It has been almost two weeks since the 5th Annual Flipped Class Conference (FlipCon12). Three hundred and fifty educators from around the globe met at the Tribeca Flashpoint Academy in Downtown Chicago for three days. We also had about three hundred virtual attendees who joined us via streaming video.
I can’t be more thrilled with the conference. It went smoothly and more importantly, it was an awesome gathering of amazing educators who are interested in putting learning at the center of their classrooms. The conference featured 24 breakout sessions and three keynote sessions. It was great to see how each presenter is taking the basics of the flipped classroom methodology and customizing it for their individual settings.
This individualization and personalization is at the heart of flipped learning. Participants did not walk away with a three-ring binder with instructions on how to proceed. They left with a framework instead of a set of instructions. I think this is so critical in implementing a flipped learning model. Too often in educational staff development presenters and educational reformers have “all” of the answers and package everything thinking it will solve all of educators woes. I believe we need to respect the professionalism of educators and allow each of them to customize for their classes in their schools. This respect was evident in all of the presenters and was one of the purposes of FlipCon12.
Thanks to all who participated and shared. I hope you all now have a direction, instead of a set of directions.
If you missed the conference, you can still watch all of the sessions until December of 2012. Go to: https://t.co/55Og0LIM to find out more.