Teacher Classroom Collaboration in Your Flipped Classroom

May 2, 2012 - PRLog -- Modern education has been under attack for some time.  Some critics complain that education in America hasn’t seen any major innovations since the Great Depression, where schools main focus was training students to stand in line, take orders, and respond to disciplinary action; essentially training kids to be factory workers, the most ubiquitous job of the age.  At the time this was extremely relevant training and provided what are now our parents and grandparents with the discipline needed to survive.

Fast forward to 2012 and we see a vastly different world, a world ruled by technology, and a US economy that no longer looks to Industrial leaders to provide our children with jobs.  We have become a tertiary economy; most of our jobs no longer include or require manual labor to complete.  Our nation’s top-paid jobs are for engineers, scientist, lawyers, and entrepreneurs of all stripes.  So the resounding question heralded by both educators and critics alike is that education needs to get out of the Great Depression and start teaching our kids the practical skills that are relevant today.

One method, while not entirely new, offers an alternative to the top-down practice of lecturing students and having them take notes and fill out worksheets.  Classrooms that exhibit this type of learning are called “Flipped Classrooms”.  Flipped Classrooms basically do just that, they flip the typical practice of education on its head, enabling students to explore knowledge individually, and teachers act more like moderators and a reliable source of wisdom and facilitation.  

The Flipped Classroom method is not entirely new, but it has become increasingly relevant in an age where technology is easily accessible by even the most disadvantaged of youths.  In the past 10 years the world has seen numerous organizations build entire networks of content designed for digital learners.  Additionally, we have seen the rise of many applications designed to facilitate web based learning.  
Initially, we saw most content and learning platforms evolve as paid solutions.  But now, thanks to some recent innovators like Novachi, TED-ed, Khan Academy, and Curriki among others, Flipped classrooms are more relevant than ever because the content is there, the structure is there, and it’s all available for free.

If you are looking to acquire the tools to bring your classroom into the digital age, one need look no further than Novachi’s new Teacher Classroom Collaboration application, combined with a healthy mix of content sources and videos provided by organization like TED-ed and Khan Academy.

All of the tools mentioned in this article are free for teachers to use in their classroom.  Don’t wait, get your students prepared now!