Teachers who advocate the flipped learning model are generally talking about one of two things:

1. Recording the lecture for students to watch at home, freeing up class time for practice and application
2. An asynchronous, self-paced or mastery model where students are responsible for moving through the content at the speed that suits them and still demonstrates mastery of the concepts and skills.

I have tried both of those models; in fact, those two models are the ones I used predominantly for my first year flipped.  However, there is a third model that not many teachers talk about, but that I recommend to flip-curious teachers all the time.

That model is to record the lecture or instructions on video, then show it to the class.  While it doesn't remove that direct instruction from the class period, it does offer several very useful advantages:

1. You can see which students are getting it, and which are not
2. You can teach note-taking in a more explicit way, because you're doing it together.  Students learn to rely on each other to discuss and make meaning of the material, and thus create notes that are far more helpful to them
3. It gives the teacher time to take roll and get organised before beginning an activity.  You could even use the time to enter grades.  If the instruction was in the middle of the period, you could actually enter grades from THAT DAY as they watch, and even give them credit for the notes AS THEY TAKE THEM.  More feedback is always better, and getting instant feedback is important...at least as long as grades are a required part of teaching
4. It effectively clones the teacher - instead of spending 90% of your attention lecturing and 10% managing and supporting, you now have 100% attention to devote to managing behavioural issues, writing passes, taking calls from the office, and even circulating to figure out which students are most in need of 1:1 or small group differentiation.  Then, when the video concludes, those are the students you group together and work with personally.  That allows students who are ready to move more quickly than others
5. Having the video available also means that students who were absent or who have difficulty learning can watch it as many times as they need to.  If you have the devices for it, you can target students who struggle to keep up and have them watch the video on the device while the rest of the class watches on the main screen.  That way they get to control the pace and can therefore avoid the frustration and embarrassment of being the only one not keeping up 
6. Putting direct instruction on video takes what would be 15 minutes of class time and reduces it to 4-8 minutes.  Without interruptions or pausing for questions or to write out notes live for students, the content can be kept brisk.  I have never had a lesson take longer on video than live in class, and frankly, it generally takes less than half of the time as it did live
7. (Maybe this is just me, but...) It forces you to be far more prepared for your direct instruction and to use the best possible examples.  I struggle to talk, write and manage the class all at once, so by recording the lecture on my own, I can focus on the best way to explain it, or find pictures that can help illustrate it, or even add in an easter egg or two to liven it up
8. It allows you to build this into your workflow and create short videos as you go, so that you're flexible in adjusting to students' learning needs
9. This is the most important one to me: it reduces or eliminates the need for homework.  Flipping this way meant that I didn't have to assign homework unless there was something we didn't complete in class time due to off-task behaviour or distractions.

If you don't have the technology to record videos at home, you can do this at school using a SMARTBoard or a document camera, or even just record it on a mobile device.  If you don't think you have the time this year but want to start next year, you could even just record the instruction live in class and go back and edit it later to remove the dead air and replace any bad examples you used or add information using callouts.

Yesterday in #flipclass chat, we did our #teacherconfessions.  But I didn't really get to the heart of mine in the chat.  I could claim that's because the pace was frenetic (and it was) but that would be a lie.

In truth, I am scared.

I am scared that I'm not doing a good enough job. 

I am scared that I've worked for ten years to teach high school students and it ultimately will be meaningless.

I am scared that all of my best ideas were stolen from others or jettisoned at some point along the way.

I am scared that my colleagues judge my class and think that I'm wasting students' time.

That fear is a terrible master.  It continually robs me of joy, of excitement, of passion for my job.  It pushes me to work harder, do better. be better, because I'm always just one step ahead of failure.

That fear causes me to keep back parts of what I do in my class, worried that if anyone sees them, I'll be exposed as the fraud I am.

That fear mocks me when I get up and tell students that what matters most is working hard and not innate talent.  It says that my best isn't good enough, and I just must be stupid.

That fear shuts down my blogging, my tweeting, and even my conversations.  It isolates me.  Whispers things that my harshest critics have said and reminded me that they really did know better than me, and I am kidding myself to think any differently.

I have spent ten years of my professional career trying to figure out how to make it stop.  At several points, I thought that it would be better just to leave the profession, but the fear reminded me that this is the only thing I have really ever done in a professional sense, except for working at Blockbuster Video...and that's hardly a career path.  But the fear controlled me for a long time.

But.  There is a way to start to drown out that fear-voice: by replacing it with people who really do see you and your practice, with all the rough edges and failures and not-good-enoughs, and love and support you anyway.  When those voices start to rise in concert, the fear-voice has less power.

THAT is the power a good PLN has.  I have found people to drown out the fear-voice, and who remind me that who I am matters more than what I do.  That success isn't measured in innate intelligence, but rather in hard work and determination.  It's something I never could have done for myself.  And the primary beneficiary? My students.

