The flipped classroom approach is a modern way of conducting classes and it involves reversing the order in the learning process.
Reversing a class means reversing the order of learning activities. Thus, students, instead of learning new contents in the classroom, they will learn at home, by watching videos made by teachers. In this way, in the classroom, time will be devoted to practical activities and projects, students will interact more and will have more time to apply knowledge.
By using this method, students are allowed to complete tasks at their own pace, using audio-video and online explanations. The method emphasizes the collaborative activity between teacher and student, student-student, frontal verification through dialogue, debates, practical activities and the development of the capacity and skills of application in solving the tasks.
ADVANTAGES…
…for students:
- choosing their learning time;
- browsing the content / project whenever necessary;
- return to the theoretical contents and audio explanations at any time, in order to strengthen the understanding;
- developing of individual study skills;
- if absent, students receive the information online;
- increasing attention;
- self-assessment and feedback on progress in solving work tasks.
…and for teachers:
- facilitate student-centered learning and mutual learning between students with different levels and abilities of attention, concentration, understanding;
- share theoretical content in online sequences;
- involve all students in the learning process;
- use technology – that attracts young people today;
- facilitate differentiated learning through the opportunity to guide students who are capable of performance and to advise those who need additional help.
WHAT ABOUT DISADVANTAGES?
This method also has some disadvantages, such as the fact that not all students own computers or some parents do not agree with the students staying long time in front of the computer.
Today’s society lives in days when digital technology is found in every aspect of our existence, it is being fully assimilated and necessary for our adaptation to contemporary space. Thus, the culture was also digitized, the school not being bypassed by the progress in the scientific field.
In Romania,for example, the education system is undergoing strong reformist transformations, and the co-optation of the Internet as part of the teaching-learning system is a significant part of these changes.
The existence of internet connections broadly opens the capacity for training and education of students, in any field and at any age.
When we talk about online learning we are talking about a constructivism of learning, which accepts the instructional support of systematic teaching. Online learning challenges us to discover new ways of teaching, new teaching concepts in order to obtain a performance from our students.
Computer-assisted instruction (IAC) is an active, modern method of teaching that can enrich the system of teaching activities by:
- elaboration of announcements regarding the students’ activity at any time of the course;
- transposition of online course support;
- fast transfer to information from useful links;
- carrying out activities in differentiated groups;
- carrying out self-training activities;
- improving feedback by keeping students under control.
USING E-LEARNING, THE CURRENT SOLUTION OF LEARNING DIGITALIZATION
The progress in the field of information technologies today, as well as the trend of digitization of information and knowledge, has determined new horizons in educational practice, which has been complemented by modern teaching-learning methods, methods rather specific to information technologies.
Originally used as a simple experiment, e-learning soon became, together with information and communication technology, a basic tool that offers a significant improvement in the instructional-educational process.
Today, e-learning has become a viable alternative to traditional education methods, so it has been adopted by most schools.
In fact, with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe and around the world, e-learning has become a mandatory way to ensure the continued training of students who could no longer physically go to school. Due to the advantages they offer, e-learning platforms have become a general practice in the school organization.
The online training process in Romania is at its beginning, this type of training requiring the existence of a device with an internet connection, the educational content can be accessed both in the form of a traditional lesson and taught in the form of audio-video materials.
Web-Based Teaching (WBT) involves online learning by organizing groups of students, coordinated by a teacher, that is based on different communication systems: e-mail, video conferencing, etc.
The virtual classroom is an online learning space that users can use it at the same time. Students can participate in live lectures, and interventions from everyone are possible.
Sharing elements (word, excel, ppt files) can also be integrated in the virtual classes.
The e-learning system should take into account the following rules:
- to pursue continuously the achievement of the proposed objectives;
- to structure the educational content so that it becomes accessible for various levels of knowledge;
- to contain elements that orient the student towards an effective instruction;
- to stimulate independent thinking;
- to offer didactic self-assessment situations ”
(https://www.upet.ro/proiecte/122596/2019/eBoook%20IACPEO.pdf)
Advantages of using e-learning
- it facilitates communication and collaboration of students and synchronous activities;
- allows information sharing;
- information is distributed quickly to all students;
- allows reading materials at their own pace for each student – adaptive learning;
- the use of multimedia and interactive learning increases motivation and promotes school success;
- individualization of learning.
Disadvantages of using e-learning
- it is necessary to have information in the field of information technology;
- videoconferencing depends largely on the time factor – all students must be online at the same time;
- students’ answers may be delayed due to poor internet signal;
- high costs for purchasing devices;
- lack of motivation leads to a high degree of abandonment;
- the exact definition of the evaluation modalities.
The teacher must constantly maintain students’ curiosity about new things, shape their social behaviors, strengthen their self-confidence and find their personal identity.
Both teachers and the school should recognize that today’s education is aimed at children with a different profile than in the past, with the formation of digital skills becoming a sine qua non for the proper functioning of the educational process.
The use of new technologies in education should emphasize the elements that lead to a better acquisition of knowledge in the field of science, the formation and development of skills and abilities, thinking skills specific to school subjects, but also transdisciplinarity.
