Initiative
The technology integration initiative or educational technology change that I have chosen is to introduce a flipped classroom into the school.
My presentation strategy is to use the idea that a flipped classroom increases the quality of life for teachers and students.
Outline:
1. Overview -
a. What is a flipped classroom?
b. How will our school be implementing this idea?
c. It will increase the quality of life for teachers and students
2. Less talking, more doing
a. Online lecture versus in class lecture
b. Teaching to the middle
c. More time to teach one-on-one
3. Differentiation
a. More ability to teach to each students’ needs
b. Custom
4. Workflow and Organization
a. Using calendars for organization
b. Goal-oriented class
c. Student submissions
5. Collaboration
a. Sharing reduces work
b. No more need for personal USB transfer
c. Sharing creates positive environment
Overall experience
I envision my overall experience to be an immersion experience. I would have the instructors of the course view my presentation about a flipped classroom before coming to the training session. They would generate questions based on that presentation and be ready to have a hands-on display of a flipped classroom.
We would start with a check for understanding discussion. The instructors would ask questions, then we would start to collaborate on building an activity for a lesson. We would have paper and pencils set-up in several groups. We will go to stations set-up for different phases of the activity so the instructors can see what working in groups can be like. This will generate ideas on how we can make this idea better.
After finishing the exercise, we will share our ideas for how we will implement a flipped lesson and, eventually, and flipped classroom. By sharing in the experience of being a student in a flipped classroom, instructors can see the lessons from another perspective and potentially generate ideas for how it can be better. It will also set the groundwork for having a collaborative environment in the school and, hopefully, will transfer into any other changes that might come in the future. We will adopt the design method for this training session.
One of the potential hazards of creating a hands-on training session for adults is that they might not actively participate because it feels too childish. The first idea for alleviating that concern is to make sure that my energy is up and I’m ready to go, so they can feed off the energy. I will also take the lead in the activities, so they do not have to feel forced. Secondly, we will make sure the activity is adult-oriented, so it will maintain interest. We can use pop-culture or current events to create a more meaningful experience for teachers. Finally, we will try and keep it brief. Teachers will need less time to understand this than a child, so I will make sure I consider my audience and not teach to children.
Other issues will arise in the process, so instead of trying to sort out each one, I have built into the process that the learners are participating and offering feedback during the lesson, so they can feel the buy-in to be a part of this and we will generate great ideas of improvement in the process. This will better the lives of all of us.