And while it's true to say that I am a much better teacher today because of my PLN, what is more true is that I am a better teacher because of my friends.  The people who pushed into my life and refused to accept my fear narrative.  The people who keep reminding me that it's worth it, and that the only failure is to not try.

What does your PLN do for you?

A few years ago, I thought that using video in class was the lazy way out.  It was for teachers who couldn't figure out how to have a class discussion or didn't want to make copies.

I also thought YouTube was for cat videos and people with too much time.

Boy, was I wrong.

Now, I start class with a short video (under four minutes, generally) every single day.  This unit's playlist has dozens of videos that were shown in class, most of which I didn't make.

So what changed?

A few things.  I started delving into the world of online video and YouTube content creators because of my interest in John Green and his brother, Hank Green.  They have been video blogging (vlogging) on YouTube since 2007, when they went for a year using video instead of any textual communication (emails, texts, etc.).  Since then, they have added over a million subscribers, and have one of the most amazing online communities anywhere on the internet (called Nerdfighteria, with individuals being called Nerdfighters - basically, instead of being made out of flesh and bone, Nerdfighters are made out of pure awesome).

I saw thousands of teenagers interested in music, literature, politics, news stories, and even in helping make the world suck less.  The central tenet the Vlogbrothers and Nerdfighteria promote is that our job as humans is to understand each other complexly.  Humans, especially those growing up in this rapidly changing world, are used to seeing black and white, but often fail to see the much more complex tapestry that makes up human experience.  

As a literature teacher, that idea resonates with me.  I read so that I can understand what it's like to be someone else, living a different life.  I read so that I am connected to people with whom I could never otherwise be connected.  I teach reading so that my students can not be limited by what they see, or what they experience, or even what they are.

Exploring the Vlogbrothers led me to a variety of other channels.  If you're interested, here are some of the other channels I now subscribe to, here are some of my favourites: ViHart, WheezyWaiter, ZeFrank1, ZeFrankenfriends, Schmoyoho, TheGregoryBrothers, CrashCourse, Hankschannel, HankGames, KidPresident, gunnarolla, MentalFloss, Pewdipie, TheArtAssignment, TheLizzieBennettDiaries, TheFineBrothers, CGPGrey, Veritasium, VSauce, SciShow, MinutePhysics, PemberleyDigital.

I subscribe to some of those channels because they are EXTREMELY POPULAR.  For example, Pewdiepie, a Swedish video gamer, is the #1 most subscribed user on YouTube.  If you think that's weird, watch this video of him playing a game called Happy Wheels.  Well, don't watch it if you are offended by swearing.  He does that a lot.  But he also is pretty funny.  And that is what our kids are watching.  I want to be watching what they are.

I may never show his videos in class, but I do think it's important to understanding our students.

Some of those channels make content that is outstanding, like the reimagined Jane Austen stories on Lizzie Bennett Diaries or Pemberley Digital.  Some of them are science content, like V-Sauce, Veritasium, SciShow, and Minute Physics.  And some are just awesome and educational, like Crash Course or Vi Hart (if you hate math, watch this.  And then repent of hating math.  I showed this video months ago, and I still find fractals filled with elephants on papers).

Those videos are the ones I show because it says to my students:

• I care enough about you to understand the world in which you live
• I am interested in a lot of things, and I spend time learning when I'm not in class
• There are amazing things on the internet that can teach you anything you want
• I value other voices and other talent 
• There are people who can explain something or tell a story in a way that I never could match

On the practical side, here's some benefits to the strategy:

• Students hate missing the opening video.  That means they get to class on time
• It gives me time to take attendance, pass out papers, and get everything set for class
• It helps students settle into the routine
• It gives them something to write about in their daily writing warmup

Now, I also use longer content.  For example, in this unit, we have been studying the brain, how we learn, and how education can best meet the structural, psychological, and cultural challenges of adolescence.  I could have learned all of the content in the half dozen TED Talks we watched, and designed lessons with scaffolded note-taking and worksheets, and given multiple choice assessments on that information.

Or I could let the expert talk, and use it as a chance to teach students to monitor their comprehension while listening and how to best handle note-taking.  Plus, it allows me to take my own notes during the video so I can model how to do that best.  And, I take notes every time I watch the video, which shows them how much my notes improve every time I watch the video.  

Now, I don't think that my job is to just teach them how to sit down, shut up, and take notes.  In fact, if that's what education is, then we're failing our students completely.  However, I do think that note-taking is something that everyone needs to learn, and every teacher assumes another teacher has taught already.  Spending this much time taking in content and working on producing notes that accurately capture the information in a way that's useful to the student is totally worth it to me.  It builds the skills they need when they start taking on more responsibility for their own learning.

In this first trimester, the goal is to help them learn how to do all of the things they will need to do when they are more self-directed.  As Andrew and I have learned, throwing students into a self-paced autonomous environment right away is ALWAYS a failure...and especially at schools where the culture is one where spoonfeeding is accepted and expected.  So we teach them the basics.  Kind of like boot camp.  Only more fun.

