Blog Post Nine

           I had never heard the term “ The Flipped Classroom” until I began researching this concept for my blog post, but I remember teachers at my high school adopting different concepts from the “Flipped Classroom” idea. Basically, “ The Flipped Classroom” involves teachers posting lessons and notes online, expecting students to review the material before coming to class. This allows teachers to spend more time with students who may be struggling; it also gives students who understand the material more time to independently work and be productive. My high school chemistry teacher operated this way. We were expected to copy notes the night before at home, then come to class the next day with questions. She enjoyed this method because it allowed her to spend more time doing activities and labs in class. I think the idea of “The Flipped Classroom” is genius. I plan on doing something similar for my students when I’m a teacher. 

Being that my family is full of educators, I’ve heard them talk about open educational resources (OER) often. Basically, they’re resources that can be edited by different educators, keeping the information relevant and up-to-date. Students are given access to these resources (for free), allowing them to use accurate information to complete assignments without having pay. This entire process not only gives students the resources to be successful, it also benefits the teachers by allowing everyone to continuously make edits that will make the information more accurate. One OEF that I discovered was OER Commons. This website offers 73,000 OER and provides teachers with the tools to create their own. OER Commons also provides trainings on how to use OER and how to create “commons,” which are groups created for the sole purpose of sharing resources. The website allows teachers to create resources, lessons, and modules. It even contained Common Core resources, which I was really impressed by. I’m sure I’ll be using ORE Commons once I become an educator. Here's the link: https://www.oercommons.org

          Using PowerPoint for these past few weeks has actually been enjoyable. I’ve been using PowerPoint since I was a child, which made be believe I knew everything there is to know. However, these past two assignments made me realize how little I actually knew. From Assignment Four, I learned how to create my own slide format and add hyperlinks: two things that sound very easy but I never understood. I like the idea of adding hyperlinks, but I didn’t really care for making my own slide format. I guess it’d be cool for creating something interactive, or maybe for a teacher who relies on graphs or maps, but I didn’t see a need for this function. Next time I create a PowerPoint to teach a lesson, I’d like to incorporate more interactive slides. I feel that this will make my students more engaged with the lesson and encourage them to participate in class. Assignment Five showed me how to create my own buttons, input sounds, and make it so that you can’t click through the slide show. This was awesome; by the end of this assignment, I felt like a PowerPoint expert. The only thing I didn’t think was necessary was the incorporation of images. By now, I think everyone knows how to add a picture to PowerPoint; I felt that to be redundant from Assignment Four, but I suppose it’s a good refresher. Next time, I want to add more a variety of transitions and make my buttons more visually appealing. For now, I just wanted to learn the basics. Also, check out pictures of my projects below!