FlipCon13

FlipCon13

#itwasamazing

Through a grant of money from Michigan Virtual High School, I was able to attend the National Flipped Class Conference in Stillwater, Minnesota.  In a word, it was invigorating!

Jon Bergmann and Aaron Sams (the fathers of the flipped class) started off the conference  by explaining the evolution of their idea of the flipped class.  It was exciting to see that my evolution throughout the year, matched much of how they evolved throughout the years.  It was clear that they are still evolving and wanted us to help lead that evolution.  They laid out the four pillars of the flipped class, which I think should be repeated for those new to flipping or want to try!

• Flexible Environment: homework is the lower level of Bloom's, in-class work focuses on analyzing, evaluating, etc.
• Learning Culture:Transfer ownership to kids.
• Intentional Content: How can kids interact with you on the  video?
• Professional Educator: find a collaborator!

After the keynote, I attended breakout sessions. I could go into detail about what I learned, but then this could turn into a book!  What I liked the most was how collaborative most sessions were.  It was not a simple sit and listen.  The presenters not only encouraged questions, but asked participants to share what worked or did not work.  I felt as though I was in a community of learners.  There was no person or group that felt that they were the only ones with the knowledge of a perfect flipped class.  You know why?  There is not such thing as a perfect flipped class!!!!!  The flipped class has always been a grassroots movement and seems to be continuing that way!

I picked up many resources, but more importantly, many co-flippers!  I met 5-6 other AP government teachers from across the country who want to collaborate next year!

We were shown this video on how to start a movement.  
I felt like the "lone nut" in this video at the start of last school year, but I thank Becky Carter, Betsy Foster, Teresa Johnson, Kristy Acker, Todd Kleinow, Ryan Sisco, and Tina Vansyckle for being my first followers! 

Here are a few of the resources I plan to use in my classroom this year

• TedEd videos
• Flubaroo to assess within google forms
• Cycles of learning (Explore-Flip-Apply). A new perspective on flipping!
• The Flipped Learning Journal (my goal is to write an article for this!)
• Camtasia (all participants received a free license to this!)

Stillwater is really pretty!  It is right on the St. Croix river and right across the river  from Wisconsin!