Abstract:

As new pedagogical methodologies arise within the context of technology-mediated learning, the need to rethink, rebuild or adapt learning contents has also been moved to the centre of attention of educators and organizations. The use of interactive and/or multimedia content has been increasingly growing in every type of educational environment: traditional, b-learning and e-learning.

Flipped learning is not a recent pedagogical methodology but is one where the traditional classroom environment is highly (re)appreciated. This methodology employs asynchronous video lectures and practice problems as homework, and active, group-based problem solving or project-based activities in the classroom, sometimes being associated with a variation of the instructional settings of b-learning.

We believe that the emergence of such methodology is highly supported by the need to engage and accommodate todays students' learning preferences, namely the millennials, who, unlike previous generations demonstrate decreased tolerance for lecture-style dissemination of course information.

In our perspective, flipped classroom methodology is very well clarified as the mythology that consists of a:
(1) means to increase interaction and personalized contact time between students and teachers;
(2) an environment where students take responsibility for their own learning;
(3) a setting where the teacher is the guide on the side, both in-class and outside of the class;
(4) a classroom where students who are absent for any reason do not get left behind;
(5) a place where all students can get a personalized education.

Thus, the adoption of the flipped classroom methodology allows the extension the presence of the teacher beyond the classroom, even if virtually, assuming that any prescribed homework and out-of-the-classroom work remaining learning activities benefit from enriched content and assistance/feedback. In terms of advantages, it allows students to devote their own study time to the development of the necessary hard skills to apply to in-class problem solving and project development activities, where the focus relies on the development of soft skills, such as critical thinking, evaluation and analysis aptitudes, creativity, ability to work in groups, etc., or any other higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy.

This paper presents cross-disciplinary experiences of the use of the Evoli system, together with Moodle, using flipped learning educational methodology in four different subjects. The interactions take place online (synchronous and asynchronous communication) and, in a flipped classroom perspective, in combination with the project-based strategies that boost the acquisition and testing of competences. Results obtained by the interactions with instructional videos are presented and discussed, together with an evaluation of the proposed novel system.

Keywords:

Cross-disciplinary research, Evoli, Flipped Learning, Instructional Video.