About Me

Anyone who can remember coloring on old punch cards from Dad's office can't quite claim to be a digital native, so I will settle with being an "early adopter." I was the only freshman in my dorm with a personal computer, and my husband gave me the original iPod so I could bring my entire music collection to the delivery room. It had more than one button, but I loved it just the same! Since I have experience in both analog and digital worlds, I enjoy helping other digital immigrants become more familiar with technology as they discover its potential.

Experimenting with Flipped Professional Development


It’s June: that extremely busy time of year when teachers are inundated with deadlines from report cards and benchmark assessments to end-of-year celebrations. Teachers are already tired and overwhelmed, but I get to help add “one more thing” onto their pile of stuff to do. Its time for... (insert ominous cello music here)... 

The “Before You Leave" Checklist!



It's my job to help teachers with summer sign out procedures designed to keep track of our expensive equipment. Because our new iPads were distributed on the first day of EOG exams, there was not much time for training. Yet teachers will be expected to use the iPads for summer professional development. How could I make sure teachers had the information they needed to complete a summer equipment checkout form while making the best use of everyone’s limited time? I decided it was time to flip instruction!   

 To see my first effort, click here: 
My First Flipped Instruction Video

 In classrooms that flip instruction, lectures are videotaped and watched for homework. This frees time in school for the students to apply what they have learned with collaborative activities. Although I was unable to attend class when Dr. Lodge from North Carolina State University and Katie Gimbar from Durant Road Middle School spoke about flipped instruction, I was able to watch the videos linked below. Besides gaining direct experience with the benefits of flipped instruction for absent students, I learned that video lectures helped diverse learners who could pause and repeat the lectures as much as needed. Hopefully that will also help busy teachers with diverse amounts of experience with technology. 

 Even though I have experience recording and editing video of other people, recording myself presented a few new challenges, like finding the right camera placement. After several tries you can still see my chin reflected at an unflattering angle! Still I have high hopes that the quick video I made will provide the right amount of help for teachers who are new iPad users, without scheduling yet another meeting. Stay tuned! 

 These are two the videos from the Friday Center at North Carolina State University that helped me learn about flipped instruction even though I missed class. Note that Google owns YouTube and Blogger, so it is easier to add a YouTube video than one hosted on Vimeo. 







Posted by at

1 comment:

  1. UnknownJune 10, 2013 at 6:30 AM

    Heidi I think your video was a great way to incorporate technology and what we learned in class about flipping the classroom. I hope that this saved you and the other teachers time during this busy time of the year!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)