Top 17 Best Tools for Flipped Classrooms
Flipped classrooms are becoming increasingly popular because it allows the students to progress at their own pace by watching lecture videos and reading chapters. The students are able to pause and rewind the lectures so as to grasp them better. The classroom is used as an interactive space where they can engage in interactive group discussion and other hands on activities.
But On the other hand, flipped classroom is just a concept. A complete flipped class model is a loop involving multiple processes and steps, which can be made effective with proper use of digital tools. Here’s a list of best tools for teachers to use in flipped classrooms, categorized by 6 procedures in the loop.
1. Content Source
One of the fastest and easiest ways of starting to flip your classroom is by making use of the pre-recorded lectures created by somebody else. You can select from a number of superb resources for lecture videos provided below.
Khan Academy
Here you can find thousands of hours of video lessons which have carefully crafted to nourish the young learners. The students can progress at their individual pace and the lectures would ensure that the homework actually gets done.
Ted Edu
The video lessons on this site include insightful thoughts on a variety of topics like science, social science, politics, culture or academics. Considered to be one of the best online resources for instructors, Ted Edu always comes with a refreshing outlook on various subject matters.
Crash Course
Here you will find courses on topics like literature, history, chemistry, astronomy, US government and psychology. The 5 lesson providers will be teaching you with images, historical docs and even animated videos. With over 150 million views this is one of the coolest flipped classroom resources you will find online.
2. Tools to Create Your Own Lesson
On watching a number of video lessons you might also like to create your own lesson. This implies that you need to adapt your instruction for the specific class and learners. Some of the options for creating your lessons include the following:
Screencast-o-matic
A favourite of educators, businessmen and tutorial makers, Screencast-o-matic is a quick recording app which would allow you to make a nice video and share it on YouTube. Here you can record and host a 15 min video clip free of cost while the pro version of this app (which can be bought for $15) would allow you to create unlimited clips for 1 year. Check out full review on Screencast-O-Matic.
Wondershare DemoCreator
Whether you want to make online class video or teaching video, Wondershare DemoCreator can meet your needs and make it possible to record and edit video. Create the lesson the first step is to record your own class, DemoCreator supports you to record in high quality video. Also, the screen drawing tool is supported while recording, which allows you to highlight the key points. After recording, if you want to make further editing, DemoCreator even can make facial recognition, remove the background, which can make your video more attractive.
Features
- The drag drop interface makes it really easy to use.
- Record and edit video in one stop..
- The videos can be shared on Facebook or YouTube with just a single click.
- The superb editing features will help you create engaging video clips. You can select from a number of effects which are specially created for educators.
Pow Toon
This cool app will help the educators come up with professional presentations with animations. The intuitive interface can be mastered even by novices. You don’t need to have any training in animation in order to come up with animated teaching instructions.
Educreation
This is an iPad only application which would make your tablet function like a recordable white board. You can create video lessons with the help of additional texts and animations.
3. Hosting Sites
Screencast.com
A free account on this hosting site would give you 2 GB of storage enabling you to upload a considerable number of video-clips, podcasts and images and PDF. One of the coolest features of Screencast is that specific people can be invited to view the content rather than leaving it for everybody to view.
Dropbox
Dropbox is an effective tool for flipped classroom since it enables the instructors, learners and parents to work on a particular set of info at any given time.
YouTube
With YouTube you can create public videos as well as restrict them for viewing by only your students. YouTube allows you to add clickable annotation and link them to other pertinent videos.
4. Learning Management System (LMS)
The LMS helps you create an organized content and track the progress rate of the learners. Given below are some of the best LMS systems which would help you create an enhanced flipped classroom experience.
EdModo
One of the most widely used educational tools of our time EdModo is an ideal option when it comes to flipped classrooms. The unlimited storage options and user friendly interface will help you focus on teaching instead of the paperwork. It is fully integrated with MS Office and Google Apps for Education. The Edmodo mobile app for parents will help the family stay updated with their kid’s progress.
Moodle
This flipped classroom platform would allow the instructor to upload video lessons including the ones which have been shared by other teachers on Moodle. It comes with loads of content format and the content can be loaded in relation to the module and divided according to the topics.
Sakai
This open software is being used by some of the top universities like Oxford and MIT. It comes with a number of useful tools for online collaborations and includes tools for emails, chat rooms, polling tolls and a presenter for slide shows.
5. Communication Tools
Flipped classrooms are not just about watching the lectures before going to class. It covers other educational aspects like good communication, p2p reviews and learners collaboration motivated by content. This is precisely why you need the digital communications tools so as to come up with a compelling and more productive learning experience. Some effective communication tools for flipped classrooms are:
Google Hangout
This click platform by Google is an effective tool for learning, communication and engagement.
Wikispaces
This is a web tool which would empower the students allowing them to share their views, connect with the work of other students and edit a work collectively.
6. Review and survey
Tracking the efficacy of the learning process is a very important aspect of education. There are a number of tools which can be used by the instructors to collect the learner’s feedback regarding the educational contents, workflow design and other aspect of your classes. The teacher needs to appraise the impact of their teaching method so as to enhance and modify them accordingly.
Poll Everywhere
This is a powerful educational tool which can be used in conferences and classes for getting instant feedback from the audience. This free tool is a superb way of collecting feedbacks from the learners by other learners without involving the instructor. Poll Everywhere can help the flipped classroom students to keep track of the educational progress of the other students.
Google Forms
This is yet another useful tool for flipped classroom which helps to garner quick feedback from the students.