Flipgrid Madness!

The best way to learn something really REALLY well is to teach it to others. Use Flipgrid to make a class "Tutorials" group, and add subtopics throughout the year as needs arise. It is really empowering to students when you turn over responsibility of making how-to videos to them.

• Let the STUDENTS create screencasts that would be helpful for their peers. You might be starting to use Minecraft, for instance, and who better than students to be the creators of video resources that help guide others who are new to Minecraft. They can easily use the Screen Recorder in Flipgrid to capture what's on their screens while they record their own voices. In this example, why not create a whole TOPIC for Minecraft and let any student contribute when they learn something they want to share. Remind students to use Titles so others can find videos easily.
• After teaching a Math concept or even a Science lesson, have students do a retelling from an "instructor" point of view. Have them use screensharing if they'd like to capture web resources, or use tools within Flipgrid like Drawing, Boards, and Stickers. If they approach the task like they're making a helpful video for an absent student, they'll learn to be explicit and descriptive in their tutorials.
• Get students to create tutorials for PARENTS! I suggest making a whole topic just for this because they LOVE IT! They get to look super smart as they teach moms and dads how all that new Math works...or how to use a tech tool!
• While they're at it, have those smart students create some edtech tutorials for other TEACHERS in the school - we all know colleagues who could use a few of those!

This is still everyone's #1 FAVORITE out of all my #FlipgridAR ideas - the Keychains and Keepsakes idea! It's all about using that Flipgrid camera to record special sentiments, thoughts, memories, feelings, and love. Just print out the #FlipgridAR QR code and you can attach it to any of these objects in any of these ways to bring tears of joy to the recipient. You can find the rest of my #FlipgridAR ideas in this Wakelet collection, with LOTS of examples from educators who have tried them all over the world!

Point-of-View Writing & Speaking is a common educational standard/objective. It shows a deeper level of understanding and sometimes even empathy to have a student speak as if they are another object. Have students use Flipgrid to speak from the point-of-view of an inanimate object. There are several ways they can use Flipgrid to do this:

• From the Effects panel, choose Stickers. Student can select any emoji and resize it to cover his/her face. He can then tell a story about what it is like to be a taco, sunset, tornado, banjo, etc. Depending on students' needs/ages/abilities, have them read from a pre-written script as they record. (I have had students "be" a drop of water and explain what life was like as they traveled through the water cycle.)
• Same as above, but if the student doesn't want to use any of the Flipgrid emojis or Stickers, she can find any image from the internet and save/upload to use it as a Photo. This might be especially powerful if tied to a novel study or concept being taught - any related image to the story or unit would work.
• If your students know how to app-smash, try a fun iOS app called Chatterpix. Chatterpix app allows a student to upload an image, draw a virtual line where he'd want to place a mouth on the object in the image, and then record his voice as if the object is talking. Upon playback, the mouth appears to move, so the image is animated in a way that looks like it's talking. These images can be exported and uploaded to Flipgrid using the Options --> Upload Clip feature in the recorder.

Since I first started tweeting about the MULTITUDE of options for adding your own frames to Flipgrid videos, I've become known as "That Flipgrid Frame lady"....and I'm okay with that! Click on any of the pictures below to be taken to short videos I've made for Twitter - teaching others how easy, fun, and beautiful it can be to add FRAMES to your Flipgrid videos!

This is a video take-off on an old game I used to play with some friends. It would be fun to try it with Flipgrid, especially if students want to add Stickers, Drawings, or Photos to their videos. Here's how it works.... The teacher starts it by creating a Topic. Set the recording length for 15 seconds. The teacher begins by recording the Topic discussion prompt of him/herself starting a story. Basically, it's 2-3 sentences that start off a story and leave off with the words, "....and then...." It might go something like this: "It was a dark and stormy night, and Fred the caterpillar was trembling. It wasn't the cold that was making him shiver. The inside of his little cave in the center of an apple was nice and warm. No, it was the sounds. He stayed motionless, as most of us do when we are scared, just trembling and listening, and then....." The first student to see this topic video clicks "Record" and adds up to 15 seconds to the story. Let students have fun with this and do as they choose - some may want to use Filters, Mic Only Mode, or embellish with Stickers and things. Of course, the next student must listen to the teachers' video and then the student's video before adding his/her own twist to the story. Each student who adds to the story must listen to all the others first before adding a new part. This can continue on for as long as you'd like - set a FREEZE date for the topic or let it go on & on!

