By Kathleen Palmieri
A several several years back I utilized a online video software that allowed me to offer you a fun partaking way for my college students to understand and categorical themselves. The totally free software was termed Flipgrid at the time, but is now – soon after becoming obtained by Microsoft – recognised simply just as Flip. And it’s still totally free.
It’s really a excellent solution title as it certainly does support educators to “flip” understanding in the classroom. Not only was it a lifesaver throughout the pandemic, but it has proven to be a will have to-have resource in my classroom.
While Flip has been close to for a while, numerous nonetheless do not know the added benefits of this movie source. Flip is fundamentally a video clip device that permits you to set up a classroom and then make matters and guidance interactive and collaborative understanding.
In the changeover from Flipgrid to Flip, Microsoft added “a new look and improved features,” but it will experience acquainted to early adopters. And new buyers will take pleasure in listening to that the upgrading is based mostly on the activities and inventiveness of actual instructors.
Acquiring started off with Flip
Flip is an on the net service that is simply accessed by way of your browser working with tech these as your Chromebook, laptop, iPad, or a smartphone. – offered these devices give a camera and sufficient processing electrical power. I use Flip very easily with my Google account, logging in with my Google credentials and seamlessly posting to my Google Classrooms. Flip is also appropriate with a Microsoft account.
Building a Flip account is pretty straightforward just by browsing the website www.flip.com. As soon as there, simply simply click on “Getting Started”. Also, you are going to discover an “Educator Toolkit Page” that delivers a downloadable step-by-step guidebook, age-unique distant mastering means and a downloadable “Flip How to Guide” to share with people and students.
Comprehending the terminology is vital when employing Flip. A group is really a lot the equivalent of a “Google Classroom” and you can produce more than just one group. You can also create a team within just a team. This is primarily helpful for those who teach a number of sections of a issue or have a math team, a looking at group, etcetera. A matter is an assignment or a way to solicit video clip responses to concerns you may pose.
What strategies have I employed Flip in my classroom?
Prior to the pandemic I originally employed Flip for learners to file their impartial examining ideas. Performing this was a wonderful addition to my classroom follow as it made available my most nervous (or shy) pupils a innovative way to share their pondering.
I also employed it as an enrichment or intervention device in math, allowing for me to supply strategies for my pupils who needed to be an “assistant teacher” to make tutorials on several concepts that we could share with our groups.
The films ended up awesome as students shared their mathematical considering, provided various approaches to address complications, how to apply a distinct math property, making use of the Purchase of Functions, etcetera. In transform, these movies became a different way for having difficulties college students to understand from a peer. My most loved “awesome result” of this practice was when a battling learner experienced an “ah ha” second and then questioned to do their personal “tutorial” to exhibit their understanding.
All through the pandemic, I also identified that submitting topics with an important question and asking for learners to respond was a terrific way to engage my learners and have “classroom learning” conversations.
Scholar comments: 1 of my new Flip discoveries
Early in this school year I’d been striving to assume of strategies that I could get my math learners to open up up more about the each day lesson or share how they are experience about their development.
For some time I have applied Google Types to create a math Exit Ticket, which is fantastic, but I just felt I was not finding the finest “read” from some of my students. Not long ago I commenced to develop a “topic” – an assignment less than my math Flip team – to use immediately after the day’s lesson. I recorded a movie that integrated a rapid evaluate of the key ideas from the lesson, and then I asked students to make clear their discovering (by way of Flip) and to enable me know if they experienced any inquiries.
Wow! Game CHANGER!
Numerous pupils responded with these types of in depth ideas and reliable inner thoughts that I have been in a position to certainly pinpoint locations of will need and create some truly great math groups dependent on this opinions. By the way, the teams are not primarily based on capacity degree, but by the issues college students shared!
Some key Flip recommendations
Be positive you very carefully recognize all the configurations. Right here are a couple of critical strategies that I have acquired from trial and mistake:
► The “Video Moderation” location is vital – it’s the just one you require to set to stay on best of the material pupils could post. When you publish a new subject, set the “Video Moderation” to on. This implies that any movie that is uploaded have to be found by you initially and will not publish till you make that decision.
► I generally maintain this location on for matters this kind of as video reaction Exit Tickets or a social psychological check out in. There are instances when you may want to moderate for content and then lower it off so all college students will be able to check out and reply to every single other’s responses. A guide chat is just one instance. This permits college students to connect and present their feelings and tips or talk to thoughts.
► Be certain to let students know which movies will be open to all and which are just for you. This allows guarantee they experience safe simply because they know who’s listening.
► Last but not least, be sure to set the time for a university student movie response. Flip presents a array of video clip recording situations ranging from 15 seconds up to 10 minutes. If you enable your response time to be 10 minutes, that could most likely be a whole lot of time you are going to be paying seeing student movies. I have found that usually if it is an Exit Ticket response, two to 3 minutes is more than ample time. The time you established will rely on the topic and what your expectations are for the reaction.
Think about building Flip section of your instructing toolkit
While I know there are a lot of other video clip-sort resources to use, a single thing to consider ought to be stability. Flip presents a risk-free and secure platform (backed by Microsoft) that complies with many district agreements.
I have only touched on a couple of the approaches Flip can be utilized in the classroom. If you have not experimented with Flip, I stimulate you to click on on the backlinks I have provided previously mentioned (here’s the educator toolkit). If you are anyone who made use of Flipgrid in the earlier but have not employed it in a when, revisit this newly renamed and upgraded no cost online video device. I’m sure you too will flip more than Flip.
Kathleen Palmieri is a Nationwide Board Accredited Trainer and NBCT Skilled Finding out facilitator. She is a fifth grade educator in upstate New York who testimonials and writes regularly for MiddleWeb. As a lifelong learner, Kathie is an avid reader and researcher of instructional methods and procedures. She collaborates with colleagues and globally on Twitter @Kathie_Palmieri and writes about her education and learning adventures at www.kathleenpalmieri.com.