On flipping the classroom, flipping out, and flipping in general.

So much has changed in the last few years...where to begin...

On a personal level, I have divorced and remarried since I last posted here. I have 2 more children than I did. I have taught at 5 schools simultaneously at which I taught 5 different preps. I finally teach an AP class.  My mother has passed away, and my father is now a permanent, daily fixture in my family.  So much change. So much stress.

And yet.

I am throwing myself into my work and am remembering how much I really love what I do. I love having students appreciate what we do for them. I love to watch them learn. I love to see former students who excitedly tell me what they're going into - and how what I did, in some small way, encouraged them to do it.  I love making a difference.

I, like other teachers, am being asked to do more with less.  I am teaching 2-3 classes simultaneously for the bulk of my day.  I can't do what I used to and expect to be successful. I am remaking my classroom.  Last year, I flipped my AP psych class to grand results.  Of the 17 students that took the AP exam in May, 16 of them passed the exam.  Of those 16, 8 received 3's, 4 received 4's, and 4 received 5's.  It was a grand success.  While I am tweaking my AP program, I will leave it as a flipped class.

Now it's time to revamp intro.  I want my intro to psych class to be fun and innovative.  I'm coming up short on activity ideas, however.  I want to make it different from AP.

So...what do you do?  How did you flip your classroom?  What classroom activities have been successful for you?

It's good to be back.

Busy-ness, Sleep Deprivation, and Other September-Themed Musings

Okay, so it's been a month since my last post. And that was a re-post of a funny email I received. Wow. I can't believe it has been a month. It really seems like yesterday - and yet, like it was three years ago.

We started school the last week of August (added the kiddos after Labor Day), and since then I feel so disconnected! Twitter - which was unblocked last year - has, up until now, been blocked at my school. (Our school has changed procedures, so I filled out a form to get Twitter un-blocked. There was a problem with the paperwork, but I think we have it figured out. I'm hoping to be online on Monday.) I had no idea how often I used Twitter to stay connected - and to get quick answers to tech issues!

I also added a new prep - psychology. I absolutely LOVE teaching it! I spend a lot of time each day trying to make the class as interesting and fun as possible, thus my Bloglines account is at 1744 new feeds. Wait - make that 1746.

And another new thing this year? I used to get asked about tech stuff around the school by members of my department and close friends. This year? Many more people. I've had to actually hide during my prep hour so that I can get work done. I'm really surprised that I can't figure out good hiding places (within range of the wi-fi) in a school of nearly 1000 kids.

If this sounds like complaining, it really isn't. It's awesome! The last school year was amazing - I was able to present at some great conferences, and I've learned so much. I'm really tired (okay, that was a little whiny) but at the end of the day, I feel like I'm really doing well. I've already done some techie things in my psych class. We did a PhotoStory, and then instead of a test, I took them to Alan Levine's Negative Reinforcement University, or NRU. They loved it!

I'm super flattered that people in my building are asking for my help and advice about tech stuff. The truth is, I usually don't know the answer to their question initially. (Shhhh....don't tell) But I do find them the answer, no matter how long it takes me to figure it out.

So, I apologize for the delay between postings. Just in case it takes me a little longer before I can write again, please let me leave you with some links:

My newly improved website. Same general look, but quite a different set-up.

Pavlov's Dog. This is only good if you teach Pavlov, but hey, it's still pretty fun. :)

Guided Tour. This is the guided tour for the iPod Touch. *drool*

Education 2050. If you've never read this before, now's as good a time as any.

And now, off to the Senior Lock-In. Man, I love my job!

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Ready...get set....SCHOOL!

We are less than two weeks from when teachers must report back to the classroom - and three from when students will grace our presence. So - the question that apparently EVERYONE I KNOW wants me to answer is:

Are you ready to go back?

My answer - for a number of reasons - is no. Don't get me wrong - I love, love, LOVE my job, and think that it's crazy to get paid to do what I love - how cool is that? But there are a few things:

1.) I'll admit it: I'm a bit lazy. It's beautiful outside and the thought of going inside - well - not appealing to me, frankly. I'll get over that, I swear. Someday.

2.) I have a new class to teach this year, and I want to integrate technology more than ever. The book is lame at best. I have too many ideas, and haven't figured out yet which ones I need to implement. Some of my (many) ideas:
- classroom wiki
- online textbook (I found a great one here)
- blogging
- podcasting/vodcasting projects

3.) I have been to some great conferences this year and this summer, and have read some great blogs. Bottom line? I have WAY too many ideas, and not enough time to implement them well. I really want to try out SL with my juniors and seniors in psyc, but I know that I won't have enough time to create projects with it this semester. And I really want to do a French class wiki that students could access in lieu of dragging home their textbook.

I guess that's really what this is about. I need more time. With all of the progress we have made with technology and such, I am left with the age-old teacher problem of not enough hours in a day.

Some things never change. :)

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