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Flipped classroom teachers almost universally agree that it's not the instructional videos on their own, but how they are integrated into an overall approach, that makes the difference. In his classes, Bergmann says, students can't just "watch the video and be done with it." He checks their notes and requires each student to come to class with a question. And, while he says it takes a little while for students to get used to the system, as the year progresses he sees them asking better questions and thinking more deeply about the content. After flipping his classroom, Bergmann says he can more easily query individual students, probe for misconceptions around scientific concepts, and clear up incorrect notions.

Andrew Miller, an educational consultant, writes that a "flipped" classroom still requires instructors to demonstrate the value of their content, whether online or offline. "Just because I record something, or use a recorded material, does not mean that my students will want to watch, nor see the relevance in watching it," he writes. " … If the flipped classroom is truly to become innovative, then it must be paired with transparent and/or embedded reason[s] to know the content."

"Mr. Su believes that better teacher training is needed, so that new teachers have a better comfort level with new technologies. "Teachers' colleges should really be on the forefront," he said. "They should have a compulsory course on using technology in the classroom"

As the The Gamification of Learning and Instruction Blog Book Tour has been underway, another interesting discussion has been occurring in the learning blogosphere. It was sparked by Ruth Clark's article "Why Games Don't Teach." The article kicked off a firestorm of debate, demands for proof and even name calling. Christy Tucker addresses the question in her post. There is a healthy discussion on the eLearning Guild's LinkedIn group. In Guy Wallace's post on the subject, he quotes Dr. Richard Clark talking about the "ideologically committed gamester." (ok, so its mild name calling, but still….)

Sometimes teachers and administrators need a kick in the pants to see what they perceive as problems re-framed in a different way. Adam S. Bellow, author of The Tech Commandments, and founder of eduTecher, spoke to a roomful of receptive teachers at the recent ISTE 2011 conference, and demonstrated some of the ironies and contradictions the education system is mired in. And he had some advice.