That's another key to the whole "using video" strategy.  It's fun.  You know what's not fun?  Taking notes.  But when they are learning to do that with engaging content, it doesn't feel as soul-crushing.  Plus, we know that students can't really sit still for the entire hour-long class period.  Having short videos provides frequent breaks so they can help manage their attention and time on-task.  When a student knows that they will get a break in five minutes, they are able to worry less and learn more.

Fundamentally, using videos - both as short warm-ups and as longer content-delivery-systems - comes from the belief that when students see what life is like for something else, they will start caring.  Video gives them a much wider world to explore, and that gives them the opportunity to experience something they never could have on their own.  Literature still have a place, but I think English teachers have an opportunity to use this newer medium to teach many of the same skills and content we do for literature.

And that's pretty awesome.

Two years ago, I had the amazingly good fortune to have a cart full of netbooks in my classroom.  I was 1:1, and even if the netbook wasn't awesome (these broke, lost internet connection, lost files, wouldn't connect to any site with a large file size...etc.) it did allow me to push my course management to Edmodo.  I posted all assignments there, had discussions (and posted backchannels for other discussions), I assigned grades, and used the teacher forums for my own professional development.

Then, last fall, it became clear that occasional computer lab use and BYOD were the best I could do.  A large percentage of students had iPhones (85-90%) and a few had iPads or other kinds of smartphones, so there were often a critical mass of devices so students could send email, compose documents in Google Drive (although I wouldn't want to try that on a phone screen, my students seemed to be okay with it), take pictures of handouts, etc.  So while I wasn't 1:1, I had students using their own devices or borrowing one of the ones I had (I had four computers in my classroom, two laptops I own and two desktops from the school, as well as an iPad and an iPhone).

But what became clear quickly was that Edmodo just wasn't going to be helpful.  Outside of a 1:1 environment, it made much more sense to host everything on MentorMob playlists, and then embed those into a course-specific webpage at tmiclass.com.  

This is the course website for American Literature, first period.  You can see the last video we used, along with the playlist for the Gatsby unit, and the playlist of returned tests/essays.  I can also embed Google forms on these pages, such as the one I use for document creation from AutoCrat.

Students could access those easily on their phones, and even more easily from  home.  Just by using MentorMob with BYOD, we reduced the number of copies needed to almost zero.  I didn't even give paper copies of the syllabus and course description last semester.  Just the shortened link to the Google Doc version.

However, that didn't make up for every piece of paper - in fact, most of the paper used in my classroom was used by my students.  That's where this strategy comes in.


I hate collecting paper.  It gathers, especially when you have 155 students in a fast-paced college-prep school.  So I came up with a few ways to not ever collect paper from my students.

• Ask them to email it to you with a particular subject line.  I like using hashtags.  So if the assignment is the Gatsby Journal #1, I have them use the subject #GatsbyJournal1.  Then I can search and even auto-label emails in Gmail.  

• If they don't have a device or can't use it for some reason, I will walk around and take pictures of their papers with my iPad.  Then I can import them as a single event (this works best if you upload after every class period) in iPhoto.  And I have them forever, unless I decide to clean out my iPhoto albums.  It also takes less than two minutes to make it around to everyone who needs it.
  

Here is what it looks like in iPhoto.

So yes, technically it uses paper.  But it means you don't have to collect ANY of it, and the students don't need to worry about keeping or losing it.  In fact, I encourage them to recycle it as soon as they add it to their blog or email it or whatever.  

If I end up needing to comment on them, I can always upload the pictures to Google Drive and use comments or VoiceComments on them.  For the most part though, these are credit/no credit reading journals that don't require me to read them closely.  I can also have students collect and submit them at the end of the unit, making it easier to grade and enter.

Do you have paperless tricks?  If so, I'd love to hear them!

So much to say.

In the last few days of our time in Minnesota, Andrew and I talked a lot about what the next year will hold for us.  You can watch our 5-5-5-5 video reflection here, but that's really just the Big Picture Overview.

And the first thing you have to do when you look at changing your classroom is take stock of where you've been.  I haven't blogged much since early March, which is for lots of reasons (all of them, I assure you, are Very Good Reasons.  I know that Andrew will write me a note attesting to the veracity of that statement).  Practically, what that means is that all of the work we did in the last two units are completely and utterly unblogged.

So there are several major summer projects on the table for Thomasson Morris Instruction (TMI), but more than anything, we need to start by reflecting on the work we have been too busy working on to blog about.  Here are some of the blog topics/subjects we'll be covering in the near future, either as separate posts or combined in some way:

• Close reading
• Collaborative reading activities
• Student-designed novel unit(s)
• Use of student-made #coflip videos
• Integrating blogging into the 20% project (Blank White Page)
• Integrating blogging into a novel unit
• Going paperless without having 1:1
• The Really Hard (but No Rules) College Test
• Flipping feedback with VoiceComments
• Reading analytically as you go vs. reading entire novel, then analysing it
• Socratic Seminar as part of #CoFlipReads The Fault In Our Stars
• Student-selected literature circle unit (hint: Not A Success)
• Reading journals with a difference (and choice!)
• Student feedback and reflections
• Critical reading --> critical thinking --> critical writing?
• Using new media and YouTube Edutainment to engage students

That's a pretty good list.  And of course, that doesn't include any of our plans for next year, or our extended reflections on #FlipCon13.  We have about two hours of video with Andrew and me IN THE SAME ROOM AT THE SAME TIME and that will eventually be a series of short videos about what we learned and how we plan to use it in our classrooms.

