[originally posted July 2014] One of the first challenges I encountered in flipping a class was how to make short videos specific to a topic I was covering.  I’ve found that for short, low-maintenance videos, Jing is a really valuable resource.  This free download, available from TechSmith, allows you to record up to five minutes of video, then stores it online (also free).  While there is no real editing capability without purchasing the Camtasia software, it is a great resource for its simplicity.  Here's an example of one of my early Jing videos: Video Link : 1779 These days, I mostly use the full Camtasia and edit carefully, but I still use Jing occasionally for a quick and less formal screen capture.  For example, I’ve used Jing quite a bit to show people the basics of navigating around a software package, or to briefly review a topic with which my students should already be familiar.  I can record, upload, and send a link in only five or ten minutes. ... View more

[Originally Posted Sept 18, 2014] This year, I’ve spent a huge amount of time developing video content for my classes.  So far, I’ve done a tablet-only video style, using a skeletal PowerPoint presentation, which is annotated with a tablet as I narrate.  This works well for presenting information cleanly and concisely - but it’s boring.  I’m continuing to ponder how I can improve my format to be more engaging and effective. To be honest, I really love standing in front of a class, communicating an idea.  I like reading student’s faces to see if  they’re with me.  I like the spontaneous, lively, and  sometimes very funny twists that a discussion can take.  I love dropping a quick joke when things are lagging, and bringing people back together. So, how can we capture (or at least imitate) the interactivity and engagement of a face-to-face lecture in a video format?  Fortunately, this is not without precedent:  The television industry has been experimenting with delivery formats for seventy-plus years, and success in TV is all about engagement.  As I think about connecting with an audience and/or communicating information, here are a few that I find particularly effective:  The Nightly News.  The anchor creates a personal connection (think Walter Cronkite, P eter Jennings, or Katie Couric), but there is usually a screen with key information that is overlaid, and then a cut to a narration-and-footage story.  The Blue Collar Comedy Tour.   One of the keys to any stand-up production is that it’s recorded in front of a live audience.  The camera always  pans to show the audience laughing and engaged, and the viewer is caught up in the feeling of sitting in the audience.  The million-plus hits on Bill Engvall’s Dork Fish bit on YouTube testifies to its effectiveness.  The Daily Show.  Similar in style to the nightly news, but designed to be a comedy show, with a live audience that is never shown, and so similar in many ways to a laugh track.    Glenn Beck’s Chalkboard.  An incredibly simple way to convey information, and Beck used it very effectively.  The advantage here is that the student can watch the instructor interacting with the problem.  Unfortunately, most professors (myself included) lack the artistic ability to really make this work.    The Ted Talk.  An increasingly popular format, but I confess I’ve never gotten into it.  It mixes the screen and the narrator pretty well, but involves an extensive set and production. There are a number of other video formats which have been used on the web for teaching STEM subjects, such as Tyler DeWitt's hands-and-face format, the very cool behind-the-scenes set from Simon Walsh, founder of Maths Doctor, and even the occasional artistic production that is visually stunning, but well out of the range of my capabilities.  And, frankly, sometimes I find that I’m so mesmerized with the artwork on these productions that I forget to pay attention to the content.  Like a song in which you love the tune, but don’t know the words. I’d love to hear from readers on this one.  What delivery formats you find to be most effective for engaging students and promoting learning?   What are the strengths and limitations of each one?  (Note:  There are a coupled of politically-charged examples above, but this about communication.  Please keep comments focused along those lines).  I look forward to reading  your comments! ... View more

[Originally published by David Rieck on July 7, 2014]   I started flipping some of the content in my general chemistry class about three years ago. When I began, my classes typically had a maximum of 44 students, but recently I have had classes of 66 and on one occasion 88 students. (Our lectures increase in 22 student increments because that is the number of students per lab.  Thus, adding one more lab section to a class increases the lecture by 22.) While there are certainly some obstacles to flipping larger classes, some of which are out of the instructor’s control, I find that it is still a useful and effective instructional method. In a flipped class, students watch the lecture on their own time, and then spend the class working problems in small groups. The students work through packets of problems progressing from very simple questions to more challenging problems.  The most significant difficulty I encounter in larger classes is making sure I give each group enough of my attention. With anywhere from 10 to more than 20 groups and a total class time that may be only 50 minutes, it becomes a mathematical certainty that some groups will get very little of my time. I am especially concerned that students might think they are doing things correctly when they are not, and they may continue working additional, more challenging problems when they have not mastered the basic concepts. Ultimately such students will run into trouble and they could end up confused and frustrated simply because I was not able to correct some simple errors or misconceptions before they advanced. One way to minimize this particular issue is by using clickers. During class I monitor students’ progress on the packets and when it looks like most groups are finishing a section of problems, I display a similar problem as a clicker question. Groups who answer incorrectly either figure things out on their own, or ask for help before proceeding. Usually only a few groups need help, but this way I can target my attention where it is most needed. The clicker questions definitely help, but I also discovered that fewer students need my help than I had anticipated. It seems that students not only work together within their own groups, but they are also usually very willing to help other groups nearby. I encourage this sort of inter-group association, and emphasize that this sharing of ideas and information is part of how science is really done – science is much more of a social endeavor than most people realize.  A few other difficulties are beyond my control so I just work around them as well as I can. For example, large classes are almost always in lecture rooms that are not designed for group work. It can be hard to get to groups in the middle of seating sections, but students seem to enjoy watching me climb over rows of desks to reach them when they need help. The obstacles I encounter flipping larger classes definitely change how class operates. Most obstacles can be minimized, and others just need to be dealt with as well as possible. In the end, however, even though it is different from a small class environment, I find classroom flipping to be effective, engaging and actually more fun than a traditional lecture. ... View more