“Flipping” an online course using Nancy Flanagan Knapp Learning, Design & Technology University of Georgia Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy

Let’s talk Have you taught/learned online? What was good? What wasn’t so good?

Everyone’stalking about “flipping”! Everyone’s talking about “flipping”!

What is “Flipped” instruction? With the help of current technology, “instruction that used to occur in class is now accessed at home, in advance of class. Class becomes the place to work through problems, advance concepts, and engage in collaborative learning.” (Tucker, 2012, p. 82).

But aren’t all online classes “flipped,” by definition? because, in higher education, often, still Plus ça change...

Research on Online Learning (Keengwe et al., 2013) shows it can be … >Isolating<. Unengaging

My Goal

but online... F lexible large & small group discussions and problem-solving activities, with and without teacher mediation, occurring in real-time (with no artificial turn- taking constraints), orally (without having to type or read), with the social cues of vocal & facial expression.

affordances  free to host and participants  up to 10 people  everyone is visible and can talk at once  relatively intuitive to use  easy screen sharing of docs, slides, videos (with computer)  side chat bar, too  personal & host mute/visual controls

requirements  device & connection capable of video- streaming (required in our program)  Gmail account connected to Google + (free)  mic  webcam for visual (can participate w/o)  some need headphones (depends on mic)

interaction structures so far …  “Whole class” discussions  Virtual “show & tell”  Break-out small groups  Independent project/discussion groups  A virtual “poster session”

“Whole Class” The DemoThe Demo (and a bit about Minecraft... ) Pros:  easy to learn & use  informal - everyone can see, talk, laugh, overlap  focuses on talker (or not, as wished); talk bars  screenshare is (usually) easy  decent quality, only occ. glitches  If someone drops, they just rejoin... Cons: Only 9 people + teacher (often have to do twice)

Virtual “Show & Tell” Pros:  students can share photos, audio, slides, videos, with voiceover if desired  OR presentation can be pre-made (helps shy folks)  can be small (3 slides of “your culture”) or major (group project)  real-time response, questions, discussion & feedback Cons: ??

Break-out Groups Pros:  can break and reform, just as in f-t-f class  teacher can “listen in” unobtrusively, on all at once or sequentially  visual, oral/aural, and screenshare interaction  interfaces with Google docs Cons:  requires one hosting device per group (bandwidth?) (I’ve only done 2 at a time so far)  instructor should have small groups pre-loaded

Independent groups Pros:  far-apart students can “meet” in real time, with all the same advantages as “whole class” discussions  anyone can host, so they schedule at their convenience & independent of teacher  again, real time screen share & interfaces with Google docs Cons:  scheduling! They aren’t used to doing this for online classes

Virtual “Poster session” Pros:  great for final projects!  each student can see half of classmates (or more, if they present twice)  can be quick-paced  again, real time response, feedback, discussion  teacher can selectively & unobtrusively listen in Cons:  must be carefully pre-scheduled  requires one hosting device per poster  a bit hectic for teacher! (could they host?)

What I’ve learned – the practical stuff  “Flipping” online classes requires just as large a front-end investment, esp. of time.  A synchronus session every week might be too much—10 weeks/15 seems good.  I have to plan more for the online discussions than for f-t-f class discussions.  Structure, predictability, & redundancy are important to help students navigate online modules.

Pedagogical learning  Students can and will take responsibility for their own learning outside of class.  Genuine, interactive discussion & group activities are not “extras,” they are the central to learning (even online); it is (still) through exploration and application of knowledge in community that students learn most and best retain that knowledge (Vygotsky lives!).  AND, it is still important to design well-structured, varied assessments (not just quizzes and finals), so that the type of learning you want students to do is the type they must do in order to succeed in the class.

 Individual paper conferences (coming this Spring!)  Record and post “whole class” Hangouts  More formal research/questionnaire  Investigate getting Goggle Apps for Educators (15 participants!)  Maybe have them record small groups (pros & cons)?  A fully online,” traditional Doctoral seminar (maybe next year?)

Discussion