I love teaching in the classroom. I looked forward to going to work everyday, regardless of the politics. I was in my own world and could set my own path for student success. It was in 2009 and my family was enduring the Swine Flu outbreak. Because I could not go to work, I was forced to change how I taught. I did and I never looked back.
It began harmlessly enough at 4:15am, or so my video states. I could either throw a generic lesson together or make an attempt to keep the class on track to get to where we need to go. I chose the latter. This initial video led to another one, a student mockery video and then in 2010 an epiphany. Why not create short videos my students could watch on their own time? My flip began.
Before class each day I created "60 Second" lessons, give or take 60 seconds. They were based upon Jacob Clifford's AC/DC Economics. Yes, I could have used Clifford's videos, but I wanted to make sure my students were seeing me and hearing me, not Clifford. I was a video making machine, but I wanted more.
I decided it should not be up to me to create the videos, the students should take more ownership. I began doing popcorn video definitions. I would take my camera and pop around between students to have them tell me definitions one word at a time. That was okay. I did find out students were actually referring to the video for their notes, but again, I wanted more. I wanted them to take ownership. At that point a coupe of students said they wanted to write one using the whole class. Bingo! Unfortunately what was produced was not great, but it was a step in the right direction.
The 2010 year took my classes to the next level. This time the students decided to do something bigger and better. The were determined to outdo each other, and they did, and I was out. They spent time researching definitions, creating lyrics, working on where to fit in the lyrics and putting it all together. It didn't matter if one person wanted to focus in one area. They all had to finish it. This group effort led to students understanding more than I could deliver. The first round of videos produced this. Once that was out, bets were flying on who could produce even better work. It was as if I was no longer even in the room. I became a manger of my class and the students began creating work I could never have assigned. This was economics, not a movie class right? Wrong, this was a place where learning was occurring.
Students created the work and we discussed the work. I worked with the students to help each group understand the concepts and they put them in their own words. Who ended up winning the video war of 2010? KK Boys and Swaggregate Economix.
It began harmlessly enough at 4:15am, or so my video states. I could either throw a generic lesson together or make an attempt to keep the class on track to get to where we need to go. I chose the latter. This initial video led to another one, a student mockery video and then in 2010 an epiphany. Why not create short videos my students could watch on their own time? My flip began.
Before class each day I created "60 Second" lessons, give or take 60 seconds. They were based upon Jacob Clifford's AC/DC Economics. Yes, I could have used Clifford's videos, but I wanted to make sure my students were seeing me and hearing me, not Clifford. I was a video making machine, but I wanted more.
I decided it should not be up to me to create the videos, the students should take more ownership. I began doing popcorn video definitions. I would take my camera and pop around between students to have them tell me definitions one word at a time. That was okay. I did find out students were actually referring to the video for their notes, but again, I wanted more. I wanted them to take ownership. At that point a coupe of students said they wanted to write one using the whole class. Bingo! Unfortunately what was produced was not great, but it was a step in the right direction.
The 2010 year took my classes to the next level. This time the students decided to do something bigger and better. The were determined to outdo each other, and they did, and I was out. They spent time researching definitions, creating lyrics, working on where to fit in the lyrics and putting it all together. It didn't matter if one person wanted to focus in one area. They all had to finish it. This group effort led to students understanding more than I could deliver. The first round of videos produced this. Once that was out, bets were flying on who could produce even better work. It was as if I was no longer even in the room. I became a manger of my class and the students began creating work I could never have assigned. This was economics, not a movie class right? Wrong, this was a place where learning was occurring.
Students created the work and we discussed the work. I worked with the students to help each group understand the concepts and they put them in their own words. Who ended up winning the video war of 2010? KK Boys and Swaggregate Economix.
RSS Feed
