Flipping your online classroom

Flipping the classroom has gained popularity in recent years. The flipped classroom stemmed from subject teachers’ desire to provide learners with more application of the things they learn. It involves learners receiving input via a video from the teacher for homework and spending lesson time putting that knowledge into practice with teacher support. Some English language teachers have been experimenting with this approach in order to provide learners with more practice during lesson time.

Task 1

Watch Lindsay and Marie Therese speaking about flipping your online classroom. Put the lesson stages in order.

Check your answers.

You can find out more about flipping your classroom here.

Task 2

Lindsay mentioned different ways of creating or curating video presentations of language that learners watch at home. Click on the links below to watch four different types of videos. What do you think are the benefits and potential drawbacks of each type?

A screencast made by the teacher.

A video made by the teacher.

A curated video from a website (e.g. engVid.com).

A video which accompanies a coursebook (e.g. Macmillan Gateway series).

Check your ideas.

Task 3 (Optional)

We think it might be a good idea for you to practise making a video or a screencast presenting a grammar structure or some vocabulary items to learners you typically teach.

• Choose a grammar structure or some items of vocabulary.
• Think about how you’re going to present it in context and how you’re going to clarify the meaning, form and pronunciation.
• Create a video that’s no more than about five minutes long.
• When you have finished, share your video on our Padlet here.
• Watch one or two other videos and think about how you could improve yours.

Note – some advice from Lindsay

If you decide to create a video, we suggest that you do one of two things:

1. Use the Video option in Padlet and record it directly onto the site.

OR

1. Use the camera on your mobile device or laptop/PC, save the video in the cloud (e.g. Google Drive or Dropbox) and then share a link to that file on our Padlet.

If you choose to create a screencast, you could use one of these tools: app Explain Everything (a small cost), or Educreations (free for a basic account). Alternatively, if you have a recent edition of Microsoft PowerPoint, you can use the Record Slideshow option in Slide Show (top menu bar). You can find tutorials on how to use each of these tools on sites such as YouTube. Search for the name of the tool and the word ‘tutorial’ and select one that’s fairly up to date.

Once you’ve created your screencast, save it in the cloud, sharing a link to our Padlet. Remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect! In class, you might stumble over your words a little. If you do the same in your video, it’s fine. It just makes you come across as natural.