This is another idea from my #FlipgridAR presentation, and it came about because I am an avid Edcamp fan and the founder of Edcamp Happy Camper here in New Jersey. I love professional development conferences where there is a visible session board hanging on a wall....I love being able to stand and peruse all the learning options. If you've never been to an edcamp, imagine a giant blank grid that has room numbers written across the top and 3-4 session times written down the left side, and every other blank on the grid is, well, BLANK! The session board is populated on the spot by any attendee who volunteers to share a topic, discussion, idea, or demonstration. They usually write on a giant index card, paper, or post-it note and put it in one of the blanks on the grid. It might just say "Classroom Management". Sometimes a session had a title that left me wanting to know more. That's where I came up with the idea to use Flipgrid to have any volunteer presenters record up to a 1-minute video just telling a little bit more about what they wanted to talk about in the session. We were lucky enough to purchase a little wireless printer called a Sprocket (pictured & linked below) so that we could have one Edcamp organizer in charge of helping presenters to record in Flipgrid, and then printing out little #FlipgridAR stickers to add to the session board. In this way, anyone was welcome to come up and just scan the QR code to see the presenter's quick video. Could this all work virtually, too? Sure!

Oooohhh....I love this one SO much for Science experiments and capturing the thinking of budding Scientists. It's as simple as it sounds - capture Experiment Evidence. I recommend assigning this recording task to partners or groups of up to 4 students. They will need to take turns filming each other or the experiment, as someone else handles and hands-on materials. I also highly recommend setting the recording length a little bit long on these videos, as they turn out best when each pair or group presents one video of the whole experiment. (There's a lot of use of the pause button during these videos!) This varies so much depending on the age and experiment, so I'll just list two examples and you can let your imagination fly!

• Kindergarten - mixing paint colors: Students make predictions about what color will result when mixing blue + red or yellow + blue. They should take turns recording each others' predictions and using that Pause feature between each one. Then mix the paints or add the food color drops to the water and have them capture reactions and the results.
• 2nd grade - shadow drawings: Take the students outside to a paved area on a sunny day . One child stands on a spot while another draws a chalk outline of his shadow and a third student records the Flipgrid video...lots of giggling ensues. Have them hit pause and wait 10-15 minutes. Have that 1st child stand on the same spot and try to fit into the shadow - it won't work! Have the others trace the NEW shadow and record. Repeat as many times as you have time for in your lesson, and then have students discuss their thoughts on why the shadow moved.
• Upper elementary - surface tension of water by putting drops on a penny one at a time! Make the predictions first, record a 5- drop intervals at first until they're sure it's going to spill over...then 1-drop intervals... You get the idea! So fun!

So simple! There are probably lots of teachers already doing this in various ways. You can combine your graphic organizers with the power of Flipgrid to make learning - and demonstrating understanding - even more accessible for many students. Just digitally distribute your graphic organizer (using your LMS, email, etc.) so that each student has a copy as an IMAGE (not a Word doc or Google doc). Post your topic and be specific in the Prompt about what you want students to include. Tell students that in order to respond, they should click on the Record button, then click on Effects, and then Photo....and they'll add the image of the graphic organizer as a sticker. They can enlarge it so that it covers all (or most of) the screen. Then they can use the Text or Drawing features to fill out the graphic organizer with key words/phrases. It doesn't matter if they write everything, because they'll be hitting that Record button to EXPLAIN everything that they wrote! It gives students much more agency and the ability to elaborate on just a few key words that they've written. You'll be surprised how much they can show that they know when they're allowed to "talk their thinking out loud".

