Flipping the Classroom

A great tool for the Flipped Classroom is mybrainshark:  http://www.brainshark.com/mybrainshark
Teachers can present language focus or ideas by video for students to work on before they come to class.  Once in the classroom, emphasis can be on group work.
Aaron Sams was the pioneer of classroom flipping and the rationale behind the flipped classroom model is explained very clearly in this YouTube clip.

I used mybrainshark to produce a short presentation to prepare my students for an upper intermediate writing skills class.  The rolling programme in my department means that students can enter a class at any time during the term.  There are frequent gaps in knowledge and learners approach language from different levels - some will be well acquainted with the language focus, whereas others might be meeting it for the first time.  Getting them to see the presentation at home, in their own time, allows each student to use the material to suit their individual needs, enabling the weaker learners to review the content as much as they need.  Students come to class prepared to move forward with differentiated group activities, with the teacher facilitating and supporting rather than presenting.

There are some obvious flaws with this model.  For example, just as we get students who don't do their homework, there will be students who come to class who haven't viewed the pre-session material.  This model also assumes that technology and internet connections are available to all.  Preparing materials is also an extra workload and burden for overstretched teachers.  However, it could be argued that presentation slides would have to be compiled for the lesson anyway and differentiated groupings in class could and indeed should be employed to allow individuals to work at their own pace.  Students who don't do the work at home, will simply not see such accelerated progress as those that do.  In theory, the  classroom that has been flipped becomes an active, collaborative, social environment, where students engage and are motivated to learn.  It sounds like a perfect model for language learning, and is something I will definitely try.