This question was brought up during the Small Schools Summit presentation on Oct. 24th, 2013, and with the number of videos being posted on-line for teachers and students to view, this question does force one to evaluate their stance on the sources of their students' first-exposure learning.
The short answer, I believe, is to always rely upon your professional discretion--do/choose what you know to be best for your students. If it helps, here are some themes that I'd like to bring forth--the first one has been circling in my mind as I talk with my colleagues about educatioal philosophy; the others, brought forth by those reviewing what the literature on flipped learning is providing (Hamdan and McKnight, McKnight and Arfstrom) the greater educational community. Altogether, these three themes, for me, support the stance that the individual teacher (or school team of teachers) can be most helpful to their students by creating and posting their own videos.
1. Relationships
At the very heart of what we do on a daily basis is the building of relationships between ourselves and our students. To continue growing relationships with our students (and with a broadened audience including colleagues and parents), you might consider creating your own videos to allow students to further experience your, ...
-sense of humour and
-sentiment.
Both of these characteristic traits are elements that help others to 'see' our personality. My students were appreciative to have my 'voice' in their videos.
2. Intentionality
If and when it comes to direct teaching, teachers must evaluate the content they choose to share with students (Hamdan and McKnight, McKnight and Arfstrom). As a teacher determines subsequent learning goals for their students, they might find that it is more efficient to create their own videos that target specific expectations for their students. In classrooms where students and their teacher are spiralling through the curriculum, students will have the opportunity to review previously-posted videos. Furthermore, when re-visiting particular concepts and skills, new explanations and/or extensions might be best captured through a teacher's own video (personal views). At the end of day, it is important to view intentionality as a means for leveraging classroom time to adopt other methods of instruction (Hamdan and McKnight, McKnight and Arfstrom) and to increase the number and quality of peer-peer and student(s)-teacher interactions (personal view).
Under the flipped model, professional educators are incredibly important and the demands of operating under this model are greater than one would experience under a more traditional one--specifically knowing when to shift your instruction from the group to the individual requires that a teacher understands how to best respond to the needs of their students. And once the shift has been made, the teacher must also determine how to best use classroom time to maximize opportunities for students and students and their teacher to interact. While on the road to optimizing these interactions, teachers in flipped classrooms might note that they are taking on a role that is less visible; yet, they are always engaging in reflection, looking for constructive criticism, and working in student-driven learning spaces that can be characterized as having more controlled energy than in a traditional classroom (Hamdan and McKnight, McKnight and Arfstrom).
In closing, whether you're making your own videos or using videos from Kahn Academy , TED-ed or from other sources, applying one's professional discretion requires an examination of these resources through a combination of several lenses. Think of these lenses as being the themes that have been brought forth (above; #1 to 3).
Invitation to Comment
What's your point of view on 'voice' in video for flipped learning--your own or someone else's? Also, what other themes might be brought forth when giving consideration to creating your own videos or choosing someone else's? I look forward to your comments.
Sincerely Yours,
Chris Stewart
Reference:
Hamdan, N., McKnight, P., McKnight, K., & Arfstrom, K. (n.d.). The flipped learning model: A white paper based on the literature review titled "a review of flipped learning". Retrieved from http://researchnetwork.pearson.com/wp-content/uploads/WhitePaper_FlippedLearning.pdf
Next Post
In the next post, a closer look will be taken at one or more sources of videos from which teachers can choose. Ideally, an inquiry whereby teachers are required to learn via the same platform as their students might make for an excellent reflective exercise. For instance, how would their experience(s) shape their choice(s) in how videos are chosen and used--if external sources are used--to frame instruction and/or to generate student learning opportunities.