Using Flipgrid for an "Out of Order" activity is a way to get your whole class involved in finding sequencing solutions! This can vary depending on the age and subject that you teach. It requires critical thinking from all students, and allows students to take on the "teacher" role by creating out of order challenges that their peers will then try to solve. You will ask each student to use Flipgrid to create/record a series of objects or events that are intentionally out of order. After posting this challenge, other classmates will attempt to "unscramble" the order and make a reply video in which they list them items in the proper sequence. Examples:

• In younger grades, a student could use a board and put ten stickers/emojis on the screen in a row. Their challenge will be for fellow students to list them in alphabetical order. Students who reply to this will make a video in which they just verbally list the items, or they could choose to make a new board of their own in response - using the same emojis but in the correct alphabetical sequence. It is the job of the first student to then check the work of his/her peers' responses.
• In older grades, students could use the Flipgrid Text feature to make "sentence strips" depicting events from a historical period that you are studying. Once again, peers would reorder and the student who created the activity would review responses and give feedback.
• Steps for completing a scientific process
• Story events
• Number sequences - ask peers to reorder from greatest to least or least to greatest
• Sign language alphabet letters - have classmates put the signs back in order (it wouldn't have to be the whole alphabet)
• Shapes/sizes.....put the shapes in order from small to large

This is just a takeoff on one of the #FlipgridAR ideas from a presentation I did back in 2019. Whether you make a card or just print out the #FlipgridAR QR code and stick in inside someone's lunchbox, it's a way to really make your message 💥POP💥 when someone you love finds it tucked away behind a boloney sandwich. (Of course, they'll need a mobile device handy at lunchtime to be able to scan it and view it in augmented reality with the Flipgrid app.) *Click the picture below to see my entire #FlipgridAR collection in Wakelet!

You can use FlipgridAR to make a gameboard! This simple example is called Silly Moves, and I got some friends to help me with it. Check it out!

At pretty much every grade level, we teach persuasive writing. It's a common learning standard and a valuable life skill. Using Flipgrid to make persuasive VIDEOS takes that idea to the next level....and it's so FUN! Have students watch commercials (like this famous ShamWOW commercial or this OxyClean commercial) and discuss what makes them effective. What points does the actor make that are persuasive? How is the timing of the commercial planned out - beginning, middle, end? What visuals and props are used to help demonstrate why the product is so good? What are the key factors that might make people want to buy the product? Your students will be making similar commercials of their own....with all that pizazz and enthusiasm for their product! This is most fun when you let the students decide what product they'll be selling. Some students want to create and sell a new invention - and those commercials are always great! You could also tie this to any unit of study that you're doing and have them "sell" things related to a book, from history, or feven rom a Science unit. Set the time limit for one minute. Definitely have students do a lot of prep - writing a script with persuasive bullet points, creating props that they may want to hold up in their video, downloading a collection of photos that they may want to import as photo images during their videos, and deciding when to add text to the screen. There are a lot of decisions to be made when producing a commercial! I promise you that the results will be HYSTERICAL and this is a project your students won't forget!

This is just one of my favorite uses for students to practice all kinds of ELA skills - writing, speaking, listening, questioning, camera skills, and more! Interview skills can be even harder than presentation skills because they involve another person. My favorite way to do this is to get them to interview adults - in the school or in the community. There's a lot of skill and need for practice in doing an interview well. Whether you assign the interviewee or students get to pick their own (better!), they will need to:

• Think about how much time they'll have to record the interview and plan accordingly. They'll need to be succinct. Do they want to create a "question timeline"?
• Brainstorm questions that are specific to the individual they're interviewing AND that will engage an audience who watches
• Communicate with the interviewee - Do they share questions in advance so the person can prep? Let them know how much time there is for the entire segment so the answers are an appropriate length. Schedule an agreed-upon time.
• Think about the setting: Where will the interview take place? Where will each of them be? Together on camera? Toggle front/back camera? Take turns in front of laptop/webcam? Will there be any kinds of props?
• Decide on the final list of questions and practice them so that they won't need to look at notes too much during the interview.
• Practice speaking clearly and loudly enough
• Practice making eye contact with the camera when appropritate, and the interviewee when speaking directly to him/her.
• Flipgrid is the perfect tool for interviewing, and it's easy to do "do-overs". Life lessons = we all need do-overs and practice makes perfect!

It's the end of the month! Why not get the STUDENTS to tell what's been happening in class by recording videos in Flipgrid and attaching the #FlipgridAR QR codes to the newsletter! Give students the agency to tell their own stories, share their knowledge with parents, and have fun the whole time - because they're using Flipgrid! Want more ideas for using #FlipgridAR? HERE IS THE LINK to my entire Wakelet collection - complete with tons of examples from real educators around the world who have tried them!

