I believe that the scenario given had to do with a blended classroom in which students are a part of both a traditional classroom setting and an online setting. Obviously, according to the Unit 6 Presentation, there are various ways of looking at how the flipped classroom is presented. What seems to be the norm, however, is that teachers prepare video presentations for students to view away from school to have time to investigate and gain understanding, as well as to consider what they need support in. So, it is giving the students an opportunity to be more responsible for their learning. The time spent in school is for activities more like home work because students have hopefully gained a level of understanding that they can move into the activity or discovery and sharing part of the lesson.
Mainly, however, there is the assumption that all students are equipped away from school with the technology necessary to be able to access information anywhere, anything; and that may very well be one major problem in having a flipped classroom in an elementary setting because, believe it or not, there are some parents who don't have the internet in their homes. The older high school students and higher generally have access to the internet through the use of their cell phones, and many middle school students have such phones, though most in my district aren't really allowed to use them in the classroom. Hopefully not allowing students to use cell phones is the classroom will be changed to allowing such use, and the attention will be put more on digital citizenship. Further still, many schools are not properly equipped with computers for all students in which each classroom has close to enough computers for each student; nor are all the teachers technology literate enough to make videos.
The videos are thought to be an extension of the teacher and create a stronger relationship between teacher and student; as they the student's learning experience. Students can also make videos to show their understanding, and share in supporting other students to arrive at mastery. The flipped classroom is said to allow students to be able to take more responsibility for their learning by taking the lead in their learning instead the teacher in front telling them what to learn (traditional lecture model). With the flipped model teachers are able to redo their classrooms by encouraging students to self-pace, offering greater differentiation, and meaningful remediation. Students are able to more fully utilize the power of the internet in their assessments, assuming teachers will allow students to use technology when assessing.
One of the most important advantages of the flipped classroom is how it supposedly allows teachers more time to interact with students on an individual basis to better master concepts after students have had time to review the information on video at an earlier time. However, teacher planning for such an undertaking is a big job and some have suggested that it is best to do a little at a time, and don't try to flip a whole course the first time. Here's a couple of videos I found that had some interesting suggestions that I think would be helpful for teachers at my school to view, perhaps at the Wednesday meetings, and that I could make them copies to view later if they are interested:
Video 1. http://youtu.be/26pxh_qMppE Here's a good introduction to what is meant by a flipped classroom.
Video 2. http://youtu.be/RN1qhcMQic8 This video is a good one to show how a teacher might communicate to parents what to expect in the classroom changing from a traditional to a flipped classroom.
Video 3. http://youtu.be/Lye8fBLelqU Videos 3 and 4 were produced by a Michigan teacher and are easy to follow, and give useful information.
Video 4. http://youtu.be/4JPdGlyt6gg
The flipped classroom will probably continue to be a controversial topic because it is major change in the way instruction has been typically done, but offers 21st thinking as it encourages students to have more control over their learning. Starting this process a little at a time should help students begin to learn how to seek higher order thinking skills.