Now, because I believe in adding value, I'll write about one thing in this blog post that's not on the list, but is relevant nonetheless.

Andrew and I are approaching summer much like we would the regular year.  We have a schedule that includes several important projects: short and long-form writing, making and editing instructional videos, planning our courses for next year, etc.  My first administrator told me that if you ever take a summer off from work (he was talking about summer school particularly) that you'll never go back to it because you will be forever spoiled by luxury.  Well, that turns out to not be true in this case.  I took the large majority of last summer off, and this summer, I'm actually MORE excited to work than I have been in a while.  I know the tasks won't all be "fun" but honestly, there have been very few times in the last year (of intense collaboration) where it hasn't been enjoyable.  It feels less like work and more like hanging out with my best friend and co-teacher.

I know inspiration is fleeting, but the excitement I have for our summer work is founded on a few reasons.  First, FlipCon helped to light a fire in me.  I have been so drained and worn down and exhausted that I really limped over the finish line of spring semester.  But now, I have had so many ideas, and feel much more energised and ready to work.  I know it will be difficult, and there will be times we don't feel like continuing on.  But this is more excited than I've been about summer....maybe ever.  And it's not because I get to sleep in until 10 AM every day and watch a lot of Dexter and Wheezy Waiter all day; it's because of work.


Well, it's sort of about work.  Like EVERYTHING we do, it's more about collaboration.  Andrew has made even the most mundane of tasks much more fun.  There is a rumour that we are indeed one person, and sometimes, that doesn't feel so incorrect.  It's pretty difficult to write anything substantial without his #SpecialSkillz in writing and editing and thinking now that I've gotten used to having his help.


But more importantly than a shared brain, is the real reason behind "Better Together": that we know we would have burnt out alone.  Yes, the collaboration gives us new ideas, and it gives us a second brain to help when ours isn't finding the right words.  But more than anything, I have someone invested in my success.  I have someone who believes in me far more than I believe in myself.  I have someone to filter my thoughts and writing so I don't say something stupid on the internet...where NOTHING EVER DIES.  Andrew pushes me to be a better teacher, a better writer, and a better learner.  I know not everyone needs that, but I do.  He knows when I'm doing something half-assedly, and isn't afraid to call me on it, but then also will help me fix it.  I trust his opinion more than my own.

It is totally possible to flip your class on your own, but we sure don't recommend it.  I think the reason our story resonates with people is because most teachers, and nearly all #flipclass teachers, want someone who will help them do a better job for their students.  But the reality for most of us is that there are few colleagues willing to help us do that, or if some are willing, many are pedagogically opposed, or over-scheduled to the point of uselessness.  That's why Andrew and I needed each other - neither of us had colleagues willing to experiment with flipped learning.  Neither of us had the knowledge, the tools, or the experience to know how to flip our class.

So we embarked on this journey together, just three days short of one year ago.  I would not still be blogging, I would not have attended #FlipCon13, I would not have several Very Exciting Offers to consider, and I would not be as happy as I am now.  I don't need Andrew to be a good teacher.  But this way, even with the many, many challenges we face, is So Much Better than anything I ever did on my own.  And I am grateful - ridiculously so - to have a teaching partner and friend like Andrew.

So I'm really looking forward to this summer - there is much to be done, and I am excited to see what crazy ideas we hatch as we dive into our projects. I would love to hear which of the topics you'd like us to write up first, so leave that in comments if you have a preference.  And if you are part of (or starting) a collaborative partnership, please let us know!  Andrew and I love to talk to people who are starting this same journey.  We were lucky enough to meet half a dozen collaborative partnerships at #FlipCon13, and we'd love to add to that list.

Happy start of summer, everyone, and we'll see you all at #flipclass chat Monday night!  All are welcome, 8 EST, to talk about #FlipCon13, #CanFlip, and all other #flipclass summer work and reflections.

Lots of other things happened at FlipCon13. 

And those things are important, and I will eventually reflect on them here.

But the most important part of this past week was not the sessions we attended, or the new ideas and their application to our classrooms.

The most important part of FlipCon13 for us was the face-to-face time.  

In a shocking turn of events, Andrew and I get along just as well in person as we do over Google Hangout.  And all the people we admire because they are intelligent, innovative, and creative are just as intelligent, innovative and creative in person.  

