The Flipped Classroom: It's Not ALL About the Videos (But It Is a Little)

Recently, I read this article about how easy it is to make videos for your flipped classroom, and why you shouldn't be afraid to take the leap.  While I entirely agree with this in principle, something at the end of the post caught my eye.  The author writes, "Make the video, save the video, send the video. No Post-Production! Don’t even watch it back. You were there when you made it, I assume you know what’s there!"  I have a problem with the idea of producing a video with No post-production - shouldn't we aspire to more than just "getting the content out there"?

Look Ma, picture-in-picture!

Many teachers, myself included, find the profession a good fit because we are, at heart, performers.  We take great delight in standing before a class and presenting content about which we are passionate.  We try new ways to engage our student and capture their imagination.  With a "live" audience, we get a natural energy back from our students (unless it's first period) that helps to fuel our performance.  It's like any other type of show - the audience can make or break it.

With a video, however, we don't have the audience there (unless you're recording your class live, which would result in a 40 - 50 minute video, and that's WAY too long!).  It takes more effort to create that presentation that is engaging.  That means that we want to avoid the um's, ah's, and other pauses or filler words.  It's distracting, and it takes away from the valuable focus-time of the average student.  Sure, you could simply do another take...and another...and another, until it's just perfect.  But if your goal is to save time by not editing, you're doing it wrong.

When I first started creating videos, I used to do multiple takes, and I found I was spending a great deal of time on each video, because I wanted it to be perfect (or at least engaging).  When I discovered the myriad of free, easy-to-use video editing options out there, I just made my mistakes and cut them out in post.  It ended up saving me time, rather than adding to it.  Even today, when I make a mistake in a video, I pause for a few seconds, and continue (or back up and proceed) until I'm finished.  I average about 3 - 4 "mistakes" per 7-minute video, but I just cut them out and no one ever knows!

Nowadays, I use a slightly more sophisticated software suite called Camtasia Studio, which my school was kind enough to purchase for me.  It has a few more bells and whistles, which I've manages to teach myself, but honestly, it's pretty intuitive.  Still, there are plenty of free, online video tools you can use, such as Screencast-O-Matic (PC and Mac), a free, online screencasting tool, or the free Techsmith Snagit extension for Google Chrome.  A quick Google search will find you many from which to choose.  If your biggest roadblock to making your own videos is that you "don't know how", believe me, it's easier than you think.  And more importantly, it's a lot of fun!