Yesterday, we concluded our time together as of 3:00 PM. On Day Two we...
- Designed Our First Lesson
- Read and Reflected On Great Resources By Other Educators
- Were Motivated and Reflected On Our Learning Experience
Since then, I have been thinking about how blessed I was to be with a group of educators who were so willing to "think differently". Many of you said before we started the class that you had a limited idea of what a flipped classroom meant. This conjures up many different emotions...
- Fear Of The Unknown
- Uncertainty of Outcomes
- What Will I Need To Do
Let me just say that ALL of you attacked these fears with a tremendous about of courage, dedication, and willingness to think differently!
I am so proud of your eagerness to learn the background information of a Flipped Classroom, discover the power of Twitter and how connected you can be to other #Flipclass educators, be open to learning new tools that can be used at the right time to engage, empower, and educate our students all the time, and to adopt the tools that best fit your needs and your idea of how you can "best use face to face time with your students". Top that off with reflecting on blog posts and articles by other educators and creating valuable lessons that can be implemented "right now" with your students and you have a full two days.
Jim Valvano, former North Carolina State basketball coach was battling cancer when he stated,
"To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. Number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.
I felt we did that! For us and for our students! We worked extremely hard, encouraged one another, and were rock stars! Don't let anyone tell you
- that you are not worth your paycheck
- that because of a flipped classroom, you won't have to work as hard
- that "you teachers who flip just make students watch videos"
Be innovators, encouragers, facilitators, and rock stars for your students and their educational future. Do what you can, with what you have, where you are at!
Thank you again for making my two days with you an inspiration and truly a great experience!
Clay