I recently shared this tweet about a success I had thanks to Flipgrid and the awesome Shorts camera: It got me thinking that this would also be cool to try with calendar meeting invites I send, only instead of sending just the video, I could post the #FlipgridAR QR code as the only thing in the meeting invite! Invitees would absolutely NEED to scan the QR to find out what the meeting is about. Of course I'd put one little note encouraging them to scan with the Flipgrid app so that the video message would 💥POP💥 in augmented reality! What a fun way to send calendAR invitations!

This idea is as simple as it sounds, and I'll bet lots of educators are already using Flipgrid this way. It's about tracing reading fluency. This works best when a teacher has a set schedule for fluency recordings - maybe every 2 weeks or perhaps once a month. Different schools have different ways for doing fluency analysis. Some programs have prescribed passages based on reading levels. Some allow the decision to be more flexible based on teacher discretion. However you do it, the idea is to capture a year's worth of reading samples by using Flipgrid videos. When a child can see his/her progress over time, it's sure to bring smiles! Parents love it, too. This can be set up two ways - as a Group/Topic or using the Mixtape feature in Flipgrid.

• To set up as a Group/Topic: Create a Group called "Our Fluency Recordings" or something similiar, and then make each students' name a Topic. In this scenario, students each have their own Topic join code, so they log in and record themselves reading a designated passage.
• To set up as a Mixtape: Students can record anywhere, on any Topic in Flipgrid. This might work best if you have Groups or Topics that are organized around books or units....where readings for any child could be scattered throughout your Flipgrid account. A Mixtape allows you to pull together all of one student's work into a collection of their videos. Learn more about how to make a Mixtape HERE.

This is a fun game to play with Flipgrid! You and your students are going to love it and play it often, so I'd suggest making a Group called Category Challenges and then just spontaneously adding topics when the mood strikes! I suggest putting students in pairs for this game. Each topic is just a category of things that the students have to find and record - in one minute! I like to try to put the focus on things that move or are video-worthy rather than still objects...it makes for a better video and it's more of a challenge. Here are just a few ideas:

• Things that are spinning
• Things that fly
• Things that squeak
• Things that are musical
• Things that make noise without being touched/moved (like a ticking clock, not a dropped book)
• Things that you can rattle

You won't BELIEVE how creative kids can get with this!

Teachers are busy. Ridiculously busy. As a Technology Integration Specialist (tech coach), I try to make every opportunity available for staff to contact me in case they need something or have an idea for me. So I used Flipgrid to make a Group called "Hey Kath" and it just has two topics: Questions for Kathi and Ideas for Kathi. I hang the QR code to the Group in the hallway outside my office space, so that when teachers go by on their way to lunch...the office...the restroom, they can scan it with their phone and leave me message on the go! *I moderate the topics so they're always private, and I turn on email notifications for these to make sure I don't miss anything. Want to see?

I don't know what it is about mobile Flipgrid, but somehow it seems to bring out more natural, stream-of-consciousness results from people. It seems to be effective with both students and adults, and as a viewer, I find watching these "mobile videos" really engaging. It's a great thing to get students up and moving, get outdoors, and still invite them to share their voices and their thoughts. Perhaps this "Walk and Talk" is best explained by my good buddy Lanny Watkins (@Lanny_Watkins) in this video he made for Barri Moc's Distance Learning Tips grid. Click on the picture to watch Lanny's video:

I came up with this idea as a lesson for 1st graders who were learning the colors of the rainbow. (Does anybody else know ROYGBIV?) I gave students a chance to use the Flipgrid camera - and the pause feature - to get up and move around while finding something that was each color. They had to record the colors in the proper sequence, of course. The resulting videos were a fun formative assessment. (a red blanket, an orange, a yellow part of a poster, a green folder, blue sneakers, an indigo sticker, and a violet backpack) It dawned on me that this could be used as a mini #Fliphunt task for any type of sequencing task.

• Find numbers (or any representations of numbers) for the first 10 prime numbers
• Find things that start with each of the vowels of the alphabet - in order
• Find sets of objects that represent the first 20 odd numbers

I'll bet you can think of more fun challenges that match the grade level and subject area you teach!

Have students research a place and create a video travel guide....like this little example I made about Ireland! 🍀 (but I'm sure your students can do MUCH better!) https://shorts.flipgrid.com/watch/16628533818818836 Kathi K.'s VideoCheck out this amazing...Flipgrid Shorts