5 classes in 1

     This has been an incredible test of my planning abilities. My current Computers course has 5 separate courses within it. I am not sure yet that this is a great way to do things. In fact, I feel incredibly torn and that I am not giving my full attention to anyone or anything. I think time will tell how this affects the outcomes of this course.
     I am going to attempt to get the students to vlog a bit what this is like for them, but that is another planning piece. This is more planning than I ever did as a first year teacher doing 3 page lesson plans for every class for my program.
     I think the only reason this is even remotely doable is blended learning combined with gamification and flipped classroom principles. Every course has an online element which allows me to stagger the time I spend with each course, effectively cloning me in the classroom. It works well in practice but requires so much more time outside of class to get everything ready.
     I am using 3d game lab to gamify my 2 modeling and animation courses. The gamifying is great, but at the outset when skill building is key, I am having to rely on pre-recorded videos to teach skills so that I can spend time troubleshooting. This is where the flipped class principle comes into play for all.
     Prerecorded snip-its of skills are required for all five courses. THAT'S A LOT OF VIDEOS!!! I have become fairly proficient at making videos over the last two years, and my foray into flipping in an academic course was an astounding success. I fear I will drown in this one. If I have it correct, I am going to have to pre-record about 3 videos a day to stay on top of things. On average it takes about 40 minutes to record and edit one minute of video. I think it is nearly impossible, so I am likely going to have to use a lot of Youtube content. That also takes time as I have to vet the video and find the one I am looking for.
     So far, I have managed to keep everyone busy, especially me. I feel like I am not reaching the depth I would if were with a single group. I haven't even begun to talk about class composition. Taking courses that are primarily hands-on and making part of them self directed with text and video changes the dynamics for some struggling learners. I am going to have to figure that part out.
     I am fairly impressed with the leadership opportunities a course like this creates. Leaders have emerged already in the first week. Students who will step up, help others and take a major leadership roll in the direction of their course have already become apparent.
     I have had to create zones in my classroom to accommodate the podding of students in the courses. I am not going to go into my technical infrastructure details as it is a saga that I deal with daily. The physical space actually lends itself well to creating pods.
     So far, I have mixed feelings about this endeavour. I am so glad that students have the opportunity to explore so many aspects of computing in a climate where classes of under 30 don't run, but I am torn as to whether I will be able to give the depth of knowledge I would otherwise.

This is definitely to be continued...