Veni, vidi, vici

Last week was a short week with snow days and professional development but it did give me a chance to do some data analysis on our first assessment.  It isn’t a perfect comparison as the quiz was different than the one from first semester, but it was very similar. 

Compared to the first semester I saw a slightly higher percentage of students with A’s and B’s but also a slightly higher percentage of F’s on our first quiz.  The F’s don’t really concern me because the percentage wasn’t significant (1 more student).  The number of A’s and B’s was only a handful of students but it was more significant.

Last Friday we did our third section using vodcasting with more success.  My classes only had a chance to see the lecture one time in class then were assigned to finish their notes at home over the weekend.  Most had the notes done on Monday morning and a few said that they reviewed the lecture in its entirety.

One of the unexpected positives of this experience so far has been the attention my students pay to the presentation.  If I were to give the same information in a more “traditional” way it would be filled with interruptions, extra wait time, off task questions, etc.  With the vodcast they pay such close attention and stay on task because they don’t want to get behind and miss something.

The next section will be presented in class tomorrow.  I have several students out of school with a student council event and they were “excited” that they wouldn’t really be missing class and could get ahead at home tonight.

The other day I showed my second attempt at vodcasting.  With a little bit more luck.  It was still too quick for my students but they did comment to me that it was better.  I was telling the para-professional in first hour that I have been amazed at how focused all of my students have been so far.  They stayed completely on task for the entire “lecture!”  I also think that it is helping some of my students to hear/see the “lecture” more than once.

Attempt three is tomorrow and it is significantly longer than the first two.  It does have a couple of YouTube videos embedded which take up some time.  I recorded this one two different times because I wasn’t happy with the end results after attempt number one.

Here in Michigan we tend to get one good snow storm a year and this week was our week.  On Tuesday night we got a good foot of snow and lots of wind to blow it around.  It was enough that we were out of school on Wednesday and Thursday.  I was home on Tuesday with sick kids so I am ready to be back in the classroom today, Friday. 

I have been rolling the idea of flipping my classroom around in my head for a while and a few days off to start the semester seemed like as good a time as any.  The idea of flipping the classroom is well documented here.    Their model is one that I would eventually be able to use but we will take baby steps in getting there.

Today I am presenting my first vodcast for my 8th graders.  So far they seem to really be hooked but I am realizing that I need to s-l-o-w down for them for a while.  They are watching the presentation on the big screen in class and are struggling to keep up.  When they get to the point where they are working and viewing the lesson on their own my speed won’t be as big of a deal.  3.1 What is Ecology Lecture and Notes