With the growth, or shall I say explosion, of Flipped Learning there has been an increasing demand on my life to spin many different plates.  I have a full time job at the Joseph Sears School, I am writing a second book with Aaron, I am on the board of the Flipped Learning Network, I am keeping up a crazy travel schedule, and I am training for a half-ironman triathlon.  Typing all of this makes me tired.  

 

Anyways:  my family and I have decided that I need to focus in on one thing.  Thus, with great regret, I handed in my resignation from my job as Lead Technology Facilitator at the Joseph Sears School here in Illinois.  It is a great school with an amazing staff which I will miss.  I have learned so much in these past two years about technology integration, professional development, leadership, friendship, and a whole host of other things.  We informed the staff this week and they have been very supportive and encouraging.  Though we are leaving the school, we plan to stay in Illinois and plan to still see my wonderful colleagues.     

 

Thus, I will be devoting my full energies to helping to nurture-lead-inspire the flipped learning movement.  This will mean more travel and spending more time getting to know many of you who have taken the plunge into flipped learning.  But it will also mean that when I am home, I will be home.  My wife and I plan to share our little home office as she does much of the business end of FLN while I work on other projects.  This is a scary step because I will soon be essentially without gainful employment.  I will rely on folks who want me to come and train their teachers and schools. I also have some additional writing projects I want to do (more on those later). Already I have commitments from a variety of schools and conferences where I will be working so at least for the next couple of months, we are pretty busy.   

 

Though scary, my wife and I are excited about this new chapter in our lives.  We are humbled that flipped learning has taken off as it has and are excited for the road that is ahead.

 

Thus:  If you are in need of anybody to work with your school or district, feel free to email me and we can set something up.

 

12 thoughts on “Our Next Chapter

  1. Jon, congrats on the endeavor. I have enjoyed reading the first book and look forward to reading the second book. Also, I am finishing up my action research paper for graduate class on the Flipped Classroom.

  2. Quite a step!
    I have no doubts that Flipped Learning will be able to keep you busy for quite a while. It is a great concept and deservedly gets a lot of attention.
    I have plans to get Flipped Learning more ‘organized’ in the Netherlands, as there is a lot of interest in it, and I’m looking for ways to get this done, and ways to find the time to do it 🙂
    So maybe I will be asking you for some advice on this in the near future. If you happen to visit the Netherlands again, or Europe for that matter, I would definitely like to meet-up.
    Good luck with all your endeavors, your second book, all the traveling, but especially the half-iron man triathlon!

  3. In 2010, I traveled from Wisconsin to Vancouver Island to learn about flipping from you and Aaron at a small regional conference. I don’t know if you’ll remember that, but those two days turned into a sort of mid-career crisis for me and what I learned (more importantly the inspiration I caught) from you guys has changed everything about how I teach.

    I was a good, but frustrated teacher before I met you. I was strongly considering dropping out after 16 years and going back into the private sector. As a result of the changes you and some others have helped me make, I am rejuvenated and hopeful and love my job again.

    So thank you and best wishes on your next chapter. As more people in my district begin to evolve in their teaching, we may have the need of a consultant re: flipping/ed-tech in the future. If I have anything to say about it, you will be our first choice. If you ever need a contact in northern WI for anything (or just a place to stay if you have a race up here sometime) I’m here.

    1. Dave:  thanks for your kind words.  I am actually doing a race in Northern WI:  High Cliff State Park on June 15.  I am also doing several WI events coming up:  Oct 14th in Whitewater WI (that is south) and Sept 21 in Oshkosh WI. 

      Jon

  4. Wow, Jon, what a journey from when I first met you! Virgil is very proud of his “crazy student teacher”! Love reading about your adventures and risk-taking pursuits.

    1. I was just thinking about you guys as I was making my decision.  I thought of all those people who impacted me over the years.  I was reading Hebrews 13:7 and you and Virgil were at the top of the list.  Do you guys have a copy of my book.  If not, I would love to send you one.  Email me (jon@flippedclass.com).  Who would have ever thought???

  5. All the best to you and your family Jon! It must have been a hard decision for you, but it’s the right one. You were spinning too many plates. See you in a few weeks at FlipCon13!!

  6. I am so excited. I registered for FlipCon13. I went to a flipped workshop last August with you in the San Jose area with CUE. Since then I flipped my AP Biology class and being completely naive I designed it as a “mastery” flip without ever having done basic!!! Wow what an experience!! Waiting for my AP student’s scores…but they won’t be out until July! This week I am doing a workshop for my science department teachers on how to do the basic flip. Hopefully they will be receptive. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity! Pet

    1. Petrina:  thanks for sharing that.  It seems like every time I do a presentation a few teachers jump all in.  I am excited that it worked out so well for you.  It is folks like you who inspire me.  I look forward to meeting you again in MN.

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