Skip to Main Content

Technology In Practice

Tips For Teaching w/Technology

We'll Support You In Class!

Do you want help introducing a tech tool to your students?

Aidan, Kris & myself are more than happy to help introduce tech (remote, or IRL) to your class. We can also spend time, or an entire Digital Essentials class period helping your students, or supplementing an existing project in your curriculum!

If it makes sense for one of us to come in more than other (ex: Do you want Kris' database, or Sora expertise? Aidan's website building skills?) We can come into your class even if we don't regularly teach Digital Essentials in that grade. 

Just let us know as a team in advance, & we will work out the logistics.

We are also as excited as you are to help in a more significant way with interdisciplinary projects. Let's collaborate!

Flipgrid

About Flipgrid:

Flipgrid is an app, and website that allows students to record video responses. The videos are usually reflections, or responses to a specific topic/prompt asked by the teacher.
A good thing to note is that student responses on Flipgrid are public to the class, so all students in the class will be able to see each other's responses. You have the ability to customize moderation (so that videos must be approved by you before they are posted), as well as the option for students to engage with each other's videos. So, this is not the best platform to use if you want video responses to be private (between you & the student). It is possible to leave private feedback on student videos.

Technology Requirements:

Teachers can post questions on Flipgrid using their laptops, or any mobile device. Teachers may also record video responses using any device. In order to post assignments on Flipgrid, or edit Grids/Topics, teachers must be signed into Flipgrid as educators.
Students can post video responses from both an iPad (with the Flipgrid app), or on a Chromebook (through the Chrome browser).
Here is a link with the minimum device requirements for Flipgrid listed!
The video below provides a brief introduction to Flipgrid:

Account Information:

Currently, all features of Flipgrid are free for educators. Make sure you are creating your account, and logging into Flipgrid using your Berkeley Carroll email address.

Creating a Flipgrid Educator Account:

  • You must create an Educator account using your Berkeley Carroll email address at: admin.flipgrid.com.
  • You must be signed into this account in order to create/edit your Groups, or Topics.

Create Your Account. 

Signing Into Flipgrid:

  • Once your account has been created, continue using admin.flipgrid.com to log in as an Educator.
  • Make sure you are selecting "Google Login" and signing in with your Berkeley Carroll email address.

 

Tip: If you are having trouble editing, or viewing all of your Class Groups or Topics, you may not be logged in to your Educator account. 
  • Check this by clicking on your name on the upper right-hand corner, and then Clicking "Educator Login."

.   .      

Creating A Group (formerly known as a Grid):

Think of your Group as a classroom - to stay organized, make a Group for each class that you are asking to participate in a Flipgrid assignment. 
Tip: Groups differ from Topics, in that your Topic is the specific question, or prompt you are asking your students to answer. Topics live inside the class Group, and you can post as many Topics within your class Group as you need (i.e. different questions for different Flipgrid assignments).

1. After you have created your Educator Account, and have logged in at admin.flipgrid.com, Click Create a Group.

(Remember, a Group is your Classroom, which you will post questions in).

Step 1 image

2. Click into Group Name & Type to name your Group (once again, it is helpful to create one "Group" for each your classes, or sections. That way your Topic answers will stay organized.

Step 2 image

3. You can customize your "Join Code" if you want, but it probably isn't necessary because students can also join your Group from an Invite Link.

Step 3 image

4. Click Student Email - this is how students will log in, and access Flipgrid (through their Berkeley Carroll email addresses).

Step 4 image

5. Click Next

Step 5 image

6. Make sure that this field says @berkeleycarroll.org (it should be automatically there if you are logged into your Educator Account with your BC email address).

Step 6 image

7. If you want to add guests (such as family members who do not have BC email addresses) to view your Flipgrid & student responses, you can create a Password for them to log in with. This would then have to be shared w/the guests.

Step 7 image

8. Click Next

Step 8 image

9. If you're creating a new Group, but want to duplicate Topics you have already created in another class Group (might be helpful if you have two sections of the same class), then you can choose to duplicate them from here.

Step 9 image

10. Click Skip for now if you do not want to duplicate any Topics (there is also a step-by-step instruction list on how to do this after the fact in "Flipgrid FAQs" on this Libguide)

Step 10 image

11. You can now share your Group link with your class, so they can join. Click Copy to copy, and paste this link into Google Classroom.

