I'm sharing some advice from some teachers that have focused on flipping their classroom for a few years. One such teacher is Ramsey Musallam, @ramseymusallam. Dr. Musallam had a few eye-popping experiences that he shared in the STEMx Conference Keynote (the recording is listed under his name Ramsey Musallam). I really like his class website, clean, clear of clutter. Here are some of his flipping cool ideas. Click on the image to see additional information.

Notice in the image Ramsey doesn't start with the students watching the video. That's the lesson learned based on fallen test scores. You might not care about test scores but as long as Universities and Colleges ask for SAT/ACT/GRE/MCAT scores, I care. It's just that simple. There are more people that want to go to Harvard than there are spaces available. How would you select your crew?

Here's another diagram based on Bloom's to consider:

WHAT?

Ramsey pointed out some research that suggested introducing topics using an explore period (even ten minutes) makes a significant impact on how the flip video is absorbed/leaned by the students. Stanford Research: How to Flip the Flipped Classroom Protocols By Wired Academic on July 27, 2013. Here is the Stanford Report, July 16, 2013, Classes should do hands-on exercises before reading and video, Stanford researchers say. This quote at the beginning of the article is powerful, "A study from the Stanford Graduate School of Education of how students best learned a neuroscience lesson showed a distinct benefit to starting out by working with an interactive 3D model of the brain."

I think this raises questions we need to be asking. Is there an opportunity to begin with an interactive 3D models or some other hands-on activity showing real life use/demonstration?

What does flipping look like in a typical classroom? A video and some questions done at home; during the day teacher facilitated discussions or hands-on activities. It has changed over time for Ramsey. 

I always thought my learning was better when I read it, discussed it, then taught it to someone else. I felt like a master. We need kids to want to be curious and be comfortable without being told the answers for the test because we don't know the questions yet but we want to prepare students to solve those complex problems, cooperatively and collaboratively. Like many other people, I know our children have to excel in teamwork. That's their future.

One tip to wrap this post up is to include yourself in it if at all possible, your image and voice. Crystal Kirch, @cystalkirch, Flipping with Kirch, gathered feedback from her students as she ventured along this teaching strategy and she found that students did enjoy her class videos more when she was in it. Good luck. Fro some teachers it'll be a breeze to record themselves, voice and image, but for others it'll be a challenge. Try it once, twice and yes the third time and so on will get easier. I think the students are worth it. Use Camtastia ($) or Google Hangouts (free) to name just two tools to consider for creating your screencasts. 

Teaching is adapting, moving forward. Flipping classrooms is genius!

Here are my top 5 reasons why we should all flip our classrooms:

1. A good teacher can be an even better teacher. Life (work) needs to be interesting and challenging and this is the perfect ticket. Think about what you might do with more face-to-face time with students. Small group instruction. Teaming students in pairs and teams to learn from each other? I think that is pure joy.

2. This generation of learners is not the same as the past decade or two of learners. Ever try to hold a child's attention for more than 10 minutes by just talking at them? Students learn differently, at different rates and flipping can take advantage of learning opportunities that are ideally suited to the student. (Student centered classes are a good thing).

3. Absent students can still learn the lesson basics instead of missing out. (Ever wonder how many students are absent on any given day due to sports, illness, orthodontist or vacation? From my experience it's nice when a teacher accommodates my child but it doesn't always happen. Lessons on video are a parents dream.)

4. Parents or guardians can view recorded lessons and help their child if additional support is needed.

5. Even the brightest students get distracted and need to ask, "What? I couldn't hear."

Interested in flipping? Here's more information you might for you to feast on:
* Flipping Your Classroom #flippedpd #flip by Miguel Guhlin, @mguhlin
* Report: The 4 Pillars of the Flipped Classroom by David Nagel, June 18, 2013
* Flipping with Kirch by Crystal Kirch, @crystalkirch
* Interested in the Flipped Classroom?? by Todd Nesloney
* Have a resource I need to add? Please share it in the comments with me. Thanks in advance! Cheers!

The idea of appy hours has been showcased and presented before. I devoured it on the TechChef4U.com blog by Lisa Johnson, @techchef4u, and yes, couldn't wait until the next appy hour menu was delivered. Tech Chef also has an Appy Hours 4 U podcast in iTunes that's fascinating.

Have you seen these delicious Appy Hour menus by none other than the big man on Eanes campus, Carl Hooker, @mrhooker, posted on his Hooked on Innovation blog? Carl and Lisa share unbelievable, super creative, and visually stunning appy hour ideas. Cheers!

I think this idea by Dawn Curry is genius. Dawn shared her success with me recently in using these fun, bright orange neoprene protective carrying cases. Her 5th graders carry around their iPad during the day safely tucked into a ~$4 neoprene bag between classes and when it's not needed during class. If students had a bluetooth keyboard with their iPad, that also fit inside the bag nicely. No iPad breakage last year! Cool right?!

If you didn't get a chance to check out the free massive online Global STEMx Education Conference, it's not too late. The sessions were archived so peruse the lineup, here, and enjoy the recorded sessions that appeal to you most. The three co-chairs: Steve Hargadon, @SteveHargadon, Lucy Gray, @elemenous, and Jim Vanides, @jgvanides, did a phenomenal job preparing and delivering a fantastic global learning event. With stellar sponsors like HP and ISTE it's no wonder that this was a high class global reaching event. 

I had the pleasure of moderating two sessions. One for Lindsey Tropf, @Ltropf, and the other for Derek Barkalow, @derekbarkalow. Both are amazing educators that I truly enjoyed getting to a know and listening to. Please check their sessions out when you get a chance. Here is a link to the Keynotes and Sessions. Super easy to find because the presenters are listed in alphabetical order.

Moderating was really easy for both sessions for a couple of reasons. The first was the presenters were awesome. Also, there wasn't a lot of back channel discussions. The tool that was used to record the sessions was Blackboard Collaborate. That is amazing software that is very intuitive. For my purposes at school, I will probably stick with the free Google Hangouts (however the limited seating to 10 or 15 in a session is a slight drawback) and Camtasia to record events/screens. So, all-in-all, I was nervous but didn't need to be. Yes, I had some embarrassing typos. My red face fortuantley was not on camera. Moments like that do have a silver lining though in that they really ground me, and remind me, to be patient and give myself and others a break too. Cheers! 

My new position as an EdTech Chick felt very real yesterday when I received my new badge, "Consultant". I've taken better ID pictures, except at the DMV, but this one I am proud to wear. My goal is to support and encourage teachers to use technology to help students love learning. 

While waiting in the district office lobby, I had a chance to peruse the local paper, The Beach Reporter. OMG! Emilie, student at my school, was on the cover with her father, Sergeant Casey Miner, who had just returned from Afghanistan. One of my all-time favorite tech moments was supporting her 2nd grade class while they Skyped to Afghanistan. It still blows my mind that the power of tech can connect us across the planet for meaningful experiences. Love this job; meeting and learning from amazing people!

Along came fabulous Paul Hamilton, Apple Distinguished Educator, on Twitter, @PaulHamilton8, asking for contributions to his global inspiration project. I think he is a wonderful person to follow on Twitter and I highly recommend you take a look at this website, here. I was fortunate enough to be included. I sent him my 30 second Tellagami video and he included it in his movie. If you haven't checked out the iPad app called Tellagami, please give it a try. I think it has amazing potential with students and teachers in the classroom. Super fun!