Flipping Instruction: Talking to the Students

Today was a big day for me. I finally bought 4 Flip Cameras for my teachers. Turns out I had an entire grade level that wanted to Flip Out. =) That makes my administrator heart happy beyond belief!

With the Flips among us, it’s time to gather a detailed plan for implementing a change in instruction. One of the key components to the success of The Flip is to involve the stakeholders – the students. They are on the cusp of technology and most likely, more comfortable than we are with all these gadgets.

The scene: Fourth grade lunch

I found myself sitting with four outstanding Fourth grade students. We were talking about the beautiful spring weather, Texas Independence Day and other musings of their life when I posed a question, “Do you all ever watch YouTube videos?” They all immediately stopped eating and looked quite incredulously at me. It was as if I was so cool for even talking about YouTube. The resounding answer was, “Yes! We love to watch videos.”

So I dove farther….

“What if your teachers videoed part of their lesson? You know, maybe 10-15 minutes or so. Then you would watch the video at home and when you got to school –“ I was interrupted by the student on my left.

(hold on to your hats here)

“Then we’d already know the lesson!” she exclaimed excitedly.

(keep holding your hat)

The boy across from her jumped in, “And our teachers could help us instead of teaching!”

Amen!! Eureka!! We struck gold!! These kids GET IT!

It’s amazing what happens when you step out and try something new.