Blog Post #1

Trend 1: Flipped Classroom

When a teacher “flips” his or her classroom he or she reverses some of the basic elements of a lesson.  For example, a teacher can flip a classroom by asking students to watch a pre-recorded lecture to prepare themselves for class tomorrow in which the students will do their “homework” and have the opportunity to talk to the teacher and their classmates about the assignment.  Flipping allows teachers to assess student learning and their own teaching in the classroom instead of when they’re grading papers. 

Flipped classrooms can turn learning on its head!  By taking advantage of all of the eresources available these days, teachers have the ability to appeal to multi-literacies in their classrooms, including visual literacy.  Flipped classrooms create an atmosphere that will encourage students to work at their own pace and support active learning.  Students have time to reflect on the lesson before they apply it to their work.  I do think, however, that more research needs to be done on how effective flipping really is.  There are many articles and videos about how to do it and why to do it, but not so many about the long-term effects of this trend. 

Keeping up with this trend, just like keeping up with many of the Education Technology Integration trends is pretty easy.  The most effective thing to do is read about it.  Read about how teachers and librarians are doing it in their classrooms. Read differing opinions about flipping classrooms and consider how you feel about those opinions.  Watch videos of teachers actually flipping their classrooms.  Keep up with the research that is currently being done about flipped classrooms.  I follow many teachers and librarians on twitter, as well as education think tanks like Edutopia and Inside Higher Ed and eLearningIndustry.com and I check what experts are tweeting and blogging about weekly.  As an Instructional Designer, having a PLN is an absolute MUST. 

Several classroom teachers have blogged or are blogging about their experience with flipping their classroom.  I liked this blog post (http://www.teachthought.com/trends/10-pros-cons-flipped-classroom/)  because it’s honest about how flipping can be great, but it isn’t easy.  The Te@chThought blog is easy to read and very timely in topics and posts. @teachthought is one of the bolgs I follow on twitter.  Here’s a great infographic on flipping: http://www.edudemic.com/guides/flipped-classrooms-guide/.

Some great videos on the flipped classroom include:

The Flipped Classroom Model (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojiebVw8O0g), which is a cool, creative commons video on what it is and why it should be done today in the classroom.  In 5 Things I wish I Knew Before I Flipped My Class, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JPdGlyt6gg), the narrator gets real about the reality of flipping your classroom and why it isn’t as easy as some people present it to be. 

If I was going to flip a high school English classroom, I might use www.educreations to record a lecture about a book chapter or section and I’d use images to discuss characters and symbols.  Based on the recorded lecture, I’d put students in groups during class and ask them to act out certain scenes from the chapter and then analyze for character development and symbolism.  Then I’d have each group assess their own work and the work of one other group. 

Trend #2: Mobile Learning

In my opinion, Mobile Learning is learning on the go, usually facilitated via a hand held device like a laptop, smart phone or tablet.  We’re already seeing the impact of mobile learning since laptops have been popular and affordable now for almost 10 years.  But I’d say that mobile learning is making education and self-directed learning a lot more accessible.  Also, since online education is blowing up, mobile learning will make online courses even easier since the learner can access their classes anywhere at anytime if they have access to a device with Internet capabilities. 

As an Instructional Designer, keeping up on ways to use smart phones and tablets in the classrooms is imperative.  Also, I think perhaps the most important thing I’d need to be up on is the teaching training on mobile learning.  It’s important to be able to have a working knowledge of each device and operating system.  I know there is several companies that have designed their own curriculum and loaded it onto their own devices (like Amplify) so it’d be a good idea to be aware of the different curriculums companies are writing.  I think it’s also very important to know what apps and programs schools are using to support their mobile learning curriculum.  For example, Google Sites and Moodle are quite popular in both K12 & higher education.

I’d love to design a lesson and use google maps or a GPS program to create a quest or scavenger hunt based on a book or short story.  This would be in an English classroom again, or I could definitely use this technology in the library as well.  I’d want to use a web-based program or app so that students could use whatever device they have.  Using Voki to ask students to assess their experience with a mapping tool and what they learned would be fun.  I am also interested in using Voice Thread in the classroom, but have to explore ways to use it before I implement it.

I found this article recently about mobile learning: https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERB1204.pdf and found it very helpful.  It’s a bit old, 2012, but it mentioned a lot of what we’ve talked about in this class and predicted Wearable Learning will be big in the near future.  I’m assuming Google Glass and Fitbits would be part of wearable learning.  I also really appreciated the “key questions to ask” section in the article, which addresses some of the very questions I have about mobile learning and education technology in general.

http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/tag/mobile-learning/ is a great website that aggregates articles about mobile learning in the classroom.  The latest article discussed virtual realty and gaming. I didn’t find any fantastic videos about Mobile Learning other than the TedxLondon talk, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_Pmnz7xuOs which is a good video discussing mobile learning and smartphones, but it’s outdated.

Trend #3: 3D Printing

3D printing is a technology used for prototyping and manufacturing products.  I’m hesitant to call it an education technology trend because I don’t think it’s too widespread yet, but it is certainly a buzzword!  Students can design images and prototypes and watch their designs come to life in 3D. 