It was an amazing week.  And when I've processed it a little better, I promise I will make up for the last four months of radio silence.  Processing has been at a premium since early March, and there are dozens of blog posts from the work we did for the last quarter of the year, and also tons of video series and projects that Andrew and I are undertaking together over the summer....and it's all just waiting for me to have some space to write it all down.

I will say this though, I am more convinced than ever that Better Together is absolutely, 100% perfectly true.  And I am incredibly grateful that a year ago, I met someone who has made my classroom work and my life better.

On Saturday, I had the great honour to co-present with about flipped English at the Michigan Flipped Learning Conference.  Obviously Andrew presented with me (we really don't tend to do things separately, if you haven't figured that out by now), but we were joined by April Gudenrath - the most experienced English flipped teacher there is - as well.  The hangout was broadcast and can be seen in its entirety here, and you can view our presentation through Google Drive here, and you can fill out the Flipped English Teacher Community form here so we can get a good list of as many flipped ELA teachers as possible.

Anyway, most of the questions we got this weekend at #MIFlip (and on Twitter afterward) were around how you get started with flipping.  The school year has already started, so that ship has already sailed for this year, right?

I would argue that mid-year is actually a BETTER time to flip than the beginning of the year.  The kids know you.  They trust you.  They believe that you are out for their best interests and care about you.  You get to start ahead.  As many of us found out this year, jumping into the flip with new students is really, really difficult.

So you're convinced you want to try something.  But you're not sure if it'll take, or if you'll have enough time, or how you should start.  Let me see if I can help.

There are a few main models:

1. Flip 101 - take your direct instruction and put it on video. Have the kids watch the video at home. Use class time to help them get more in-depth with reading, writing, projects, or discussion.
2. Asynchronous Flip - use video in class or as a supplement to what you would normally do. Put your novel reading on video and use todaysmeet.com to have a live discussion. Let kids work through curriculum at their own pace, where students can work ahead but can't get behind. Video is one way of accessing the content, and students can choose others, so long as they can demonstrate learning.
3. Flipped Mastery - using either of the two models with the integration of mastery or Standards Based Grading (SBG) to assess student learning.  
4. Co-Flip - short for Collaborative Flip.  This model is student-centred, where instruction takes place if/when needed, and may or may not be on video.  It could be asynchronous or synchronous.  It could be self-paced or with everyone at the same pace.  It could use mastery or SBG or neither.  But the most important elements are 1) student-centred pedagogy, 2) use of higher order thinking, and 3) deep value in and use of collaboration, between teacher and student, student and student, and teacher with other teachers. 

Most of us start at Flip 101 - I did.  And if you use a lot of direct instruction, that's where I think you SHOULD start.  Take those lectures you always give (as April calls them, "points of pain") or instructions you have to repeat over and over, and put them on video.  If you have an iPad, use ShowMe.  If you have a Mac, open PhotoBooth (so your face is on screen) and capture your screen with QuickTime (every newish Mac comes with it, and it's free).  If you don't have either, use one of the free services online - ExplainEverything, Jing, Screen-Cast-O-Matic, etc.  I've used them all, but I prefer ShowMe for quick stuff, and Camtasia for everything else.

If you feel like adding in direct instruction would be taking a step backwards pedagogically, then start by starting the shift to asynchronous or mastery.  Use video where and when you can, but focus on getting students to be responsible for themselves and their learning - that's the first flip.

The way you do that depends on your students and what they need.  You need to use class time in the best possible way, with the intention of creating opportunities in the classroom for collaboration between students, and the availability of the teacher and peers to help.  For Andrew and me, that means using class time to let our students compose in class, do close-reading, work on collaborative projects, and having discussions as a class.  The way you use class time is FAR more important than what you put on video.  Video, like all technology, is just a tool to help your students learn best.  Don't make video the point; make it the process.

**

When you've gotten your feet a little wet under one or more of those models, you pretty much have to move on to Co-Flip.  Flipped learning is WAY too hard to do it on your own.  I don't have any colleagues flipping (or interested in flipping) in my department or school.  But less than an hour away, there are dozens of flipped teachers - even a few who flip English.  And when I broaden the search a little, I find people who not only want to do what I'm doing, but they can push me to get better at what I'm doing.

I know I'm kind of a one-trick pony in this regard, but my classroom didn't really get to the point I knew it could until I met Andrew.  Then came Karl, and Carolyn, and Crystal, and Brian.  Then came the other Co-Flippers: Delia, Lindsay, and Audrey...and the rest of the Flipped ELA gang (see many of us discussing flipped writing here): Kate B, Kate P, Dave, Troy, Shari, Katie R, April, Sam, Natalee...and more I'm probably forgetting.  All of those people have helped me shape the way I think about flipping, and the experience of flipping in my classroom.

