In CEP 810, we were asked to learn something new that we’ve always wanted to learn, but with a catch; we could only use our online learning network to learn our new skill. I chose to learn how to finger pick on guitar the song “Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur. I mainly used one specific video I found on youtube to learn the fingerpicking pattern for this song. I found the lyrics to this song on Twitter and printed it off to help me practice singing and playing the song. I found that I was going back to the video several times to see how to make the different chords in the song. So, I decided to draw the chords I kept forgetting so that I had a quick reference. From here, it just took lots and lots of practice. I practice the fingerpicking patterns and the transitions over and over again.
One major challenge was figuring out how to lyrics fit in with the guitar pattern. The melody was syncopated which made it tricky to try and fit together. To overcome this problem, I practice the guitar riff over and over again while humming the tune instead of focusing on the words. This helped me feel the rhythm of the music.
This project was harder than it sounds because we could only use our Online Network and no physical experts. This proved to be a bit difficult because my husband is an excellent guitar player and it would have been very easy to ask him for help. But, in efforts to try and maintain the integrity of this project I refrained from going to him for help. I became determined to learn it on my own without his help. It was a bit empowering to know that I could learn how to play the guitar using one video. It did prove to be difficult for my husband to keep his advice to himself. As I would practice, he would come up and ask me if he could say just one thing. Sadly for him, I turned him down every time.
Going forward I plan to continue to use online videos to learn even more songs and increase my guitar playing ability. However, the one thing I will change is being able to utilize the expert help of my husband. Using online tools and videos is a great way to learn, but it is always good to have individualized help.
In my classroom, I flipped my Math instruction and posted instructional videos on Schoology for each Math lesson in the Unit. However, I do not just leave them to learn on their own. We have daily check-ins and I am always available for mini-lessons or questions. Using online videos that allow you to learn from experts is a great tool, but I believe it is also important to have personal expert help that can give individualized instruction. The goal for online learning with flipped instruction is to create a self-paced learning environment where the teacher spends class time helping students through the practice instead of teaching the content and leaving the practice for the students to do on their own. Through this project, I have learned how valuable my online network is, but also how important personal help is too.
Techy-Teacher 
Your video was great! Thanks for the added context about the struggle you faced in having to do this project without an “in house” expert!
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