I see this technology having a huge impact in the STEM courses as well as STEM based clubs in and around schools.  In public libraries, 3D printers are in high demand as additions to Maker Spaces where patrons are encouraged to be creative and to be “makers.”  Here in our academic library, we have a 3D printer, but it isn’t used often.  It sits next to a librarian who has nothing to do with it.  To be honest, there are days when I am skeptical as to it’s purpose here in our library, although there are plans to create a Maker Space here soon.  Last week I was at the Hunt Library in Raleigh, NC and saw some amazing designs created by 3D printers.  There was a prototype of a peanut butter jar with a cover that was attached to a scraper (of sorts) so that as the user eats the peanut butter, the scraper screws upwards, making sure all of the peanut butter is used.  I CANT REALLY EXPLAN IT BUT ITS BRILLIANT!  Architecture students are taking advantage of 3D printers by prototyping their designs.  I like how 3D printers provide a WOW factor for students and they encourage collaboration between students and teachers, but I see some issues that might be hard to overcome.  First of all, who owns the printer?  Who is in charge of its upkeep?  What students get to use the printer?  If one teacher writes a grant for a printer and gets it, what happens when other students want to use it?  Does a 3D printer create more garbage?  Is it bad for our environment?  Who can afford one?  These are questions I’m always asking myself.  I think people who’ve never used one or seen one in action don’t know how long it takes to create the smallest item.  I think teachers need to be trained not only how to use them, but how to fix them and how to incorporate the technology into their lessons. 

If I were still an English teacher, I’d ask students to design busts of characters from stories we’re reading, or I might ask them to find designs of literary symbols to print and then incorporate a writing exercise with the design.   

When doing research on 3d printing, I came across the website 3dprinting.com which contains great articles about how people are using 3D printers. On the page, http://3dprinting.com/what-is-3d-printing/, there are many great videos that demonstrate 3D printing in real time and some cool examples of how different industries are using 3D printing like the auto industry, the medical industry and the aerospace industry. There are some great videos out there that highlight what 3D printers can do like, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_vloWVgf0o and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CveIhsZxcok. In the last video, some student projects are highlighted, which would be fun to use to encourage students to be creative when thinking about design projects.

Trend #4: Wearable Technologies

I’ve gone on the record in this class to say that I find Google Glass to be super creepy and there is a very real possibility of the wearer taking pictures of people without their knowledge or consent.  And I know that cameras are ubiquitous these days, but when I say Google Glass demonstrated, all I could think was that someone was going to get in trouble using those.  Anyway, Google Glass is not the only wearable technology out there.  Speaking of ubiquitous, FitBits are all over the place these days.  Other examples of wearable technologies include smart watches and ipods and Video Reality Headgear (VRH).  I was asked to prototype a running hat that would record miles and calories burned.  I didn’t participate, but now I wish I had. 

Wearable technologies are mobile, so they can be with the learner at all times which could change up the typical school day and encourage independent learning. 

As an Instructional Designer, I think the most important thing to do to keep up with the trend is to read about it as much as possible.  Also, use the products if possible.  Keep up with how the products are being used in education and consider in what ways they may be used in Instructional Design.

This infographic is a great example of how technology is being worn these days and would be a great learning tool for an Instructional Designer to use to introduce wearable technologies: http://bit.ly/1C95mKh . 

This article profiles some big thinkers and their wearable technology ideas, http://www.wired.com/2013/12/wearable-computers/.   I might use this in the classroom as a “Do Now” or Anticipatory Set of questions to get students thinking about design and how they use technology. 

This clip is my very favorite video on wearable technologies and one I’d use as a way to introduce a unit on POV, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UowkIRSDHfs. .  I might ask students to write scenes in which they have to act out a complicated situation and they’d have to record the same scene from each character’s point of view.  It could be a fun way to discuss how POV affects the story. 

TREND #5: Social Media in the Classroom

Using social media in the classroom is exploding.  When I was in the classroom and in the high school library, we weren’t able to use this tool because of privacy issues.  Now, some forward thinking school districts are using an “opt out” form to ensure students are aware their pictures might be used on school social media pages.  Also, filtering in schools must have gotten much more savvy. 

Social media is a web 2.0 phenomenon in which sharing of ideas and information and images is encouraged and expected.  Social Media is being used the classroom to collaborate with teachers and librarians and other groups outside of schools.  Social media makes working in groups, and mobile learning easy and fun. In many ways, social media will make education much more of a participatory thing.  Teachers, students, parents, friends can all participate and share in each step of the learning process. 

As I mentioned in my smore, I used Twitter and Facebook in a class I taught to sophomores and juniors in an honors seminar.  They reviewed the books we read one twitter and were given tweets per book.  The only instructions I gave them was that their tweets had to prove they were actually reading the books.  I also asked my students to do reading reflections in which they made videos of themselves reflecting on the process of their reading.  My intent was not to get them to think about the books, but to think about the process of reading.  They had to take three videos answering the same questions at 3 points during the semester.  They posted the videos to our class FB page and accepted comments from their classmates and me.  Social media’s biggest power is its power to connect people.  During that same class, a student tweeted about a book at included a hashtag with the title of the book.  Because one can search twitter using hashtags, the author of the book contacted the student who was tweeting about it and because of their contact, I was able to set up a Skype (another social media platform) author talk for my class. 

On Edutopia, Vicky Davis wrote a guide for using social media in the classroom, http://www.edutopia.org/blog/guidebook-social-media-in-classroom-vicki-davis

and included links to other blogs and pages about how other teachers are using social media in their classrooms.  Videos like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoFMCpAvHtA and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w9CnaeaiAE talk about incorporating social media into the classrooms (higher ed & k12).  Students are answering discussion questions using twitter which allows them to “find their voice” and share their ideas no matter how socially inept they may be. 

One project I always thought would be great fun is to create a fake FB page for characters in books or historical figures.  Check here, http://rosscoops31.com/2014/04/08/authentic-fake-facebook-profiles/ for a good example and here for a lesson plan, https://tackk.com/sxdq3q.