Thursday, August 16, 2012

Coursepack Video

I made this video to explain the different parts of the "coursepack" to students. It is very straightforward, nothing special. I'm posting it here just to show what I have my students doing at home during the videos and in addition to them. I wanted to make sure they weren't just watching the lecture videos but were responding to them. I also wanted a way to check their progress.

I think I'm going to make a video of myself watching actually doing the activities in the Coursepack, but this is what I have at the moment.

2 comments:

  1. I really like how you've set this up! I am in the works for trying to flip my classroom for the first time and go paperless as well. Our students will all have laptops this year which will help with both of those things. Would you be willing to share one of your coursepacks so I could see what you all put in there? How has Schoology worked so far for you? How do tests go, do kids google the answers? Thanks for all your help! I'm so glad I ran across your blog!
    Jessica

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    1. Thanks for the comment! I would absolutely be willing to share one of my coursepacks. I'm finishing up the first unit now, so I will post it with an accompanying video so you can see how it works for the kids.

      I LOVE Schoology. I know a lot of people favor Edmodo, which is good too. I tried Edmodo for a year but I found I liked Schoology better because of the way it was organized for the students. It really reminds me of blackboard and Facebook combined. The kids really like it too. I know other teachers are using Sophia as well to post their videos, its all about finding what works for you and your class!

      Tests are going well. I don't find too many kids Google. The quizzes after each lecture are multiple choice (unfortunately they need to get used to the way standardized tests word questions) and since they come from the lecture, it is easier for a student to find the answers in their notes or the lecture than to Google.

      Tests are essay question and short answer based. I did this because I wanted them to be able to take all the information and form a coherent argument. So they may Google information, but at the end of the day they have to make sense of it and put it into a well thought out, well written essay. I only had one student who tried to "copy" an essay from Google last year. Since they are seventh graders it was VERY easy to spot this.

      In addition to essays I have them "identify and define" terms. I am looking not just for the "definition" but "why its significant" so again its kind of hard to Google that.

      Overall students really liked taking the tests online. Even when I gave open book/note tests they would stress out because of the time crunch. Now they can stop and restart the test as needed. They still have the option of course to take it as a paper based in class test.

      Sorry that was rather long. I'm glad your trying to flip, I have found it a really rewarding experience. Let me know if there's any way that I can help you! I'm by no means an expert but I'll offer you any information I have.

      Good luck!

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