What does it mean to “flip leaning”? To be perfectly honest, I have heard the term used a few years ago, but before investigating the Flipped Classroom site, I wasn’t really sure what it was. Basically, it is the idea of bringing most of the classroom work to the online world and using in-class time for collaborating, more personalized interactions with the teacher, and hands-on tasks. Lectures are relatively nonexistent and lessons are taught through viewing videos provided by the teacher, doing readings, and expressing opinions online. The idea is that students are learning by doing. The Flipped Classroom site is a great outlet for classroom-flipping teachers out there to collaborate and build ideas together, When a teacher has a problem or is unfamiliar with the flipped classroom, he/she can post in a help forum or in their content page what the issue is they are having or to simply ask the general flipped community a question.
What is my personal opinion of flipped learning? I can see this being successful if the entire school was on board with this learning style and if all students in the school had access to the internet and a computer. Not all students will remember to make the time to do their work online at home if all of their other classes revolve around what occurs in the classroom. I also think this type of learning environment requires students with a lot of intrinsic motivation and who are rather responsible. Furthermore, I believe this type of learning would be more successful at higher level classes, perhaps French 4 or 5 classes or even at the college level. I can see using this flipped learning for a class project or special activity. I would perhaps try this method to add some spark to the year. I would let the students know ahead of time that for the next month, for example, we would be experimenting with moving the classroom to the online world. All homework assignments would be online, such as writing blog posts or reactions to videos I would post. I would use VoiceThread with the students for speaking and listening practice. In class, we would discuss what occurred online and perhaps play some of the recordings or read some of the posts in class. At the end of the month, I would have the students take a survey of how they liked or disliked the change in classroom pace and depending on the results, I may or may not continue with the flipped classroom. However, I do find it to be a very interesting idea and plan to try it one day. I wouldn’t “flip” my classroom for the entire year but I would definitely give it a try.
Would you flip your classroom?
jvdoores 
I think you are very wise to try flipping your class for a short period of time to see the results. I’m sure that there are will be unforeseen situations that must be worked out. I think it is also important to keep in mind the time involved in doing the flipped type of homework assignment in the same way as doing any other assignment. Some people think that students can view long videos from every class in a “flipped” school, but there is only so much time available for students who need to do homework, participate in activities, and, perhaps, hold a job.
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