The Flip that was Almost a Flop

A great portion of my last three weeks has been spent traveling.  First to snowy Virginia, then (thankfully!) to the blissful beaches of Jekyll Island, Georgia.  I must say I definitely preferred the latter to the former!  Each trip was focused on professional development and increasing my proficiency as an educator.  Both conferences were filled with new knowledge, and I did return home tired yet energized with new ideas.

All this travel did distract me somewhat from my goals of gaining better technology and distance education proficiency.  However, I finally hunkered down to begin improving my knowledge of a technology that has remained elusive and intimidating: Prezi.  Yes, I am a PowerPoint kind of girl.  It is familiar and comfortable, and once my lovely instructional designer taught me all about using the MIX add-in, I’ve rocked the narrated PowerPoint through creating MP4’s and YouTubes.  Students have loved having online lectures in a variety of formats, and converting a plain-Jane presentation into a YouTube has become second-nature.  But……YouTube videos don’t play so easy in PowerPoint.  And I was getting frustrated with having to leave the presentation to go to the video, and vice versa.  So finally, I bit the bullet and spent most of the last week playing around in Prezi, reading tutorials, and watching the Prezi help videos.  All of this was done to not just increase my technology competence but to also help in preparation for a flipped classroom.

This was the week I would give up control, leave the lectern, and step out into creative chaos as my students applied knowledge to practice.  The topic was Teamwork and Collaboration, with a focus on communication about patients to increase safety and healthcare quality.  I created a teaching plan, designed out-of-class activities, crafted patient scenarios for application through problem-based learning, and produced a not-so-bad Prezi.  For each module, students are provided an overview that includes required readings and pre-class activities.  For this module, I sent out the overview several days early and let them know it would be a flipped classroom approach, hopefully to encourage them to complete the pre-class activities BEFORE coming to class. 

Finally, the week arrives, and two days before class I post a request for volunteers for an activity.  No response.  The day before class, I send word to the skills lab that I still need volunteers for an activity.  No response.  So I arrive early the day of class so I can catch students before the first class of the day, and eventually get four reluctant volunteers.  Class time arrives, the Prezi loads, and the seats are filled.  I dive in with a question posed to the class based on some of the brief (and by brief I do mean brief- the longest video was less than 2 minutes) video scenarios on communication.  There is total silence, blank faces, and a sinking feeling in my stomach as I realize that it is highly likely no one read a word or watched a single video.  But being an optimistic kind of person, I move on to another question.  Now there might be total silence, except there is the noise from shifting students and they are realizing that they know no one is prepared, and it is becoming obvious that I know no one is prepared.  It might have been a tad bit awkward.

Fortunately, I did not give in to the urge to retreat to the lectern and begin a lecture.  At the Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy this year, Peter Doolittle (of Virginia Tech) delivered an amazing pre-conference session on the flipped classroom.  He posed the question of what one should do if you have flipped, but the students arrive unprepared.  Instinctively you will want to revert to lecture; however, Peter advised against this, instead stating it is necessary to carry on with the original teaching plan.  So rather than running for cover as I wanted, instead I pressed on with the flipped plan.  I presented my few Prezi frames designed to prompt and guide discussion rather than impart content.  My four volunteers were invited to the front of the room, and quickly the classroom realized what the role play was designed to demonstrate (horrible nurse-nurse communication).  After the first activity, we moved on to case studies designed to allow the students to apply knowledge to the use of communication models.  This activity required some teams to role play, and some teams to provide critique of the communication.  Finally, one group led the class in debriefing of the entire class session. 

While I wish I could say that it was a perfect flipped example, instead I have to admit it was almost a flop.  Looking back, I know that it would have been preferable to give the students some face-to-face anticipatory guidance to prepare for the experience.  If I were flipping every class session, I’d likely follow Peter’s advice to possibly administer a brief, low-value quiz at the start of each session to encourage pre-class preparation.  There are other tweaks I’d need to do to each of the in-class activities, with some of the changes based on what students shared during debriefing.  It wasn’t a perfect flipped experience, but it went well enough to encourage me to continue to press on.  

