4 things to know before flipping your classroom

Flipped learning is gaining momentum in more and more learning institutions around the world. Our e-learning consultant, @Chris_Hendon, a specialist coach in alternative pedagogies, has been advising on just how far schools have progressed in recent years.

Yet column inches and advice blogs tend to concentrate on the pros and cons, and advantages and disadvantages of the flipped classroom approach, and few have documented any real empirical evidence from UK contexts and case studies.

This seemed like a challenge to us and so, with the help of our flipped learning coach, we followed a school in Kent to assess their experiences, reactions and findings as they set about integrating flipped learning.

Seven ways to become a more connected educator

Are you constantly on the lookout for new ways to integrate technology in your classroom(s)?

Or are you hoping to become a more effective, digitally-focused educator?

If you answered ‘yes’ to either of the above questions then this will certainly be of interest. We’ve trailed through several key research reports, endless numbers of advisory blogs and taken on board the suggestions of our educational partners to bring you the must-know habits that make for an effective and connected teacher.

Whether you’ve got extensive experience in delivering e-learning initiatives or are just getting to grips with the growing digitalisation of teaching and learning, this set of tips will help you.

Kent school flips their classrooms (video case study)

For a school in Tenterden, Kent, integrative classroom technologies have a significant role in supporting their personalised learning agenda.

Homewood School and Sixth Form Centre is a forward-thinking school that aims to make the learning process as flexible and intuitive as possible for its learners.

Focused on applied learning and dedicated to the continued innovation of its teaching and learning strategies, Homewood formed a digital curriculum partnership with LearnersCloud.

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?

Rise in mobile learning: Apple’s 2013 report makes it difficult to ignore

Last month, Apple and Cisco gave the clearest indication yet that mobile learning is gaining traction at a pace faster than analysts had previously expected.

In this article we’ll look at the two recently published reports: firstly, Apple's annual report that concentrates on the direct impact of mobile learning within education, and secondly on Cisco’s more generalised, yet equally surprising annual forecast report.

MOOCs count towards full degree

In a recent post we considered the impact of an online phenomenon that’s rapidly gaining support throughout the USA and parts of Europe. We reflected on whether UK universities are about to follow suit and embark on the trend that’s being pitched as a global online revolution.

Two months later and one of the emerging powerhouses among American universities has announced that it will be joining forces with a further 29 institutes throughout the USA, Europe and Asia.

Coursera, an educational technology company formed by academics at the prestigious Stanford University, will now offer a range of online courses from 62 institutes including Humanities, Biology, Social Sciences, Mathematics, and many others.

To tweet, or not to tweet?

Safer Internet Day considers our fascination with Twitter

 

Are you an avid tweeter? Do you spend an hour or two each day updating your social network statuses?

A recent study by the UK Safer Internet Centre found that over 95 per cent of 11−19-year-olds communicate online, through social networking sites like Twitter.

To coincide with this month’s Safer Internet Day this article will consider the issues surrounding Twitter and offer advice on how young people can avoid many of the associated problems and risks.

How can cloud computing improve educational performance?

Technology has continuously impacted on the way we teach young people. In the 1950s learning theorists concluded that repeated drills and the repetition of content-supported learning and more specifically recall. This led to the introduction of listening stations in the classroom where students were able to use headphones to listen to audio tapes and cassettes. This progressed to the integration of video tapes a year later and the trend has not slowed since.

Today, technology is advancing quicker than ever and, as it does, schools and learning institutions are starting to gain pace with new technologies − a very welcome change, if you ask us.