Day 24 – Khan Academy and Flipped Learning with the Surface RT
30 Days with a Surface RT for Teachers
Teaching and Learning with a Windows 8 Tablet
Today I would like to continue with a video related post of using the Surface RT in a flipped classroom learning environment. The way that the Surface RT plays back video has been a surprise to me. With all the reports of the slow RT ARM processor I was expecting a sluggish viewing experience, this has not been the case at all. The Surface RT has been a champ at video playback.
Yesterday I laid out the possibilities of using expandable storage with the Surface RT and how I have been watching full HD MP4 files without issue. This experience has made me think that the Surface RT might make a great device for those classrooms interested in flipped learning.
Flipped learning has gained notoriety over the past five years as a different pedagogical method for engaging students in the classroom. In its most basic form teachers assign students to watch videos as homework. When students come to class the next day the teacher will have the students work on homework in class, thus the name the flipped classroom. If a student has a question they can watch the instructional video again or ask the teacher. Better yet, have students help each other and dive deeper into the homework problems together. Research has shown significant gains in student understanding when peer instruction is used.
Of course, you can make your own video screencasts and the Surface RT can help with that too, but when will you find the time?
You may be surprised to find there are already thousands of educational videos already available on the Internet. The best known site for K12 instructional videos is the Khan Academy, and as they say, there is an app for that for the Surface RT.
Sal Kahn, the originator of the Kahn Academy has become the best known advocate for flipped learning in the classroom. He has created the non-profit Khan Academy website that has thousands of videos on just about any subject imaginable for K12. These videos are typically less than 10 minutes each and build upon each other.
There are videos for Basic Math, Algebra, Geometry, Calculus, General Science, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Finance, English, Social Studies….. you get the idea.
This is where the Surface RT comes in. I installed the Khan Academy app from the Windows store and the best thing about this app is that it lets me download videos that I am interested in directly to the Surface RT.
In this area of the State of Illinois our Internet access is limited. This is especially true for our K12 students as many parents do not have access to broadband Internet. You really need to have reliable Internet connection to watch videos online and this has been a deterrent to flipped learning. But, if you download them locally to the Surface RT you can watch them anywhere WITHOUT an Internet connection!!!
This has been a big stumbling block for teachers in this area wanting to implement the flipped classroom approach to teaching. The Surface RT is capable of solving this problem. If you have a central computer to download the videos you now have a reasonable way to share legal content with other students thanks to the Surface RT’s USB port.
With the Khan Academy app on the Surface RT students literally have access to an entire K12 curriculum in bite-sized video chunks. If you are lucky enough to have broadband Internet access you can just watch the videos when you are online, no need to download.
Another great feature of this app on the RT is that the videos are Closed Captioned and you can read the captions along as he speaks!
The Khan Academy has also added learning analytics that make it possible to track student progress if students login with a user account. If you download videos locally the Khan Academy will not be able to track video viewing, but at least students have the content available at home.
I have provided a link below to an overview of Sal Khan explaining how he created the Khan Academy and how it can help students. It is an interesting story on how he used a Tablet PC and screencasting software to tutor his cousins who were living on the other side of the country. That was the birth of the Khan Academy.
There is much more to flipped learning and you do not even have to include videos to flip your classroom but that is another discussion. Many start with the video approach because of the success others have seen with the Khan Academy.
So, once again the Surface RT has me thinking about what students can do with this device, the list is growing.
Until next time...
Keep on Learning,
Keep on Learning,
Tom Grissom, PhD
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@tomgrissom
@tomgrissom
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