today, I chose a video interview with Marc Prensky, where he discusses about the ROLE OF TEACHERS TODAY.


I guess there's a limit of participants for the session (I"m not sure) as I could see the possibility of 7 webcams in the room. It's extremely easy to use. You just go to http://tubeit.opentok.com/ write your name, paste the video URL (from Youtube), grab the link to the room in TUBEIT, share with invitees via twitter, facebook or e-mail and start your discussion.

This is how I planned it:
1. I greeted participants.
2. Participants had the chance to introduce themselves (webcam)
3. Pre-question to start the discussion. ("What's the role of teachers?")
4. Participants gave their opinion.
5. We watched the video interview.
6. Used quotes from the interview to promote discussion.

Problems: well, the sound wasn't 100% (some speech breakdowns) but we managed to develop a discussion.

These are the screenshots I took of the session with Roberta Righetto (Mato Grosso), Gildeta (Campinas), Ana Lucas (Uberlandia), Nina (Ukraine),  Angeles Berman (Mexico?).

A New Journey starting

I've started an M. A. in Applied Linguistics this year and have been struggling to reemerge among all these books and articles I have to read. This is the reason for the few posts in 2011. :)

For my future theses, I've been trying to figure out how technology has influenced my life as a teacher.

• What movements has it brought about? 
• And the concept of presence, how do I make myself present digitally and how does the digital presence or "lack of physical presence" of others influence my learning path? 
• As to teacher resistance to technology, how have my own resistance barriers been broken and beliefs transformed?

As suggested by my tutor Dilma Mello,

I've started reading about the concept of Presence
http://distanciaproximidade.wikispaces.com/home
http://www.360doc.com/content/07/0525/12/18017_519886.shtml
http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol3/issue2/lombard.html

Teacher Resistance
http://eprints.usq.edu.au/2101/1/Albion_Ertmer.pdf

New Literacies (Diana Brydon)
http://dianabrydon.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/teacher-education-in-the-theories-of-new-literacies-and-multiliteracies/

I'll be investigating my own path as a teacher and teacher educator using Narrative Inquiry which will allow me to relive my experience and this way build new meanings as I retell and listen to my lived stories.

Narrative Inquiry
http://www.jstor.org/pss/1176100

Create cool posters and flyers with SMORE

Although the site is still in its beta version and an invite is needed to join it, we can already imagine its potential in education. The site allows you to create online flyers and posters by adding text, images, videos, gallery of photos, map, testimonials, events and so on.
http://www.smorepages.com/


A Cupcake Story from Smore on Vimeo.

How can we  use it with students?

• create online flyers for school events. Or even better, ask students to create different flyers for the same school event.
• students can create posters about topics they are researching about.
• students can create posters about different celebrations throughout the school year.

Via Free Technology for Teachers.

Flying in my Dreams

I've always dreamed of watching a performance of Cirque du Soleil. What I like about it? I love the way they have turned the circus into a stage of pure ART, full of enchantment, wonderful music and jaw-dropping performances.

Next week, it is my birthday and last week I got the BEST PRESENT EVER. Guess what?
Yes, a ticket to see the show Varekai from Cirque du Soleil in São Paulo. Although, I could not take pictures during the show (it's forbidden), let me share a bit of one of the most poetic moments.



THANK YOU, MOM!