Step 11 image

12. Or Click the Share to Classroom icon to open the Google Classroom embed tool & create an announcement, or assignment straight from here.

Step 12 image

13. Select the Class you want to share your Join link to

Step 13 image

14. Select Create assignment and then "Go" to send your Join link as an assignment

Step 14 image

15. When you're done with all of these steps, Click Go to Group & you are ready to create your first topic for students to engage with!

Step 15 image

Here's an interactive tutorial

https://www.iorad.com/player/1701828/Flipgrid---How-to-Create-a-Group

Creating a Topic:

Once your Group is set up, you can now add your first 'Topic.' Remember, the Topic is the question you will pose as the teacher, that your students will be expected to answer in their Flipgrid video. You can create as many Topics in your class Group as you need.
Customizing Your Topic:
You will want to make sure you:
  • Name your Topic
  • Set the recording time (this is how long the student's video can be)
  • Post clear instructions in the prompt on what students are expected to include in their video response
  • Go to 'More Options' to set other customization options (such as the ability for students to "Like" or "Comment" on other videos)
Sharing Your Topic With a Class:
It is probably easiest for your students (and you!) if you share your Topic directly to Google Classroom. This means linking directly to the question you want your students to answer. This is especially helpful if you have more than one Topic going in the class Group - students will be less likely to post their response to the wrong question.
You can watch this Tutorial as a video, or view it as a scrollable list of steps (Select "View it - List" on the dropdown menu for this option)

1. When you have created your Group(s), and are ready to post your first Topic, Click on the Group you want to post your Topic in

Step 1 image

2. Click Add a Topic

Step 2 image

3. Click into Title, and Type to name your Topic - remember, this is the prompt you want your students to respond to

Step 3 image

4. Click into Prompt, and Type your Prompt - you want to use as many details as possible, so your students know exactly what they're expected to include in their Flipgrid video.

Step 4 image

5. Select your Recording Time - you can set limits from 15 second videos, to 10 minutes. Use your discretion as to how long you think your students will need to adequately answer your prompt

Step 5 image

6. Select your Closed Captions setting, if you want captions to appear on the response videos.

Step 6 image

7. Toggle On, or Off Video Moderation. If this is toggled ON, then videos will not appear to the rest of the class until you "approve" them. 

Step 7 image

8. You can add an optional "Media Resource" to engage with your students. For example, you can record your own video explaining the prompt, or upload an image/video for students to watch & respond to.

Step 8 image

9. Select "Save changes to my default settings" if you want to avoid customizing all of these options every time (helpful!)

Step 9 image

10. Now Click "More Options." (There are some important things here you want to make sure are customized).

Step 10 image

11. For example, you can set your Status to Active, or Hidden, and set it to go "Live" on a certain date. If you're setting up several Topics for students to respond to throughout the year, this might be helpful.

Step 11 image

12. You can set up your notifications, so you receive an email daily with who has responded to your Topic, an email each time somebody responds, or no email notifications.

Step 12 image

13. Toggle On/Off the ability for students to Download & Share their own video responses.

Step 13 image

14. Toggle On/Off the option for students to receive notifications when their classmates post (I would recommend leaving this option off).

Step 14 image

15. Select the Video Style that will be available to students when they record (videos + selfies, selfies only, videos only, etc.)

Step 15 image

16. You may want to turn On/Off the ability for students to comment on each other's videos, or view how many times each video has been viewed. If you think these things might cause problems in your class, best to be safe & turn them off!

Step 16 image

17. Same goes for Likes. If you are concerned that these videos will turn into a popularity contest, Toggle Off the option for students to Like each other's videos.

Step 17 image

18. If you want to build Custom Feedback options, Click Custom Feedback - you can then build a rubric specifically for this Topic. Basic feedback will just allow you to grade your student based on Ideas & Performance.

Step 18 image

19. Click Add Criteria to build a Rubric based on custom criteria.

Step 19 image

20. Click Create Topic when everything has been customized to your liking!

Step 20 image

21. You can now share this specific Topic with your students, so they know exactly which question to answer. This is helpful, especially if you have several Topics going in one Group. Click Copy to paste the Topic link into Google Classroom.