Don't Stuff the Classroom with Stuff: Avoiding Gratuitous Technology

This has been a busy week trying to reach my goals.  I’ve read about social media use in the classroom, listened to a webinar on flipping the classroom, and attended the Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy located at Virginia Tech.  My week began with the drive from warm, dry Georgia up into the beautiful valley of Blacksburg, Virginia.  On the way there, I had the experience of driving over a mountain in the middle of a snow storm.  As a victim of Atlanta’s 2014 snowpocalype/snowmageddon/snow jam (or whatever moniker you prefer), I was not a happy driver. In fact, I was anxious, sweaty, nauseated, and exhausted when I finally began the descent off that horrible mountain.

Reflecting on the past week and progress toward goal achievement, I can’t help but wonder if our students don’t sometimes feel like I did as I drove from North Carolina into Virginia.  As I approached the mountain, I had some sense of anticipation.  I love the mountains, and gazing across them often reminds me of one of my favorite Bible verses from Psalms 121: I lift mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help (Yep- I’m a King James girl!)  As I grew closer to the mountain, there was no precipitation, just a view of the mountain in front of me.  Having driven over the mountain before, I knew to expect a majestic view, and I was a tad bit excited about the prospects of seeing the snow predicted by the most recent weather channel reports.  However, all this changed quickly as the snow started falling first with flurries, then larger flakes, and eventually heavy, sticky snow that was blanketing the trees and roadway.  In addition, other drivers seemed to lack any appreciation for potential risks, and were flying by.  The radio was on so I could hear any weather or road condition updates, snow was flying at me, the wipers were going full force, and the road noise was horrible as I was buffeted by other motorists.  My heart was pounding, the heat was blasting to keep the ice off the windshield, and my lips were dry and parched from the heat.  Essentially, I was drowning in sensory input, growing increasingly anxious by the second.  Finally, as began the descent, the snow began to grow lighter, the roadway cleared, some blue sky was visible, and my pounding pulse began to slow.  When I reached my hotel, I thought over drive and knew I had gained some experience and learned something (I don’t like driving over mountains in the snow!), but I also knew I never wanted to do that again.  After what I learned this week, the theme that became evident is definitely aligned with my mountain-top experience. 

First, I’ve been learning about using social media in the classroom.  To meet course requirements, I need to plan use of social media within a learning environment.  While the assignment doesn’t require that I implement this, I’m a little bit of an over-achiever.  Also, I think learning that is used is more authentic, so actually incorporating this into my class is more meaningful for me. So I have surveyed one class, and based on their responses, Facebook is the platform of choice. While I am a personal Facebook user, I’ve never used it in the classroom setting, so I needed to educate myself.  After spending some time exploring Facebook’s tutorials, I’m pretty sure I need to set up a group that will be labeled “secret” to best protect the privacy of everyone who participates.  This decision was reinforced by some of the readings that I did as well.  One article by Jessica Peck focused on social media use in general, within the specific context of nursing education.  Responsible use is necessary, including reminding students of their privacy rights, and reinforced the need to plan use of social media with a specific goal in mind.  Wang and colleagues explored the educational potential of Facebook and offered guidelines for use in higher education.  This article helped reinforce the need to set up groups rather than requiring learners to “friend” each other, because the term friend on Facebook is not synonymous with friend in the real world.  While these authors proposed that using Facebook can help the learners see the faculty member as the teacher (as a human) rather than only as a teaching function, requiring “friending” to participate can be harmful.  Again, these authors reinforced from the study findings that any Facebook activities must have a purpose, instructions must be explicit, policies for misuse should be clear, and advice and instruction on privacy settings should be provided. 

