Creating Flipped or Blended Lesson Content with mysimpleshow
This is the 5th installment in this series examining different approaches to creating flipped or blended lessons. So far we’ve taken a look at screencasting, narrating over Powerpoint slides, using ed.ted.com, and the “FIZZ Method”. Today we have a guest post discussing a tool that has become increasingly popular for creating learning content – mysimpleshow.
The flipped classroom is becoming more and more popular, so video content is becoming more necessary. Finding relevant video content on hosting sites such as YouTube is helpful, but creating video content aids even more in specifically catering to a subject matter, lesson plan, or topic.
With online video creation tool mysimpleshow, easily flipping your classroom becomes simultaneous with becoming an educational explainer-video producer. Educators and students can make their own videos in a short amount of time, explaining any subject and making any complex topic simple. A computer and free mysimpleshow account are all you need to get started.
The flipped learning ideology in practice includes students being assigned videos to watch as homework in order to learn about an upcoming topic in class, rather than being assigned homework about a topic learned in class that day. The ideology supports the statistics in favor of moving away from traditional learning framework. Teachers are not available to provide help to students at home while they are doing homework, but can help students if homework is done in the classroom. In-class homework is largely assigned as group work, so students can help each other by contributing ideas and knowledge, as well as latently fostering social interaction and teaching students about teamwork.
Mysimpleshow user and educator Jennifer Gonzalez, Cult of Pedagogy, stated “Teacher-created videos offer so many ways to improve learning and make your classroom run more efficiently. Teach chunks of content for flipped learning, to introduce a unit, to use when you have a substitute teacher, or to differentiate instruction.”
Another possibility is having students create videos to demonstrate understanding during in- class activities. Teacher Lauren White used mysimpleshow with her students, and said “I plan on using mysimpleshow in the future for book reports, integration into my lesson plans and powerpoints, and other assignments as well.”
Using the tool is simple and quick, which is highly beneficial to educators who often lack spare time. Users start by either choosing to write a new script or upload a PowerPoint. To write a new script, a storyline template must first be chosen. The multitude of storylines fall under educational, professional, and personal categories. Templates include explain a historic event, introduce a chemical substance, interpret literature and movies, and even present your resume.
The PowerPoint feature is even quicker than writing a new script, because the tool extracts the most relevant information from the imported PowerPoint and creates a script for you, which then becomes the voiceover of your simpleshow. There are options to polish the text before choosing visuals in the next step.
Once the text is finished, mysimpleshow automatically assigns images to keywords it selects. There are options provided to search for different images, upload your own, or use text on screen. In the end, you have a professional quality video with a voiceover that the tool provides you with, or with a voiceover the user can upload or record themselves. The video can be downloaded or shared on video hosting sites such as YouTube, Wistia, and Vimeo.
When it comes to flipping the classroom, mysimpleshow is a great tool to use. Dr. Robert Cleary agreed: “This online video making tool is a great solution for incorporating mixed media into lessons as well as supporting the flipped classrooms ideology.” It’s becoming popular with educators worldwide, try making your own!
Contact Information
Simpleshow gmbh; Editorial Contact: Emily Cleary, +1-954-798-3433, emily.cleary@mysimpleshow.com
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