Let's return to Sir Kenneth's call for new educational paradigms. Here are a number of key video clips that offer some of the possibilities. Some Israeli educators have discussed these ideas and have even tried them, to some extent, in Israeli classrooms.
Because the principles of the flipped classroom are usually based on using video, I am starting with snippets of Salman Kahn's classic (and brilliant!) TED talk about using video to revolutionize education. But he talks about so much more than just showing videos! Using shorter snippets (rather than the full 20-minute video) results from the recent research indicating that shorter videos are more effective even at the university level. These snippets are products of a tool called "Edpuzzle," which we will be learning in a future lesson.
Then there are five short videos about the "flipped classroom," created by the people at Edutopia and an additional (optional) video about "Persuall."
I am ending with Edpuzzle snippets of Professor Anant Agarwal's TED talk about the continuing relevance of MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses) for higher education and high school. Although MOOCs have not lived up to their original hype (mostly because of its weak business model), Agarwal's presentation summarizes and furthers the concepts of the flipped classroom and Salman Kahn's work, offering some basic concepts for meeting Sir Kenneth's challenge for new educational paradigms.
I suggest watching the videos in chunks, at your convenience. Perhaps watch them in three stages: first, Salman Kahn's TED talk; second, the collection of short EduTopia clips (for using videos in the flipped classroom) plus the (optional) Perusall video for using texts in the flipped classroom; last, Anant Agarwal's TED talk. Pause and think about the content of each and how they respond to Sir Kenneth's challenge. (You might even want to rewind and watch parts of them a number of times.) While watching the videos, recognize and take notes on the underlying (and often reoccurring) principles that could improve education in general and online education in specific.
The rest of the lesson transitions into your homework, which will focus on analyzing and discussing the videos' suggested procedures and underlying assumptions about education. Later in the course we will be getting some hands-on experience with some digital tools that are based on these reoccurring principles. (You might want to check what the homework is in order to focus in on the required material while you watching the videos.)
By the way, many/most of our pupils learn about the world via video, so I am giving you the opportunity to do the same. By experiencing how they learn will help you teach them more effectively. Also, why should you suffer from my textual content, when I can bring you the best experts in the world?
Here are sections of Salman Khan's classic TED Talk about using video to flip the classroom and improve teaching and learning.
Click on the X for "Review Your Settings."
Click on the RED play button in the center of the video screen.
If the video seems "jumpy," click on the volume icon. For some strange reason, this usually helps.
This second snippet has Sal Khan describing how the Khan Academy works and its first project in Los Altos, California.
Here are Sal Khan's conclusions and predictions:
Recent research, published by EduTopia, confirms the message of the above videos. In fact, is emphasizes the importance of presenting short "amateur" teacher-made videos (rather than carefully crafted PowerPoint presentations), with the teacher appearing as a "talking head." Even for university level classes, breaking up long video presentations into smaller chunks is better pedagogy.
AI can be an extremely efficient tool for flipping your class!
You should encourage your students to ask AI chatbots to explain concepts that they are having trouble with before the class (i.e., the learning at home part).
You could ask AI chatbots for suggestions for engaging and interesting activities to do in class, after the students have learned the basics at home.
Although the original model for flipping classes was to have the students watch videos before coming to class (in school or on Zoom), there may be a better structure: flipping the class during the class.
Instead of having that frontal mini-lecture aimed at the imaginary "average students," you can have the students watch your selected video(s) at the beginning of (or during) the lesson, at their own pace. This automatically solves the problem of students arriving without having seen the assigned video(s).
Of course, this means that the students will be finishing the video(s) at different times, so prepare more advanced work (not "busy work") to encourage the faster students to delve deeper into the content. Or the students can take out their individually picked printed books for extended/personal reading and read until you are ready to bring everyone together for the second stage of the flipped classroom process (i.e., practicing the content material individually, in pairs, or in groups as you circulate among the students).
Here are some excellent (optional) links about flipping your classroom:
Gary King, of Harvard University, and others have created "Perusall," a social reading platform that will encourage students to read texts and discuss them before they get to class. The program is free if you use your own material or use Open Education Resources (from the Internet). If you want the students to read a book, they can buy it from Perusall or from another source. In the following video, watch Gary King explain how Perusall works. If you want more information, visit: https://perusall.com
Please note that MOOCs are more relevant for college level students (and perhaps high school students), but it's worth understanding MOOCs and why they developed.
Here's Prof. Agarwal's overview of MOOCs:
Here are some personal experiences that brought Prof. Agarwal to MOOCs:
Here are some examples of MOOCs used in high schools and Prof. Agarwal's conclusions.
Please note: Late homework will be penalized 20% of the initial grade. Your first post is worth 60% and the second post (a meaningful response to some one else) is worth 40%.
In the MOODLE forum for Lesson 06, please respond to at least TWO of the following questions. (Choose the questions that are most relevant to your teaching.)
What are the basic procedures that Salman Kahn suggests for improving education? What are some of the unexpected insights he experienced while coming to his basic format of instruction and learning?
Granted, Kahn was focusing on math and science, which follow strict rules, can his underlying assumptions about education be used in teaching EFL/ESL? Why? Why not? If they theoretically could be used in EFL/ESL, could they be used in Israeli classrooms? Why and how? Why not?
Taking the group of EduTopia video clips and the Perusall clip about the flipped classroom as a conceptual unit, what are the basic concepts and procedures they suggest? Explain your professional opinion about these concepts and procedures. Which of these procedures could be used by Israeli EFL teachers? Which could not be used in Israeli EFL classrooms? Why not?
Granted that Professor Aragwal focuses on higher education, and tangentially on high schools, what are the basic concepts underlying his presentation? Are these basic concepts relevant to language teaching? Why? Why not? Are they relevant to Israeli EFL classrooms? Why? Why not?
Has watching the videos in this lesson presented new perspectives to your personal philosophy of teaching EFL? Which of the concepts and procedures seem most productive for the Israeli EFL classroom? Which of the concepts and procedures seem most productive for online education?
By midnight before the next lesson, read the other students' messages and REPLY to at least one with a meaningful response. (Please note: "I agree." or "Great!" is not meaningful without a thoughtful presentation of why.)
You will probably want to respond to the most interesting and/or the most controversial opinions. Explain opposing opinions in polite, but well-thought-out posts. Please remember that this is a full-class discussion about basic concepts that we will be returning to, in hands-on exercises, later in the course.
Please note: If you post your initial text or your REPLY in the wrong place, it will not be part of the class discussion on the current topic. Few will see it. Few will benefit from it and few will be able to respond to it. Thus, your post will be (almost) worthless and will receive a grade of zero. Just follow the instructions and get the full grade!