As I have a goal of flipping at least one class session, I also attended a webinar on flipping one activity at a time, a pre-conference on the flipped classroom, and also a research presentation on student opinions of the flipped classroom.  The webinar was presented by two faculty members at Dalton State College.  The key takeaway from this was that choosing what to flip must relate to something that is authentic and planned around a topic with which students struggle most.  Also, the assessment needs to be planned with a backward design approach to allow students to practice in class in the way they will be assessed.  The need to use real-world scenarios and opportunities to apply is crucial.  Peter Doolittle, in a pre-conference at the CHEP conference reinforced that flipping the classroom is an approach rather than a strategy, and challenged us to consider that the true “flip” is in moving from a teacher-centered to a learner-centered perspective.  He also stressed that technology should be used only when it makes sense, rather than forcing presence and use just to state it you have a technology-enhanced classroom.  In a research session at the CHEP conference, I learned what students think about the flipped classroom.  Christopher Seitz, who is an advocate and user of the flipped-classroom approach, was bold enough to explore what students say on ratemyprofessors.com.  In a qualitative study, he searched this website for comments related to the flipped classroom.  He identified four positive themes, and nine negative themes.  Positive themes indicated better learning, better class quality, and prefer when videos are high quality.  Negative themes included frustration with the time outside of class to prepare, feeling as if students are self-teaching (Imagine that! Gasp! Horrors!), and frustration with poor quality videos.  The key takeaway from the themes was that any activity- in or out of class- needs to be planned carefully, and it must be meaningful.  This was reinforced in the earlier research session on student interest in internet-based videos, and whether there was an effect on student learning outcomes.  The researcher was shocked to see that text-only videos had significantly better learning than those with video and text.  While the limitations included lack of signaling prior to watching the video, again the message was that we need to be careful in our selection of learning resources and strategies.

As I reflect on my week, again I think back to that drive over the mountain where I felt that I was overwhelmed by everything that was happening.  I have been the victim of courses that required tremendous reliance on and interaction with various technologies.  Rather than using one well, and giving me time to learn the platform, it felt like a chaotic ride over the mountain.  Before I became comfortable driving on a dry road with snow flying at me, I was forced into driving on a wet road and the snow was still flying.  Throughout everything I read, and every conference session I attended, the theme was consistent: choose your assignments and classroom activities with care.  Don’t just pick stuff to say it is there.  While the obligatory discussion assignment may get old and boring, that may be preferable over forcing students to use technology just so you can say it has been incorporated.  Do we need a mountain route occasionally to help challenge and motivate our learners?  Probably.  But we need to make sure they can successfully navigate the mountain terrain before we begin to fling snow and stuff. 

Resources:

Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy 2016.  http://www.cider.vt.edu/conference/

Peck, J. L. (2014). Social media in nursing education: Responsible integration for meaningful use. Journal of Nursing Education, 53, 164-169. doi: 10.3928/01484834-20140219-03

Wang, R., Scown, P., Urquhart, C., & Hardman, J. (2014). Tapping the educational potential of Facebook: Guidelines for use in higher education. Education and Information Technologies, 19, 21-39. doi: 10.1007/s10639-012-9206-z

Semi-Flip:  How to Flip Your Classroom One Activity at a Time.  Presented for the University System of Georgia by Elizabeth Lucht and Marina Smitherman.  

Flipping and Blending in the Iron Triangle

This week I delved into innovation in online education, learning about the flipped classroom, and completed course planning and design to transition one course that has been a traditional, face-to-face (F2F) classroom into a blended, hybrid course.   A fellow faculty member shared a newsletter from the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) that had links to some podcasts from the University of Central Florida. 

After joining the OLC so I can continue to receive the newsletters, I followed the link to the podcast (Link shared below).  This was actually the first podcast I’ve ever listened to, and I have to say I really enjoyed it.  The broadcasters were very conversational, and began with one of my favorite topics:  COFFEE!!!!  After a discussion on the particular type of coffee (a single-blend from Vietnam), and a description of Starbuck’s use of the Clover coffee machine, the conversation shifted to a discussion of what was termed the Iron Triangle.  Apparently the Iron Triangle in higher education includes quality, cost, and access.  It was explained that any change in one of these three components results in an inevitable change in the other.  The topic was supposed to be Stimulus for Innovation in Higher Education.  Based on the topic title, I was really expecting some descriptions of how to be innovative in the online education environment.  I can’t say that this expectation was met.  However, I did enjoy the discussion and just learning about this thing called the Iron Triangle.  The point was made that you will never impact the Iron Triangle if you do nothing, so do something we must (Hmmm- that sounded very Yoda-ish!).  Another thing I liked about this was the website includes links to everything discussed- even the coffee! 

