Flipping for Flipgrid

Recently, I have worked on creating asynchronous professional development for both the high school and the college where I teach. In doing so, I continued to ask, "How might we...?" How might we revolutionize learning that's happening in our classrooms? How might we engage our students? How might we motivate students to be the drivers of their own learning?

These questions challenge us to reflect, identify learning objectives and design meaningful experiences for our students. When we dream beyond what was once possible in the classroom or simply what we have done before, we enhance and innovate. Our students then have the opportunity to do the same.

Since the start of the school year, I have worked with teachers to create a tech goal to enhance how students are listening, speak, communicate, collaborate, reflection, and more. Together, we have been working through a backward design process to establish what teachers want students to accomplish by the end of the year. From that information, we have worked to envision how students might achieve those goals. Conversations have been inspiring and motivating - as teachers process what is possible.

To support teachers' endeavors, we have paired what they want students to achieve with tech tools that will enhance and transform how they might reach and exceed these benchmarks in their respective classrooms. Technology for the sake of technology is not useful - a point I have stressed a great deal this year in the setting of these goals. Picking a tool and then determining a goal is not the way to implement transformative learning in the classroom. However, tech tools can be useful in challenging students to redefine their responses to "How might we?"

For my next few writings, I want to explore and focus on specific tools in more depth. After working with, playing alongside, and exploring the possibilities these first few weeks of school with some inspiring and engaging teachers, I feel confident in turning to the tools to take their amazing ideas and put them into action.

The first tool I want to hone in on is Flipgrid - one that prides itself in amplifying student-voice and connecting classrooms and people from around the world using face-to-face communication and engagement. At times, this tool resembles a social media platform, as it allows time and space for every student to respond and exchange messages with one another. However, this tool also allows students to receive feedback, reflect, and connect in meaningful ways.

Within the first two weeks of school, a teacher approached me with all the enthusiasm in the world. He knew he wanted his students to engage in self-assessment and reflection, and he knew that he wanted to use FlipGrid to do it. So we began to talk and imagine how might his students achieve this goal, and how might this goal evolve in his classroom.

Flipgrid is a video creation tool in which students can post responses to prompts, videos, images, etc. Typically, students then watch and respond to their peers, or the instructor watches the videos and provides feedback to their peers.

We started by reviewing how to set up Flipgrid. My recommendations for teachers who are new to Flipgrid is to jump in and start. Seeing Flipgrid in action can help teachers to understand the possibilities.  The homepage of Flipgrid prompts users to "Add New Grid," which I view each grid as a place to house "Topics" or individual assignments for a course or specific class. When a new grid is created, an introduction topic is automatically created, which can be assigned to students without making any changes. The blue "Share" button (with a picture of a rocket on it) is available on the grid and on each topic, which can be shared with Google Classroom. The link can be copied and pasted onto any platform on which students access coursework.

Once a teacher has played with Flipgrid in the classroom, my next suggestion is to start playing with the topic features. Again, I would create a grid for each course and use topics as individual assignments. Teachers can set video lengths from as short as 15 seconds to five minutes, add written prompts, add a video prompt (already created or created by the teacher), attach files, allow feedback and liking, and build a customized rubric.

After students respond to a topic, the teacher can choose to SPARK a conversation (by selecting the flame icon) or create a new topic from one student video. Also, a teacher might challenge students to watch and provide feedback to each other. Teachers can also generate a mixtape or a playlist of student work to be shared with their peers. Students have loved viewing playlists that highlight the best-of work produced by classmates. I used this feature last year when completing a Visual Valentine activity in my senior English class and students were pumped.

World language teachers have also loved making Gridpals, a feature that allows teachers to connect their classes to other classes around the country and world. This tool would be incredibly helpful for language acquisition and practice. I have heard teachers using this tool to partner high school and elementary science classes in which the students demonstrate and teach each other essential concepts. While I have not used this feature, I have used the Disco Library, a place to post creative grids and even engage in professional development with other teachers.

When it comes to viewing student work and assessing it, Flipgrid does an excellent job of creating a running log. Once students have submitted, it is easy to go down the line, open a video, and grade it. The feedback is immediately emailed to the student, and a grade can be synced with an LMS platform if desired. The dashboard has been updated. It is even easier than last year to view each topic board as a student and navigate how to share videos. Individual videos can be shared and posted. I love the idea of sharing videos with parents, especially at the elementary level.

Indeed, there are so many possibilities with this tool. When students cringe at the notion of creating a video of themselves, I remind them that they send dozens of Snapchats each day. Here is their opportunity to take their messages a little more meaningful and make a "snapshot" of their learning. This tool does not let anyone hide and also encourages the quieter student to take time to reflect and process information before being asked to speak. It allows for asynchronous learning, peer feedback, parental engagement, and interaction with an authentic audience. Did I mention that this tool is currently free and syncs with student gmail accounts?

Yes, I have caught Flipgrid fever and am excited to hear about teachers using it in their classrooms. The teacher I have been working with wants to ask students to solve math problems and then have their peers watch and learn from each other. He is also hoping to empower his students to teach key concepts and skills. As the passionate person he is, I know he loves the ability to hear from and provide feedback to each of his students. Sharing these videos, I know they - both students and teacher - are going to learn so much this year!