What’s all the fuss over flipped classrooms?

By now, many of you will be familiar with the concept of reversed responsibility learning or flipped learning. As an educator myself, the concept of assigning my students a video to watch, interpret and form questions on in lieu of my class was an enticing offer.

A classroom in which students:

• have an awareness of the lesson topic,
• have attempted to understand the content knowledge,
• develop their own questions to bring back into the class,
• and are ready to engage in active, cooperative learning from the outset.

Too good to be true?

Three phases of integrating technology in the classroom

Any teacher that can be replaced by technology deserves to be.
David Thornburg

Integrating technology is a challenging prospect but it doesn’t have to be. The above quote is important to bear in mind throughout this article as successful integration of technology is as much about the teacher and their ability to bring learning to life as it is about the use of technology.

The three phases of digital integration is not a best-practice checklist but rather an insight into a typical implementation plan.

Flipped classroom explained: why it works

Earlier this year, ExCel London played host to the Bett Show 2013. I attended the show, like many passionate about the transformational power of learning technology, to get an insight into the development areas new technology suppliers have been concentrating on over the past year and what this could mean for teaching and learning.

This year’s three-day conference focused on the recent changes in education and the escalated need for schools to strengthen their provision of teacher training and information. Web-linked coaching, turbo-charging professional development and plenaries on what head teachers need to know about the high impact (but high-risk) world of mobile learning – these were just a few of the sessions on offer.

Yet, while teacher training had a rightful place in this year’s agenda, it was difficult to ignore the discussions taking place in conference sessions, in social lounges and around the many coffee bars outside the main hall and on the exhibition floor. The ‘flipped classroom’ for me was the real focus of attention and drove many of the conversations I had with delegates.

The interest around flipped learning has not just happened overnight. The evolution of classroom resources and mobile applications has primed our behaviour, but it is only since senior leaders have identified the learning opportunities offered by mobile technologies that we are starting to see real traction.

But what really is a flipped classroom, what isn’t it, how is it achieved and why does it work?

How to find the perfect tutor

Tutoring can be an effective way for parents to support their child’s learning development. Traditionally the term tutor suggests a teacher offering one-to-one support, however there are a wide range of other and often more cost-effective forms of tutoring available.

In recent years online tutoring services have become increasingly popular, enabling students to learn, revise and test themselves according to their classroom syllabi’s. Whether on their desktop, tablet or smart phone device these e-learning resources can encourage students to study for longer and more sporadically.

Other alternatives include independent tutoring services that cover core subjects in group formats or larger often franchise-based learning centre’s that offer large classroom based learning sessions.

Are UK universities about to embark on a global online revolution?

In the USA, a global phenomenon in online learning is taking place and many education technologists are anticipating a similar wave in the UK, albeit a much slower one.

Moocs – massive online open courses – have become a national success in the USA, yet over here distance learning remains a niche concern, often seen as a side project for UK universities to cash in on international and postgraduate course fees.

The contrast between nations is stark: while UK universities have only begun to dip their toes in, venture capitalists and leading higher-education institutes in the States are investing millions into the development of ground-breaking new moocs. On offer are free online courses to mass numbers of students across the states and internationally.