There is no way I would be the teacher I am now without them, and I'm lucky to have a PLN that not only supports me and gives me ideas, but will discuss tattoo design until ridiculous o'clock, or run up my tweet total to 5k (special thanks to Sam for that one!) or just be silly and join the #HashtagRevolution.  I'm lucky to have Andrew as a #CoLab partner (get it? Lab partner, only COlLABorative? Yeah, I know I'm #EduAwesome at wordplay).  I'm lucky to have a #CoLab partner who will be as pissed off about the things that I'm pissed off about, but will help me calm down and reason through it.  I'm lucky to have a #CoLab partner who will spend a whole day building a website that we can't actually use, and then will throw it out and start again without looking back.  I'm lucky to have a #CoLab partner who understands my strengths and weaknesses better than I do.

Andrew makes me better.

Don't believe us?  Ask Katie Regan and Shari Sloane (and now Dave Constant, who has joined them as the #ladygeeksanddave) why #coflip is better than any other flip.  Ask Carolyn Durley and Graham Johnson why #coflip has kept them sane.  It's not just the intellectual and practical support.  It's the personal support.  We care about each other, We care for each other.  We're friends first, collaborative partners second.

So once you've decided what kind of flipped model will fit your classroom best, find someone who will help you do it even better.  Ask questions.  Jump in on conversations on Twitter.  Join the Flipped English group on Twitter.  Get on the Ning for Flipped Learning.  Post here.  

Start a conversation.  And don't wait for a "more convenient time" - start now, where you can.  Don't make yourself crazy trying to do everything - but find people who have already done it.  Listen and take whatever they offer.  You don't have to use it for it to be worthwhile for you.  And if you annoy someone by asking too many questions, they probably aren't the person you want to work with anyway.  We're all adults, and personality does make a big difference.  Find people you genuinely like and then see what you can get, and what you can give.

Without Andrew, I would have given up a long time ago.  I never would be presenting at conferences, or writing a few chapters for an upcoming book about flipped learning, or reaching my students in the most effective ways.  No matter how crazy I make him, or he makes me, our collaboration is worth it.  Neither of us could do this alone.

And neither should you.

There are some days where you just don't feel quite so alone - that was today.  

For most of my colleagues, the first day back to class meant hiding out, staying isolated all day, learning new names, handing out syllabi, just surviving.

And even though I had five brand new classes that started today, it was a day of really meaningful connection.  I intentionally got out of my classroom to talk to a few colleagues and had some great (short) conversations with them.  

I also got to speak to every one of my new students (all 152 of them!) at least twice, and often five to six times in the class period.  I don't know their names yet, but I have seating charts with preferred names filled out and group pictures so I can try to learn them faster than last semester (I'm pretty sure I was still guessing on names in the 6th week...remembering that many new names in 50 minute periods just doesn't work for me I guess).  I ha former students drop in to say hi.  The best ones were when 6th period was about to start, and a whole group of my former 6th period students walked by - they wouldn't stop telling the newbies how lucky they were, and how they wished they could switch with them.

But the amazing thing was tonight.  For about 90 minutes, Andrew and I had the pleasure of being a part of the largest gathering of English flipped learning teachers that we know about.  Here's the line-up:

• Me, 11-12th grade, California
• Andrew Thomasson, 10th grade, North Carolina
• April Gudenrath, 9-12 IB, Colorado
• Kate Baker, 9th/12th grade, New Jersey
• Katie Regan, 10th grade, New York
• Shari Sloane, Alternative school environment, New York
• Sam Patterson, 9th grade, California
• Dave Constant, HS, Connecticut 
• Troy Cockrum, 7th-8th, Indiana

The amount of knowledge in that room is just absolutely incredible.  I learned so much just from being there and listening.  It reminds me of just how much we really need each other and how important it is to work with each other, but also just to connect and be friends.  We need both.

The most amazing thing is that all this time, there has been another collaborative partnership - Katie and Shari - in the English Flipped world.  It seems that Katie and I play a similar role, and Andrew and Shari play a similar role in the way we work together.  

As Andrew and I debriefed the conversation, we were struck by just how much we know, but how much we don't know.  None of our flipped classes look the same.  We all flip writing to some degree, but it looks different in every context, every classroom, every video.  Reading is a much more open field with far fewer answers.

We recorded the conversation and will be posting it soon.  I hope more people can learn with us.  As Andrew says, we may know stuff and may be "defacto experts" but we are learning as we go.  

If you're interested in joining us for one of these conversations, let us know either here on the blog or by finding us on twitter.  Maybe we can fill the room a little bit more next time.

So in about a week and a half, I start over.  Andrew and I have been brainstorming a way to start the semester, given that about 1/3 of each class will be returning students and the rest new.  I've wished more than once that I could just keep all my kids until the end of the year - we are at the point where the real amazing movement and progress is possible.

But there's no point in looking back.  It's time to move forward.

So the best idea we had was about reading.  All three of my classes are reading heavy - four to six novels in the semester.  I've really struggled with how to do reading in a way that fits with the mindset that Andrew and I have pedagogically and the context I have practically.  I don't want students to have to do all the reading at home.  We know that doesn't work for most of them, and it's often the homework left for last - many times, following 3-4 hours of homework into the early hours of the morning. 

