Websites to support flipped learning

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Image: maclife.com

We list the best websites and resources available online to help you make the transition from traditional teaching model to flipped classroom.

The flipped classroom model is a simple idea – students gain the necessary knowledge before class, perhaps, for example, watching a video explaining a new mathematical concept, then during the lesson, they practise applying the key concepts with feedback from the teacher. Because the teacher does not have to introduce the curriculum content during the lesson, he or she has more time to clarify and correct misconceptions, and work with students on deepening their understanding.

One benefit of this model is that students can work at their own pace, pausing and rewinding videos in a way they can’t do with their teachers! It also increases dialogue and the sharing of ideas between teachers and students, and with more lesson time spent on applying knowledge, there’s an inevitable emphasis on higher order thinking skills, problem solving and collaboration. The growth of this model is therefore a very exciting development.

But despite the simplicity of the idea, putting it into practice does take a great deal of hard work and motivation. As Chris Waterworth advises in his article for Creative Teaching and Learning, volume 5.1, it’s best to start small and make the most of what’s already available to you – and there’s a great deal available online! 

The material on the web can roughly be divided into two areas – advice on making the transition from traditional teaching to the flipped classroom model, and tools and resources to do so.

This blog post will focus on websites providing the former. You can find a list of useful tools and resources for flipping the classroom here.

The Flipped Institute (www.flippedinstitute.org)
Great for newbies. The video on their homepage, a wonderful 3D paper animation with a walrus as the teacher and penguins for students (pictured below right), provides a brief introduction to flipped learning and its benefits – perfect for use in a staff briefing as a launch pad for further discussion or as part of an introductory presentation for parents.

Image: flippedinstitute.org

The rest of the site breaks flipped learning down into three simple steps. Each step comes complete with downloadable pdf guides covering a number of practical considerations, such as ways to share content in a safe and controlled way and advice on creating videos yourself. Also available on this site is a compilation of some of the best resources from the web – from articles and infographics to videos, Twitter chats and a list of useful websites.


The Flipped Learning Network (www.flippedlearning.org) 
Don't miss the FLN's four pillars of FLIP (an acronym of the four essential ingredients of a successful flipped classroom) and the linked checklist of 11 indicators for successful flipping. It’s a flipped learning rubric – extremely useful for evaluating your practice and seeing where and how you can improve.

Other resources on the FLN include:

• a range of case studies and research reports
• a handy pdf guide to creative commons licensing (after all, you deserve some recognition from all the other teachers making use of your fabulously creative videos!)
• brilliant examples of subject-specific videos others have created (great for inspiration)
• an archive of some of the FLN’s past webinars, including a number presented or assisted by flipping gurus, Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams
• a number of podcasts
• access to historical episodes of Jon Bergmann’s flipped learning radio show, The Flip Side
• a link to the 2012/13 archives for the Twitter chat, #flipclass.

Flipping the Classroom (www.flippingclasspedagogyandtools.weebly.com)
The best thing about this site is the way it explores what should be done with the increased face-to-face class time the flipped classroom model provides. It gives a fantastic range of classroom activities that reflect the highest levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy - which is really what you should be focusing on, as students cover the lower levels at home.

Image: flippingclasspedagogyandtools.weebly.com

Also on this website is a range of example lesson plans covering different age groups and subject areas. This section gives an idea of the versatility of the flipped model and how you can adapt it to suit your needs. The lessons also include the resources mentioned so you can actually use them in your own classroom.

Other resources include:

• a long list of websites with ready-made video content
• a decision tree to help you decide which tools to use when flipping your own classroom (pictured right)
• advice on creating content.