EdPuzzle and Google Classroom

Whether your class is flipped or not, EdPuzzle should be on your shortlist of essential tools. Why is EdPuzzle essential and so useful?

For starters, take any video from YouTube or Khan Academy (and other sites). Make any video interactive, by embedding questions right in the video.

This allows for:

• self-paced lessons. It lets students move through content they already understand to focus on what challenges them. Students are also able to stop and review content they missed the first time the teacher taught it. 
• students to ask questions that they too embarrassed to ask in class
• teachers to easily add images, interactive graphs, websites and comments to a video lesson
• students to respond to teacher posed questions
• full integration with Google Classroom.

Take it another step. Tape yourself either during class delivering the content or in advance of class. Now your lesson is archivable and interactive in ways it never was before.

Last week, at a terrific math conference hosted by the local intermediate unit, called Google and the Student Centered Secondary Math Classroom. EdPuzzle was highlighted an essential tool for the presenters. I'll give the conference a separate post soon.


By the way, I rarely go to edpuzzle.com as I usually use the chrome extension to do my edpuzzling. It gives me all the utility I need and saves me some clicks.

Blended Learning Resources

Blended learning and flipped learning are commonly heard terms these days. Khan Academy is likely the most famous of the blended learning sites. Some blended learning programs are so tech centered that individual student work is assigned by a computer program which customizes work based on student performance.

For most of us, blended learning means we combine the internet and digital media with traditional classroom methods. Flipped learning is closely related. In flipped learning, direct instruction is provided at home via videos, tutorials and other digital media and the practice and individualized instruction is provided at school by the teacher.

Its promise is oversold. I like it for what it is. But it is less transformative than appears at first glance. I like that teachers can customize lessons. Yet, it is labor intensive and takes a lot more work than traditional instructional methods. I do like that students can rewatch the lecture or video. I also like that students can see and practice the problem set again and again. Blended learning still posits the teacher as expert and leaves little room for problem and project based learning.

Though its promise is oversold, it still should absolutely be in the "toolbox" of a tech savvy teacher. Blended learning has a purpose and is effective by its own terms. Take a look at some of the blended learning ideas I shared with faculty members today. Not on the padlet presentation is the chrome extension edPuzzle. It is a must get for YouTube.