I also spent some time learning about flipping around the classroom.  I’ve done this before in a prior teaching appointment, but would like to be much more intentional about this in upcoming courses, and have even set a goal of flipping one class session this semester.  To help with this goal, I decided I needed to dive into the literature first.  I found two recent journal articles (References below), one focusing on student satisfaction, and the other on more objective data related to meeting outcomes.  It was reinforced that flipping the classroom may increase teacher workload, and from doing this before, I would have to agree.  Students may be more engaged and prefer a flipped classroom approach, and as a result may be more intellectually and emotionally invested.  Both articles I read indicated that while the results didn’t indicate that students learn more or better in a flipped classroom, both showed that students learning is equally effective as in a F2F setting.  It was also stressed, by both articles, that students need to be introduced and taught about the flipped approach.  Flipping the classroom requires students to read, learn, and prepare prior to coming to “class” so that what has been learned can be applied through active learning strategies that may be individual, but tend to be collaborative.  It occurred to me that this is what we ask students to do in the online classroom.  In the 100% online course, or the hybrid course, content may be delivered with no F2F component.  However, students are asked to read, learn, and prepare prior to completing assignments that may be individual, or collaborative.  Once I figured this out, it seemed to make planning for a flipped classroom a little easier.  In an upcoming module, my students will be learning about teamwork and collaboration.  This module will incorporate both inter and intra-professional communication and collaboration.  Nursing students often struggle with effective communication, so I think this is a perfect module to use a flipped approach.  Students will need to read and learn outside of class, then we’ll spend the entire F2F time practicing communication and collaboration- applying what we’ve learned.

Not only did I learn about the Iron Triangle and flipping the classroom, I also met another goal!!!!  This goal, even prior to this course, was to transition a traditional F2F course into a truly hybrid model.  The course catalog called the course hybrid, but when it had been taught before it really wasn’t a true hybrid, or blended learning, course.  My students are so busy with other courses, clinical, and skills and simulation lab.  Not to mention the majority have jobs, and some have spouses and children as well.  Their time is so limited, so I really felt that delivering content online rather than meeting F2F could help them out a little by providing some flexibility.  After talking it over with them, and gaining their agreement, I’ve not transitioned the course to a true hybrid model.  The course has seven concepts that are taught in modules.  Two modules will be delivered completely online with no F2F sessions.  Two other concepts will be taught both F2F and online.  Additionally, the required group project will be completed and delivered through presentations to the entire cohort using an online, multi-media format.  Students have also agreed to use of some form of social media to enhance the course, and a survey to gain data on interests and preferences is currently open.  Some students have already offered verbal feedback that they are enjoying the hybrid model, and feel that it really has helped them manage their time better.  The students completed the first online module and then attended a graded simulation experience that required application of the content in a different course.  The instructor of the other course offered feedback that the students seemed much more prepared for this experience than in prior semesters.  I do have to say, though, that the workload has been challenging to get everything prepared and set up for online delivery and management.  Students had to complete a discussion assignment for the first online module, and it was really tough to get original responses and replies graded for 67 students.  I’ve already decided that first assignment will need revision if I teach this again.

Overall, a pretty productive week.  Next week I’m looking forward to attending the Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy that is held annually at Virginia Tech.  There are several sessions focused on distance education that are interesting, and hopefully will help me go beyond flipping and blending. 

