Friday, August 24, 2012

#flipclass 2012-2013 Week 1 Reflections: Off to a good start!

I blogged a lot this week because I needed a place to process and reflect on everything that was happening.  The first few weeks are always crazy and hard to remember with everything going on.  It was actually really helpful for me to review and talk through what I did and my thoughts on it... so, if you are interested, enjoy :)


Pictures of my classroom on the first day!

Reflections and thoughts from the week:
Day 1 - Algebra 1
Day 1 - Math Analysis Honors
Day 2 - Algebra 1 and Math Analysis Honors
Day 3 - Algebra 1
Day 3 - Math Analysis Honors

Initial thoughts from my students on Wednesday night (first day of school)


So, after week 1, let's briefly talk about the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The Good:

  • Overall it seems like most students are positive towards the change.  None of them have had to do the full video/WSQ at home on their own yet, so we will see how that goes later next week.  I really enjoy my schedule and the flow of classes, which always makes things nice :)
  • Several students who watched my videos for the summer work but ended up not in my class have already come and asked me if they will still have access to my videos this year even though they aren't my student.  That made me feel great and encouraged.
  • Student discussions in Math Analysis have been pretty good for the first couple days and are showing improvement. I'm excited to see where this leads!


The Bad:

  • Freshmen irresponsibility and immaturity, but that's to be expected... they'll grow out of it (I hope). I blogged earlier in the week that I don't think many of them are actually used to having to complete homework nightly... so hopefully the routine will come!

The Ugly:

  • I can't think of anything that has been ugly this first week...I'm actually fairly satisfied with how it's coming along.  I just hope the transition to modeling/training to actually having the students do it on their own goes smoothly... that's what I most nervous about!

3 comments:

  1. I heard you on a podcast this week and it was really inspirational and full of ideas. I can't wait to flip some of my English lessons and use Google Forms for feedback and assessment. I also teach high school. I'm a little worried that my students will think Edmodo is too babyish.. oh yeah... i just connected w/ you via Edmodo, which I'm implementing this year. I used to use Moodle, then SchoolTown, now Edmodo. What do you think?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Shari,
      Great to connect with you! I've used Edmodo for the last 5 years maybe? A lot of teachers at our school use it, so students have gotten more and more used to it over time. I was the first teacher at our school to use it, so it was new back then... now it's just a way of life. I mainly just use Edmodo for alerts, reminders, and communication with students. I don't use the assignment, quiz, or library feature very much. I've chosen to use google docs, forms, etc to manage that - just a personal preference. I haven't used any other LMS so I don't have a base to compare.
      Good luck flipping this year! :)

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  2. I just wanted to stop by and tell you how much I appreciate you blogging about your journey! I have been reading a LOT of your older posts in preparation to flip my high school science classes this year. I'm still working out some kinks (and I'm sure I will find more as I go), but so far I have had a very positive response from both students and parents. Thanks again for providing the inspiration for the rest of us out here! Have a great year!

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