So there has to be a way to give students the ability to use class time to read; that, paired with the ways that I'm encouraging reading rather than punishing the lack of reading, means that students won't have the stress that normally accompanies the teaching of a novel.  And part of that process is helping students explore why reading is so important.

So why do we read?  That's the question that will kick off our Explore-Flip-Apply mini-unit for all three classes.  From reading the essays from my Essay Exposition class about their experience in English thus far, it's clear that they do not understand why we're asking them to read books that have little to do with them or their lives.

Again - why are we asking them to read these books?  

It's because we believe that literature has a universality that can speak to the experiences that make us human.  Books tell us what it means to love, how to grieve well for lost love, why friendship is essential, how travel broadens our horizons.  They connect us to people with whom we have no connection, and will never know.  They show us the range of human experience and guide us through challenges and successes.

But more importantly for English teachers, literature is a vehicle to get our students to write and think critically.  Not to say that the "universality of human experience" angle isn't important - that's certainly the reason that adults continue to read after their education is complete.  But for our students, we use the characters, the plot, the setting and the writing itself to show them how we have analytical conversations, how to build a rational argument in writing, and to make connections.

But what do our students see?  They see us asking them to analyse the development of a main character.  They see us asking them to write a business letter in the voice of a character.  They see us assign reading quizzes and journals that ask them to interpret specific passages through a critical lens.

They don't see that all of those things are building their ability to become strong critical thinkers.  Is it any wonder that they push back against reading?  Is it any wonder that they don't see reading as important?

For our first unit, we want them to see both sides.  I have a feeling they can generate the "universality of human experience" answer, and that is what they will do on day one.  We will pose the question - why read literature? - we will see the reasons they develop.  Then for "homework" that first night, we will have students watch a short video where Andrew and I talk about why we use literature to teach our classes - and they will take notes.  

The next day, they will be in the computer lab and will be introduced to Google Drive and the AutoCrat script* we'll be using to create new documents for each assignment.  Once that is set up, we will compile the notes students took the night before onto a collaborative note-taking document.  The idea is that they start to develop note-taking strategies that will serve them well in college.  They will not often need to take notes in our class (rarely is there direct instruction, rarely is note-taking required while watching a video, and rarely do we assign ANY homework, let alone a video with notes) but working on collaborative documents will set the foundation for the CO-Lab partner work we will do later.  Then they will work on a reading timeline for their own life.  

The last two days of the mini-unit will be a Socratic Seminar (with collaborative note-taking, live during class and a backchannel discussion**) on why reading literature is important for high schoolers and a short vignette about a meaningful literary experience, positive or negative, from their own life.

The hope is that showing them that reading is about more than getting a grade, hearing about heartbreak, analysing a symbol, or memorising plot points will help them see the relevance of the reading we'll be doing.

The next portion of the unit will be watching Derren Brown's Apocalypse, which plays with the notion of a zombie apocalypse and uses a strong literary reference to The Wizard of Oz...yet another reason to read: so you understand references in popular culture.

I'd love to hear your reasons for why people should read literature.  Having a list of reasons for our video that draw from our PLN would be amazing.

*The amazing thing about this script is that students fill out a google form on the tmiclass.com website, then get emailed a document that is automatically shared with us, dropped in the correct folder, and titled with a standard naming convention.  It's pretty much the coolest thing in the entire world.  Second to collaboration, I guess.


**During our Socratic Seminar at the beginning of the year, I introduced a format I used for reading and watching movies last year and wrote about here on the blog.  Essentially, I open a todaysmeet.com thread, and display it on the front board.  Students then choose inner circle - talking - or outer circle - participating on the todaysmeet thread.  Then there is one students responsible for bringing in the interesting ideas from the students in the outer circle.  Started using this structure in September, and students have loved it and told me that it drastically lowers the anxiety associated with how they have been graded for discussions in the past.

A lot of people, much smarter than I am, have been writing what it means to be flipped, and some other people (also smarter than me) have questioned whether or not what we're doing can even be called flipped.

Naming something, defining it, is a way of understanding.  We give things names so we can catagorise, analyse, interpret.  It's natural, and it's helpful.  

But what happens when something changes, expands, grows, and the definition no longer is quite right?  Do we come up with a new term?  Do we become more strict with the definition so as to be more clear?  

Or do we expand that term so that, rather than constricting our understanding, it widens it and allows for more people to come inside and be included.

That, more than anything, defines flipped learning for me: inclusive.

When I happened upon flipped learning at this time last year, I didn't see how I could fit in.  My students were poor, they lacked internet at home, and I had no way of recording video.  Oh yeah, and all the models out there were for math and science, and I taught English.

But there was something about flipped learning that caught my attention.  In a school where direct instruction was mandated and commonplace - almost part of the DNA - it seemed like something that would both please my administrators AND help my students learn.  I could do direct instruction but I could also spend more time helping my students get better at reading, writing, listening and speaking.

It seemed like the perfect solution in many ways.  

