While attending the Technology Integration Conerence (TIC) at Dubuque last week, I was lucky enough to be able to sit in on some sessions with Jon Bergmann - one of the original pioneers of the flipped classroom approach to teaching and  learning. Needless to say I learned a lot about different ways to be successful with the flipped classroom model, but there were a number of great talking points too.

One that resonated with me was when someone asked Bergmann whether he favors the model where teachers create their own videos to use with students, or use a selection of videos that have been created by others. His answer was direct and without ambiguity. Creation, in his experience, is far more powerful than curation.

Why? Because good teaching is all about relationships, and the relationship that you take the time to develop with your students will make the videos you create far more engaging and easier to understand if they feature the one constant that they really trust - you! Bergmann reinforced this point with several stories and testimonials from teachers who are doing just that, and it is hard to argue against this kind of logic.

On the face of it, creating videos sounds great, but not everyone feels confident enough in their technology skills to do that. Thankfully, it is easier than it ever has been to create, upload and share a lesson with your students. There are now numerous ways to do that, and you don't have to spend any money at all if you don't want to. A summary of some of the tools on offer to facilitate this process are available on FlippedClass.com - a website that is maintained by Jon Bergmann and Aaron Sams.

With so much free material out there that has already been created (and organized) on sites like Khan Academy, it can be hard to turn it down, especially given how busy teachers are with everything else that they do on a daily basis. However, motivating and engaging students in their learning is undoubtedly a key factor to their success. If this can more readily be achieved through teacher created videos, then this approach is equally hard to ignore.

At the end of the day, it is the job of the teacher to weigh up the pros and cons and decide what is best for their students, but knowing the pros and cons of each is something that is definitely worth some consideration.


Jonathan Wylie, Technology Consultant, Grant Wood AEA (@jonathanwylie)

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