Flipped Classroom

(UPDATED) Swivl: A Device For The Flipped Classroom

I recently purchased a device called ‘Swivl’ for school and I thought I would take the time to write a quick post about it.

‘Swivl’ is a used to film lessons or other activities for use with the flipped classroom or lesson observations.

The device sits on a tripod and has a slot for you to put your iPhone or iPod Touch into it. You can then put the microphone/sensor around your neck and the device will swivel round and follow you as you walk around the classroom. It pretty cool and staff and students were impressed with the tech.

It is a great device that is very useful if you want to film your lessons, especially if you have a teacher that walks around a lot, like me. It also has a free App that that optimises the experience.

As you will see from the video below, you should check the white balance as you can hardly see what is on the whiteboard. I should have really had a look before I started filming, leaving the classroom light on would have helped. It is also fairly pricey at about £175. I got mine from: http://www.techinvasion.co.uk/

There is another issue too. If you are walking around the camera follows you, which is fine. However, I make lots of small movements so the camera can be a little jerky. Probably something just to be mindful of when you are using it I suppose. Update: A representative of Techinvasion read this post and kindly emailed me with some guidance. He let me know that there is a ‘Sport Mode’ which is there for just this reason. 

Overall, I think it is really good. It is very easy to set up and will certainly improve the filming and sharing the lessons.

Have a look at the video and make up your own mind. Sorry about the rubbish commentary. It has been a long day. 🙂

The Flipped Classroom – Some brief guidance

I have been meaning to write this post for ages and I have finally got around to it.

So what is the flipped classroom?

In “flipped classes” students use technology at home to watch online video lectures, demonstrations, explanations of assignments and listen to podcasts. This of course, means much of the learning can be done at home, independently. In lessons teachers can be more like facilitators and more time can be spent guiding students, offering support and assessing understanding.

What can we use to create resources for the flipped classroom?

The iPad is perfect for this and can save a huge amount of time. We could use the following apps:

Explain Everything

ShowMe

VideoScribe HD

The apps above are great for making videos using images, YouTube videos, text and audio. These videos can then be shared with students to be viewed at home.

iMovie

This could be used to film and edit a segment of a lesson or perhaps the teacher explaining something and shared with students. You could even combine Explain Everything videos and lesson segments together in one movie edited in iMovie.

ThingLink (App and website)

This can be used to create interactive images. You can tag video and text to the image to create a really engaging learning experience.

There are also web applications that you could use.

http://slid.es (works on the iPad)

This can be used to create online presentation with embedded YouTube videos and text.

Google Apps

You can create online presentations with embedded content.

Padlet (works on ipad)

You can create an online wall that you can share with students. Teachers and students can add sticky notes to it and collaborate and share information and knowledge.

SoundCloud (iPad App available) –

Teacher can very easily create audio podcasts that can be shared with students. Students can even add text comments at certain parts of the audio.

These are just a few examples to get you started.

If you would like to have a chat about any of these ideas or would like some training on how to use the apps / websites drop me an email.