Flips and flops

This article examines the current interest of educators in flipped learning. Although this concept has developed in the online and distance education literature over two decades, numerous current writers are attributing it to an idea formed in 2007 by two K–12 teachers in Colorado, USA. The mechanisms that generate such myths are examined, with emphasis on the confusions, defensive strategies, and blogfuscations that cause them in web sites and blogs. In its treatment of the flipped learning topic, Wikipedia.org, often regarded as lacking in accuracy and credibility, has demonstrated that a solid reviewing process can reduce the effects of hype and ensure that an accurate record is maintained. It is recommended that academic journals should enlist the help of their reviewing panels in monitoring hype as it arises and correcting accounts of it on, for example, Wikipedia as a vital quality control measure.