So I went looking for a way to make it work.  My district Ed Tech director got me an iPad so I could make my own videos.  I polled my students, and only three of them didn't have a smartphone or a computer with internet access at home (this was in a 90% SED school).  I arranged for those three students to use my devices during break, lunch or before/after school.  So I made some videos with the week's etymology lesson, assigned them as homework, and used the time we would have spent copying the notes practicing with the content, doing real-life examples, and playing memory games.  Test scores on the weekly quizzes went up, and I was confident I was on to something.

Then that same Ed Tech director pitched Twitter to us.  And I was Not Interested.  At all.

For a few days.  Finally, I just asked my students to teach me Twitter and help me get started.  They were happy to oblige.

Very quickly, I was hooked.  And that's also when I discovered that there was so much more to flipped learning than I had ever expected.  

I joined the #flipclass Monday chats (which now I help moderate semi-regularly).

I started blogging and sharing my posts on Twitter (which may be where you found this post).

I had conversations with some of the people I had read about - Brian Bennett, Crystal Kirch, Troy Cockrum, Jon Bergmann, Aaron Sams - and they all helped to push my thinking on various issues.  Many have now become my close friends.

That's how, within six weeks of flipping, I transitioned from "Flip 101" (assigning videos as HW and former homework as classwork) to something that I still saw as flipped, but wasn't the same as how many of my colleagues flipped their class.

My classroom quickly became mastery-based, paperless, self-paced and homework free.  I still made videos, I still used many of the same tools as my Flip 101 colleagues...

...and I still tweeted to the same hashtag.

Flipping my class no longer was my goal.  I was flipped.  Instead, my goal was to make my flipped class the best possible place for MY students, in MY context.  I started to view flipped learning as a place where students had ownership (responsibility was flipped to them from me) and where I used technology to help them learn best.   Later, I moved to defining flipped learning by the Flipped Mindset - a definition developed by several collaborators on Twitter.

Now, a year into my flipped journey, my classroom looks different than it did last fall, last spring, or even at the beginning of this school year.  

I have what I like to call my CoLab partner, Andrew Thomasson.  He helps me plan all of my instruction, prepares for and films video lessons with me, and encourages me to be a reflective practitioner, a good flipped teacher, and a better friend.  I'm at a new school and operate with a BYOD policy and open wifi network.  My students are much higher skilled, and require far less direct instruction (almost none).  I don't assign homework, and don't always use video.  I've stepped away from self-pacing and paperless (without 1:1 netbooks, that's a lot harder) and embraced a far more student-centred pedagogy that focuses on higher-order thinking skills and real-life application of concepts.

There are many people who would say I'm not flipped.

And I would argue, just as vehemently, that I am.

**

When Romeo asked himself, "what's in a name?" I doubt he was thinking about its application to the flipped class community.  Nevertheless, it's a good question.

So, flipped class community, what's in a name?

For me, this is what's in a name:

• a method by which I started to listen more to my students, and work to meet their individual needs.  I learned most of those things from my community on Twitter and Edmodo.
• a move to a more reflective practice - one I never imagined.  I didn't know that to be reflective, you need someone who will help you process.  That is what happens in the flipclass community on a daily basis.
• a return to my writing - something I had always thought of, but never had inspiration to sustain.  This blog is the most meaningful writing I've done since I graduated from college.  And I am now writing more than just blog entries, which has helped me work through a lot, personally and professionally.
• a transformational experience - one that not only changed me, but changed how my students experience me as their teacher.  That was only possible by moving over the bridge that flipclass built.
• a group of people - my Cheesebuckets - who listen to me, protect me, question me, challenge me, and keep insisting that I should not stay where I am, but keep moving forward, getting better.  These people would not be in my life without flipclass.  And my life would be far less rich without them.
• and most importantly: a collaborative partner, a new BFF, someone to listen to me, help me channel my crazy ideas (and sometimes, add more craziness until they actually start to make sense), doesn't let me stay frustrated or resentful, but insists that we work things out, and most importantly, someone I can trust and who I know cares about me, both as a teacher and as a person, and about my work in the classroom.

So what's in a name?  A change that has given my students a better teacher and a better education.  A community where I am inspired, engaged in conversation, and often, challenged so that I don't grow stagnant.  

And most importantly, I now have friends.  Friends who share the family name - flipped class - and unites us around a common goal: making our classroom the best possible place for our individual and corporate student body, and for us as teachers.  

And even though some of us may start to grow into more distant cousins, if we give up the family name, it would mean denying where we came from.  This is the kind of family that doesn't disown a brother who shies away from family gatherings; it's the kind of family that expands, becomes more inclusive as more and more distant relations show up on our doorstep, needing our help, our acceptance, our love.  It's also the kind of family that still welcomes you, even when you don't need it anymore.

This family name is where our roots are.  

This family name is who our people are.  

This family name - flipped class - is who WE are.  Together.

That is what's in THIS name.  

And I'm proud to be in this family.  No Matter What.