Using screencasts to flip the classroom

GREEN, K. R., PINDER-GROVER, T., & MILLUNCHICK, J. M. (2012). Impact of Screencast Technology: Connecting the Perception of Usefulness and the Reality of Performance. Journal Of Engineering Education, 101(4), 717-737.


Although screencasting is not new in the world of education, teachers are beginning to use screencasts to "flip the classroom".  Flipping the classroom essentially means that students will view lectures at home before class.  This allows class time to be devoted to analysis, projects, simulations and more skill-based work.

In Katie Green's article, "Impact of Screencast Technology", she explores why students use screencasts as well as how the screencasts can impact student achievement(Green 1).  Green explains in her article that screencasts are generally used to take the form of recorded lectures, but can also be used for supplementary materials such as exam solutions (ibid 2).  The articles studies show that students perceive the screencasting as beneficial and convenient.  Screencasts can be downloaded and viewed on all technology including smartphones.  This allows students to watch the screencasts at their convenience.

Allowing students access to this information while devoting class time to skill work could be extremely beneficial for students. The studies showed that "nearly 90% of students viewed the homework solution screencast as helpful" (Ibid 7).  Students went on to share that further supplementary tools such as exam solutions helped students understand what they did wrong so that they could reflect on their mistakes and improve them for further assessments.

Green's research also showed that the screencast has a positive correlation between screencast use and performance overall. Students shared that watching the resources allowed them to obtain a deeper understanding of course content.

Through analysis, I believe that using screencasts as a way to "flip the classroom" will have a positive impact on my students.  Having short lectures will allow students to practice their skills in the classroom with teacher guidance and will give more opportunity for formative practice.

Using Tech as a Tool

Using Tech as a tool (podcast)

Using electronic rubrics for quick feedback (Goobric)

Blogging in the Classroom

Boyd, P. (2013). BLOGGING IN THE CLASSROOM: USING TECHNOLOGIES TO PROMOTE LEARNER-CENTERED PEDAGOGIES. Researcher: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 26(3), 85-113.

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Like most teachers I am constantly searching for new ways to bring relevant and engaging technology into my classes.  One such tool that has exploded in use over the past few years is the use of educational blogs.  In "Blogging in the Classroom",  Patricia Boyd addresses the many benefits and setbacks for using educational blogs.

Boyd begins her article by addressing the benefits of using educational blogs and that the primary benefit is that the common use of blogs leads to a truly student centered classroom environment. Boyd also explains that there is a benefit of using blogs over online discussion forums.   I, like many teachers, use online discussion boards, but I realize that this is not a student centered approach, as I control the learning experience.  Boyd states, "In discussion boards, the teacher takes much more control over posting the topics, monitoring the discussions, and setting the parameters of the discussion; in blogs, students and their peers take on these responsibilities to a much greater degree" (Boyd 2).  Students often feel ownership of the blog-from the ways to personalize their page to the content they put on their page.  

Blogs have benefits outside of the social-emotional sphere as well.  One of the main benefits of blog postings is the self-reflection aspect that comes with blogging.  "Reflection is considered to be "an active and deliberative cognitive process involving sequences of inter-connected ideas which take account of underlying beliefs and knowledge. Reflective thinking generally addresses practical problems, allowing for doubt and perplexity before possible solutions are reached" (Boyd 4).  This reflective thinking helps learners build their skills of analysis, synthesis and other critical thinking skills.  The blogs also allow teachers to have better overlap in cross curricular subjects and would allow for common themes and ideas to be addressed on their blog.

Blog use in the classroom leads to student centered learning in which students take ownership over their works while learning critical skills needed in the 21st century.

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Technology in Special Education

EDYBURN, D. L. (2013). Critical Issues in Advancing the Special Education Technology Evidence Base. Exceptional Children, 80(1), 7-24.

"The  field of special education technology  is devoted  to a  variety  of activities that ultimately serve to augment, bypass, or compensate for a disability"(Edyburn 1).  Like much of educational technology today, the question for educators is, "which technology should we purchase and how should we implement it?"  In the article by Dave Edburn he dives into this question as he considers the research, theory, practice, policy and development of technology in Special Education.

As with most educational technology, one of the main concerns is the evidence to determine if it helps improve student achievement.  Often new technology comes around so frequently that a school district will move on to the new device before determining if the old device was successful or not. According to Edyburn, "The entire work of the field of special education technology can be summarized  as searching,  trialing, selecting,  implementing,  and evaluating technologies that augment,  bypass,  or compensate for a disability"(Edyburn 2 ).

One aspect that is key for advances in educational technology in Special Education is innovation.  "It's really hard  to design products  by focus groups. A lot  of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them.  The notion that  the benefits  of a  new technology may not  be  fully recognized until after  it is used. In practice, this causes some technologists  to have an insatiable appetite to chase what is new (Reinhart 1998).  Innovation can be difficult for educators because many schools want the "shiny new object" without truly determining how effective it can be in the classroom. Some good news for technology in the Special Education realm is that new innovations have made certain technologies cheaper. For example the Proloquo2go AAC device has dropped the cost from $7000 to $200 dollars (Edyburn 4).However, with this new technology does come with challenges.  Staff is often untrained with these new forms of technology and it is difficult for staff to be trained on all of these devices as they are implemented too frequently.

Evidence has shown that new technologies such as adjustable wheelchair seating and speech recognition software have had significant impacts for students with special needs.  The difficulty when purchasing and implementing much of this technology is that,  "The standard  of proof that  a new technology works  is very low. Proof that something works is generally obtained through  a demonstration that the object basically operates as intended" (Edyburn 7).  According to the research, there is often not enough time or case studies to determine how the technology will work for students in different circumstances.

The good news is that through advocacy groups, they have been able to directly impact public policy and make education more equitable for special education students.  Although not all educational technology has helped Special Education students there have been positive strides through evidence and trial and error.

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