Flipping
it with Flipgrid!
19th Dec
2017/Tuesday
This blog post is a dive into the amazing world
of Flipgrid. Its one of the most interesting tools I have come across, while
searching and exploring tools online for enhancing learning in classrooms. The
blog post offers insight into what is [1]FlipGrid, a look into the
basic functionality and features, and some ideas of how could you use this tool
in your classroom to make learning more engaging and meaningful with some
insight on how the tool could help you connect with global peers outside
classroom.
Flipgrid as I see it is a video discussion
platform[2], where anyone can post
ideas, comments, suggestions, share views about something to anything in the
form of short video messages (the timing is adjustable starting from 15 secs to
5 minutes) and most importantly its available free online! The only
requirements include a webcam installed on your computer, and no worries if you
don’t have a webcam, the Flipgrid works perfectly well with your hand held
device called mobile phones. You could easily download the app from the android
store and start using Flipgrid. It is platform independent and seamlessly
integrates into number of other apps
like Google Classroom, Onenote, Schoology, edmodo, Blackboard, Moodle etc. You
can begin by creating a free account , create your grid, create a topic ,
record your video message and share the link either by emailing link, embedding
or through social media forums like twitter, Facebook etc[3].
Flipgrid is actually your online classroom
where you can initiate discussions with your students, share new topics and
encourage debate and questioning, give assignments, provide feedback, share a
new topic before the class to engage students etc. You can also add a number of
resources along with your topic these include videos, images, URLs, emoji,
giphy etc You can also share videos privately with parents too. The only
limitation with a free account is the number of grids, you can only have one
grid with unlimited discussion topics and record a 90 sec video, with a paid
account you can have unlimited grids and topics with increased recording time
too[4].
It gives voice to back benchers, students who
are relatively less vocal in class and avoid sharing feedback, suggestions or
comments openly. They can record their
responses in Flipgrid. I have personally observed this during my work with kids
at the SOS Children Village Peshawar. We have been working on iEARN
International Book Club project, where kids individually read different stories
related to a UN SDG, critically analyze the story by answering a few questions
and record this in Flipgrid. There are almost 42 responses by students, even
the shy students participated in the activity on Flipgrid, this has really
helped in improving their fluency and intonation. They could listen to the
recordings and identify improvements to their facial expressions,
pronunciations etc . It really boosts the morale and confidence providing equal
opportunities for every member in the class. [5]Details in link below.
Some ideas[6] to incorporate Flipgrid in
your classrooms could be to begin by assigning a grid to each class, initiate a
news channel (topic), every month encourage students to share a news
bulletin/report of current affairs (politics, economics, history etc) or
reflect on their learning and understanding of the taught topics at the end of
every topic. They can also start a book reading club (topic) where every month
students share their favorite stories and initiate discussions on the books
read, there could be an idea box (topic) and students could be encouraged to
share new ideas, new tools, new inventions etc Students could start a TV
Channel show “I can cook and bake” and share their favorite recipes etc This
could be very useful for creating differentiating learning activities too, thus
catering to the needs of all learners in the classroom.
Furthermore, the tool could be very helpful for
teachers own PD as well, and they can engage their colleagues too. Staff
members could have an PDBox (topic) where they share professional development
resources with each other, they could also share reviews on teaching and
learning resources they explore, share favorite inspirational quotes on PD,
discuss classroom teaching and learning, reflect on their practices ,this could
serve as teachers PLN personal learning network.
Moreover teachers can explore from dozens of
Flipgrid templates in the Discover section and look in grid Collections too,
which are created by teachers all around the globe, they can encourage their
students to join in the discussions going on and share their views. One
interesting discussion I found was about Quality Education (linked to UN SDG 4)
and almost 62 responses were shared [7]. Another important topic
under discussion was about Innovations to Save Earth, kids review the UN
Sustainable Development Goals, think about the goals and suggest one think they
could invent to help with the goal, the topic has 156 responses from people all
over the globe [8].
You can connect your classroom with the Flipgrid of your fellow educators
around the globe (this is only available in a paid account) you could search by
grid, age and subject.You can also add any interesting topic to the Topic
Discovery Library sharing it as a template for all other educators around the
globe, they can use your topic in their classrooms. One interesting template I
found was Go Global which encourages students and teachers to share ideas about
new projects and find potential audiences and Tell Us About Your Class, a good
opportunity to connect with global peers[9].
One last thing before I end my blog post , its
the achievements section, where different badges are rewarded based on your
interactions in the Flipgrid community, engagement time, number of videos
shared etc.
Overall a very useful tool, easy to use, free
sign up, no technical glitches as such, simple interface, offers global
connections, a look into global perspectives,
diverse range of topics, caters to differentiation, a step towards building
inclusive classrooms and much more. Definitely worth a try and recommended for
use in classrooms for both teachers and students.
So sign up for Flipgrid and flip
your classrooms.
Enjoy
Reading :)
Sheeba Ajmal
Nice posting. Thank you for sharing.
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