Podcast: Univ of Central FL- Episode 10: The Iron Triangle- Stimulus for Innovation in Online Ed:  https://online.ucf.edu/topcast-s01e10/?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRons6vKZKXonjHpfsX56O0qX66%2FlMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4DSsFiI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFQrnCMaNz17gOWxQ%3D

Articles read:

Gross, B., Hoffman, M., Marinari, M., & DeSimone, K. (2015).  Flipped @ SBU: Student satisfaction and the college classroom. Educational Research Quarterly, 39(2), 36-52.

Murray, L., McCallum, C., & Petrosino, C. (2014). Flipping the classroom experience: A comparison of online learning to traditional lecture. Journal of Physical Therapy Education, 28(4), 35-40.

Making progress...slowly

This past week I began to make progress toward my personal learning plan goals....slowly.  Although it felt like I really wasn't getting anywhere, once I began to list things for inclusion in this writing, I realized I really did make some (although not much) progress. 

One thing I’ve learned this week through course work and personal exploration of publications, is that the federal government is beginning to look more closely at whether an online course is truly distance education, or better meets the criteria for a correspondence course.  From what I read in an online article (Link below), the key factor in allowing the designation of correspondence/online is the amount and type of faculty-student interaction.  While Western Governor’s University is the institution of focus right now, competency-based online programs are becoming more popular.  Therefore, this will be a topic to watch as the results of the investigation might affect all online education.

This week, in an effort to achieve my identified goals, I completed some online tutorials on creating a survey tool using Google Forms.  I viewed a tutorial provided by my professor, and this tutorial was found on the online site, Tech Republic.  This was a very clear and easy to read article, and through this article I learned the term “skip logic.”  This was a new term, and it is used when a survey asks If/Then type questions.  Apparently Google Forms cannot do this when you are creating survey tool, but then I also realized that the article’s screen shots look nothing like the Google Forms tool I used.  I then realized that the article was from 2012, which in computer application time is essential decades ago. In fact, I began building my tool during the weekend, and when I began finalizing it the day before I submitted, I was offered to upgrade to an even newer version of the tool.  Nevertheless, despite the age of the article, I did learn some things that were useful, such as when skip logic might be helpful, and to have better clarity on the descriptions of the types of questions available in the survey.  Another strategy to help me learn the tool better was that, as I built a sample tool, I clicked on the “help” icon frequently, reading the instructions for each section and function.  Although I did explore the tool through creating a sample tool, I do think it is a pretty self-explanatory and easy application.  I submitted my sample tool to some classmates for critique and to use the survey to make sure it worked like I wanted, and then created my actual needs assessment.  It was pretty exciting to see results start coming in within a few minutes of emailing the link!  This was much easier than I anticipated, so when my students agreed to use of social media in the classroom as a means of communication, I decided to also query them on preferences through use of another survey tool.  The faculty survey results will help me craft a professional development seminar, and the student survey results will help me meet their learning needs. 

Another learning opportunity I experienced this week was attending a webinar provided by the University System of Georgia (USG).  This seminar was a panel format entitled Successful Practices in Teaching Adult Learners Online.  There was a variety of educators from three different universities, and all have vast experience teaching online.  Some of the points made were as follows:

• · Online learning needs to be affordable, and resources to support learning need to explicit.  Students should not have to waste valuable learning time digging for resources the instructor should provide for course assignments.
• ·         Online learning must be flexible, the job of the instructor is to understand what students really need.  One panel member accomplishes this by providing students an access to a course section prior to beginning the course.  This section includes a survey of the students, and gives them practice navigating the online platform.  Another point made is that truly online programs need to have more entry points rather than requiring students to enroll only at the beginning of defined semesters.
• ·         Online instructors need to assume a role of student advocate, both within individual courses and the institution.  University resources are often not helpful to online learners, especially when they can only be accessed through the home campus.
• ·         Online learning needs to begin consideration of meeting the needs of a learner who can accelerate learning.  This may include consideration of looking to build a competency based classroom that can meet the needs of the learner who can successfully accelerate and meet the course outcomes.

