A ‘Flipped Classroom’ Without Computers or Internet Connection

KHANACADEMY (Photo credit: Colegio Altamira)

Is it possible to ‘flip the classroom’ without computers or internet access? Yes it is. I’m trying out a method simply using mobile phones in the classroom.

                         

The basic concept of the ‘flipped classroom’ is very simple. The students watch a pre-recorded video lecture/demonstration at home before the actual class begins. This way the teacher can pay more attention to student progress. The classroom time is now freed up for discussions, activities, practice work, doing the homework and projects. The flipped classroom also allows students to learn at their own pace because they can repeatedly watch the lectures. The teacher can also give more help to weak students while the good ones are busy solving more advanced problems

If the teacher is excited by the ‘Flipped Classroom’ model but is constrained by a lack of computer or internet access at school, it is still possible to use the Khanacademy resources and flip the classroom in an innovative way. All you need to do is download the Khan academy videos and watch it on a mobile phone. To do this you will have to

1.       Convert the video into the 3gp (for Nokia) or Mp4 (all other handsets) video format and then share the video with the students using a Bluetooth connection.

2.       Record your own lecture/demonstration and share it with students using Bluetooth

3.       Download lectures and demonstrations from alternative sites like Youtube, TED-ED, BBC etc., convert them into a mobile phone format and share using a Bluetooth connection.

4.       You could also give away the selected video lessons in the form of a CD/DVD so that the students can watch them at home using a DVD player.

Things required:

[023/365] - Flip Filming (Photo credit: SimonDoggett)

·         Colour Mobile handset with a camera, bluetooth and a memory card i.e. SD Card

·         A computer for the teacher to convert videos. You could also convert videos to any format on the internet.

·         A free conversion software called Xmedia Recode

There’s one more innovative idea I’d like to share. Since a colour mobile phone is such a valuable learning tool, school authorities, educational NGO’s and other interested parties can consider giving away a handset using the microfinance facility for poor, rural students.

Although this post aims to address the technology constraint related to accessing educational videos, it does not solve the problem of the language barrier. Therefore Khanacademy or other Youtube educational videos are not suitable for students unless the lecture/demonstration is narrated in the local language. However, science experiments and math problems can be demonstrated through visuals and board work respectively.

Anybody who needs further help related to converting the software or any other technical information can write to me via email.

Although tablets would be ideal for watching videos their price and availability is an issue right now. The mobile phone offers the perfect solution to implement the flipped classroom on an immediate basis.

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