The Flip camera seems to be just about everywhere these days. The Flip makes it very easy to record and share video with other users, a fact which has not been overlooked by our hardworking teachers in the field. But, I feel that we should not overlook the potential of the flip in helping leaders help make us better teachers. Having conducted many an observation, and having many more conducted upon me, I know how difficult it is to visualize where my teaching could improve. The Flip has the potential to make to make visualizations unecessary. The video does not lie, and at almost no effort to the administrator or the teacher involved in the process, a lesson could be recorded and jointly reviewed either in person or online. I have been using the Flip for some time to provide videos of my lectures to students who missed one of my college courses when it first occurred to me that the Flip has the potential to revolutionize evaluations and shadowing as we currently do them. Obviously, there has been the technology to do this for some time, but the equipment and methods were often bulky and complex. The Flip makes the process as simple as click, record, upload, and view. I have no doubt that this ability will revolutionize the way we do observations. I also have little doubt that its use will be subject of much ethics debate, however I am hopeful that the little camera that can will help us become better teachers if our leaders will use it properly.
Regards,
Jason Hancock
www.drhancock.net