In Egypt we often struggle with finding appropriate resources and accessing those resources. As a result of this, we generally do not use the "Flipped Classroom" model very often as we just don't don't have the resources or time to deal with rounding-up all that we need. While the school is working on the bandwidth issue, I am starting to work on the resources part of the equation.
I found a really neat place that is a megasite for educational videos. It's called http://www.refseek.com/directory/educational_videos.html Refseek and it has links to many amazing video hosting sites. Some of these sites are new, but some of them like Archive.org hold some really old videos that are fascinating to learn perspectives of the time.
Now why did I bring all of this up? Well... I really think that using resources such as this can help an overwhelmed teacher let some of his/her students work independently (or preview assignments for those who are struggling) so that more time can be spent with students that really need help. During a typical lecture, a good number of the students could probably do most of that learning by themselves. Even if just a few could work independently, this whittles-down the number of students that need intensive help.
Video resources could also be helpful for students to preview material before a unit is started. Struggling students may not really have an idea of what an upcoming unit is about (or does not make the necessary connections). These video resources could help. These resources could also be used as a supplement for a student who needs to see more examples or see the unit in action.
The bonus is seeing all of that great content and wondering if it could be produced locally, or at least a lot of material produced locally. Why couldn't a lecture be recorded and independently viewed by some students? How about extra practice work or further explanations - could that be produced locally? What about modeling these production methods for students - how valuable is that?
Maybe these video sites are just the start of what could be an amazing classroom experience for all of our students!
I found a really neat place that is a megasite for educational videos. It's called http://www.refseek.com/directory/educational_videos.html Refseek and it has links to many amazing video hosting sites. Some of these sites are new, but some of them like Archive.org hold some really old videos that are fascinating to learn perspectives of the time.
Now why did I bring all of this up? Well... I really think that using resources such as this can help an overwhelmed teacher let some of his/her students work independently (or preview assignments for those who are struggling) so that more time can be spent with students that really need help. During a typical lecture, a good number of the students could probably do most of that learning by themselves. Even if just a few could work independently, this whittles-down the number of students that need intensive help.
Video resources could also be helpful for students to preview material before a unit is started. Struggling students may not really have an idea of what an upcoming unit is about (or does not make the necessary connections). These video resources could help. These resources could also be used as a supplement for a student who needs to see more examples or see the unit in action.
The bonus is seeing all of that great content and wondering if it could be produced locally, or at least a lot of material produced locally. Why couldn't a lecture be recorded and independently viewed by some students? How about extra practice work or further explanations - could that be produced locally? What about modeling these production methods for students - how valuable is that?
Maybe these video sites are just the start of what could be an amazing classroom experience for all of our students!