This was a great format to learn, I was able to participate at my desk, even asking questions through the chat feature.  The USG offers webinars frequently, and the list of upcoming topics can be found at http://www.usg.edu/faculty_affairs/workshops/category/academic_year_2015_2016 

Articles read:

Fain, P. (2015). The faculty role online, scrutinized. Inside Higher Ed.  Retrieved January 26, 2016 from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/01/15/education-departments-inspector-generals-high-stakes-audit-western-governors-u.

Getting Started.....Slowly

A new semester has begun, both as a teacher and a student.  Some days I feel as if I'm meeting goals and deadlines.....other days, not so much.  I've recently joined faculty in a nursing program with a caring curriculum.  During the last semester, I explored what this "caring" curriculum means, again both as a faculty member and learner.  Through other course work, I realize that much of my own personal philosophy aligns well with phenomenology, which I've learned links nicely with caring science.  Through exploration of caring science, one key revelation was the need to reduce the power differential between myself and my students.  While I am the authority in the classroom- designated by the institution- these students will one day soon be my peers in practice.  Thus, I feel the need to acknowledge their worth and value by inviting them to share in the culture of the classroom.

While I may say my schedule is busy, at least I have some flexibility in when I am on campus.  I designate my office hours- even to the point of stating whether students must schedule in advance to meet.  My students don't have that luxury.  Two days per week are given to working on clinical skills, either in the labs or the practicum setting of a clinical agency.  Two days per week are reserved for class.  These students are taking 9 to 15 credit hours each semester, and we tell them to expect to spend two hours working and studying at home for each credit hour.  Many have jobs, families, and other responsibilities, yet we expect them to be present for learning- in class, clinical, and home- for anywhere from 27 to 45 hours each week.  And while I try to be careful in assigning too much to be done at home lest I push them beyond the allotted hours for my courses, I shamefully acknowledge that their work for me likely does exceed what it should.

As a result of my concern for how busy and inflexible the school schedule is, I decided to be a little innovative this semester.  I'm teaching a course I taught in the fall, and I came to realize early in the last semester that the course is designated as a hybrid course.  This means up to 49% can be taught online!  What a revelation that was for me, because previously it was a rare session that was taught truly online.  Thus, my first innovation was to make plans to transition this course to a true hybrid model.  The class is scheduled to meet once each week, for one hour and fifty minutes.  In our 16 week semester, this allow slightly less than 16 hours of content to be delivered online.  While my current plans won't reach that maximum, we are in Georgia, and a few snowflakes could cancel a whole week of class!  I taught this cohort in another class in the fall, and when I broached presenting the course online, they unanimously agreed, offering thanks that I was giving them back a few hours each week that they could be at home.  The other innovation I've introduced, again with my student's agreement, is a contract grading scheme.  This has been quite a bit of work up front- as was promised by all the literature I've read.  However, I feel freed to offer feedback and more holistic assessment and evaluation of student work.  Although we are only two weeks into the semester, one student has already told me that she feels so very less stressed.  While she contracted for an A, she said now she won't receive a 90 and "beat myself up" because it was almost a B.  Instead, she shared, when she receives a grade of A she will simply accept it as being "A" quality rather than wondering how she could have done better.

So, now that I've bitten off possibly more than I can chew, I need to begin exploring technology as a way to support learning within my classrooms.  And I don't want to just have gratuitous technology just to say it is there.  I've played around with narrated PowerPoints, even learning how to convert them into both mP4 and YouTube formats.  I  know how to record myself with the computer's video camera, and I'm minimally able to create a VoiceThread or Jing.  Despite having some knowledge of technology, I want whatever I use to be pedagogically sound.  Some teachers use fancier- and likely more challenging- means of providing content.  Some, I've heard, even use social media as an instructional method.  As I navigate through this semester, I need to not only become more familiar with what is available, but also figure out what works for me, my students, and is supported by evidence or demonstrates best practices.  To help guide me and keep me on task, I've created six goals that I plan to achieve by the end of this current semester.  As I work through each of these goals, I'll update here on my journey.  I can't promise I won't whine a little in protest as I'm challenged to learn even more.  But I can promise I'll share something with each post that might help you a little too.