New facilities for creating ‘flipped classroom’ content unveiled

A new facility for creating ‘flipped classroom’ content was unveiled at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University yesterday.

The Digital Learning Resources Hub, opened yesterday by the Academic Enhancement Centre at XJTLU, enables teaching staff to develop a range of video content to support teaching and learning.

A flipped classroom reverses the traditional learning environment by delivering instructional content, often online, outside of the classroom.

“Flipped classroom methods offer many different benefits for students and staff,” explained Roland Sherwood, educational technologist in the AEC (pictured below, right).

“Students can engage with lecture-style content before a class anytime, anywhere and on any device. They can review the lecture, pause it if they’ve missed something. They can do all of that outside of the classroom, freeing-up the classroom for use in other ways, such as group work or collaborative work.”

Using the Hub’s facilities, teaching staff will be able to create professional quality video or audio-based learning resources, such as:

• Long or short-form, flipped-classroom lectures and presentation-style content, with the teacher on-screen accompanied by a series of slides or other visual content
• Narrated visual content, such as how to solve a mathematical problem, or demonstrating the use of a software package
• Demonstrating how to use specialist equipment or tools such as laboratory equipment or design and engineering tools
• Podcasts
• Audio for use in listening assignments.

The Hub has a range of up-to-date equipment including cameras, microphones, lighting equipment, and a large, sophisticated touch-screen display on which various types of content can be presented, from PowerPoint slides to video content and interactive models and diagrams.

“Rather than using class time for the fairly static one-way process of someone talking, teachers can use it in a much richer, more interactive and engaging way,” said Roland.

The Hub was officially opened by XJTLU’s Executive President, Professor Youmin Xi, and XJTLU’s Vice President, Professor André Brown (pictured below).

Teaching staff will receive expert guidance and support throughout the process of creating educational resources from the Hub’s content creation team Nathan Xu (pictured below) and Yezi Yang.

“The content creation process begins with staff completing a short online questionnaire about the content they wish to create,” explained Roland. “They’ll then have a quick consultation with one of our colleagues, after which we’ll schedule some time for them in the Hub.”

The Hub is located on the 11th floor of XJTLU’s Central Building. Further information about the Hub and its activities will be available from the AEC through the AEC newsletter and dedicated emails.