This week we have the privilege of having Nicole Kent guest lecture this week! Nicole is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction here at UVic who has research interests in Blended and Flipped learning. Please join me in welcoming Nicole to our class on Friday!

Learning Objectives

• Articulate the benefits and drawbacks of a flipped learning curriculum, including the potential pitfalls that need to be identified and prepared for.
• Communicate the benefits and drawbacks of a Multi-Access or Hyflex approach to teaching, including the potential pitfalls that need to be identified and prepared for.
• Create a 3D object in TinkerCad and then successfully submit it for 3D printing.
• Identify one or more cross-curricular enrichment opportunities using 3D Design & Print projects in elementary school or middle school that would be difficult or expensive to do in other ways.

Pre-class Activities

Flipped/Multi-Access Learning

A few years ago I completed my master’s thesis on flipped learning for information literacy instruction, so I am keenly interested in this topic. That said, while a flipped learning pedagogy, or a blended learning method, can be great tools to use in some circumstances, they are not panaceas and are not the best teaching tools in all situations and at all grade levels. The video below talks about how one elementary school teacher uses a modified Flipped teaching method to differentiate learning for her students to better meet their individual needs. (4 min)

Please ask yourself the following questions:

• What are the primary benefits that a well-designed flipped learning experience can provide?
• What are some of the potential downsides to flipped learning, and how could they be managed?
• When you think about Blended learning, what comes to mind?

Multi-access or Hyflex Learning, and the goal of radical flexibility that some educators are pursuing for the learners in their classes. Please read the following article about Multi-Access Learning, and optionally listen to a portion of the embedded podcast about Hyflex Learning: 

• Read this article, by UVic Scholar Dr. Valerie Irvine, titled Why NOT to Quit After First Attempts in Online and Hybrid Learning Flexible Class (8 min).
• If you’d like to go deeper and hear some interesting stories, listen to this podcast interview starting 10:25 minute mark:
  

Please ask yourself the following questions:

• How would building flexibility into your classroom instruction be potentially helpful during and after the covid-19 pandemic?
• What problems, concerns, or issues might arise from using a Multi-Access or Hyflex teaching method in K-12 in British Columbia?

3D Design & Printing Introduction

Review the pre-class activities for the flipped 3D Design & 3D Print workshop we will work through during our lab time in class:

• What is 3D printing and how does it work? (2 min)
  
• Either set up an account at http://tinkercad.com (this is a free but US-based service) -or- you can join anonymously during class lab time using a class code that will be provided to you then.
• Watch the Introduction to TinkerCad below (just watch and enjoy, but don’t try to follow along) (3 min)
  • As you watch ask yourself, what cross-curricular possibilities are there for 3D Design & Print in elementary and middle school?
    

Class Time

• Check-in poll
• Guest lecture by Ms. Nicole Kent: Blended, Online, and-Multi-Access Learning (pdf)

Hands-on Lab Time

As you work through one or more of the hands-on activities in the second link below, note how the activity is structured so that the majority of the instruction can be completed before the class time (if desired), and hands-on activities completed during face-to-face class time:

• 3D Print and Design for math education: Activities
• 3D Design & Print workshop: Generic hands-on activities 

Learning Pod Time & Homework

1. Learning Pod Time:
   • Share one of your blog posts with at least one member of your learning pod, and provide feedback on a different peer’s post either verbally or via a comment on their blog post.
   • Discuss today’s topic.
   • Work on Assignment 2 with your partner.
2. Weekly blog post to document your learning in class:
   • Review the 336 Blog Post Rubrics to make sure you’re including all the minimally required elements for your weekly blog posts.
   • Here is a sample high-quality weekly blog post on the topic and/or technology of the week.
   • Please do the following:
     • Embed or link, or post a screenshot of a 3D Design project into your blog post.
     • Critically reflect on Multi-Access Learning / Blended / Flipped Learning in your post.
   • Use the category, “weekly-reflection“.
3. Weekly Free Inquiry blog post:
   • Document your free inquiry progress, reflecting on your progress, as well as identifying and evaluating helpful resources you found. Provide details on your learning progress (through success or failure).
   •  Employ a multimedia strategy in your post to help document your inquiry by using text and one or more other media to help make it more engaging (e.g., image, screencast, video, or other formats).
   • Utilize social writing strategies such as hyperlinks to blog posts (e.g., trackbacks) or to articles/resources consulted, including web pages, images, videos, etc.
   • Use the category, “free-inquiry”.
   • Share your post with your learning pod at your next meeting (usually at the end of class time).