Step 21 image

22. Or Click the Share to Classroom icon to create an Assignment, or Announcement directly from Flipgrid.

Step 22 image

23. When you're done sharing, Click All Set! and your Topic is ready to be responded to by your students.

Step 23 image

24. You will then be taken to the Topic page, and can start to see Responses here, as students respond to your Topic.

Step 24 image

Here's an interactive tutorial

https://www.iorad.com/player/1701856/Flipgrid---How-to-Create---Share-a-Topic

Below are a few more "Frequently Asked Questions" that may help you use Flipgrid in your teaching practice:

1. How do I add a co-teacher to my class?
2. How do I duplicate a Topic into more than one class Group?
3. How do I leave Feedback on a student's video response?
4. How does a student view the Feedback I left on their video?
5. How do I add a Backdrop, Lens, or Music to my Flipgrid video? (New features August 2021!)
1. How do I add a co-teacher to my class?
  1. On your Group page (not specific Topic), Click "Add a CoPilot".
  2. The teacher must have already created a Flipgrid Educator account for this invite to work.

2. How do I duplicate a Topic into more than one class Group?
  1. If you teach more than one section of the same class, and want to re-use the same Topic question, you can duplicate it to another class Group.
  2. On the Topic you wish to duplicate, Click on "Actions" and then "Duplicate Topic." It will ask you which Group you want to duplicate the Topic to, and whether you want to duplicate just the prompt, or the prompt & any existing student responses. 

3. How do I leave Feedback on a student's video response?
  1. Click on the student's video response.
  2. It will open onto the 'Feedback' page. You can grade the video on 'Ideas & Performance', or edit your own 'Rubric' (under 'Grading Rubric').
  3. You can also add personal comments. Anything you type into the Comment box will automatically save, and can be viewed from the student end automatically. Or, you can copy & email a link to the Feedback grade & comment.

 4. How does a student view the Feedback I left on their video?
  1. Students can go to my.flipgrid.com to view private feedback from Educators on their videos, as well as view every video they've recorded and easily access Topics and Groups they have joined in the past.
  2. Once students are logged into "My Flipgrid" they will see all of the video responses they've recorded in a list form. If feedback has been left on a video, they can Click "View" to read any written feedback, or view any recorded feedback.

5. How do I add a Backdrop, Lens, or Music to my Flipgrid video?
These are all new features added in August 2021. You can add them to your own introductory topic videos, and students can also add them to their video responses.
To add a Backdrop to your Flipgrid video (students can also do this on their video responses):
  • Follow the steps to start recording a video response (or a video topic prompt for your students)
  • At the bottom of your video screen, Click "Backdrop" and select a video backdrop. You (or your students) can also blur the backdrop, or add a custom backdrop.

A Flipgrid "Lens" is something that can be added to your student's video response (or your own). It is like a fun filter (ex. Sunglasses, smiley faces, accessories etc.). You have to enable the Lens feature in the Topic settings for a student to be able to add a Lens to their video response. To enable lenses:
  • Go into your Topic Settings

  • Toggle On "Expressions" --> Your students will now see the option to add lenses, and more to their video response.

You (or your students) can now also add Music to a video response. This happens AFTER the video response is recorded. To add Music to a Flipgrid video:
  • Record your video response, and Click "Next"

  • Then Click "Music" at the top of the screen. A menu of Flipgrid-provided music will appear. Select the Music you want & Click "Next" to finish uploading the response.

Here are a few ways you might use Flipgrid - ask students to record...

  • Learning reflections, or daily video journals
  • Creative writing read-alouds
  • Reading reviews, or book talks
  • Project demonstrations
  • Language demonstrations
  • Visual math problem solving
  • Fun messages! ("Happy Birthday" messages for classmates, or "Congratulations" for fellow colleagues)

Below are examples of Flipgrids in practice:

You will have to log into Flipgrid with your Berkeley Carroll email address to view some of these examples.

Here are more resources from the Flipgrid support pages:

Filpgrid also has support for students:

Do you have a specific Flipgrid question that you can't find the answer to?
Email Help Desk: helpdesk@berkeleycarroll.org with "App Request" in the Subject Line.

Do you want to see how other educators are using Flipgrid? Interested in updates, or how they're approaching Remote Learning? Browse their Twitter feed!