"App"etizer: 5 Steps to Create an Amazing Topic on FlipGrid

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Over the last year, FlipGrid has really taken the education world by storm. For those who haven’t heard of it before, FlipGrid is a highly customizable, formal/informal performance-based assessment tool in which students can post video responses to prompts, start their own discussions, provide feedback to their peers, and engage with global audiences.

FlipGrid Fast Facts
Price:
100% free for educators
Link:
www.flipgrid.com
Audience:
K-Collegiate

 Even if you’ve been using for awhile or just getting started, let’s talk about 5 steps you can take to really elevate your FlipGrids’s engagement and efficacy.


When creating a FlipGrid Topic:

1. Attach your question prompts using HyperDocs or HyperSlides. 

FlipGrid does not allow more than 500 character questions to be posted on a single topic. A way around this is to do like in this example:



If you’d like to see this example on FlipGridyourself, simply go to: https://flipgrid.com/844bef and enter the password: Ridgway!

2. Use GIFs and Allow Stickers.

Students don’t enjoy doing something that’s “so extra”--as they would call it--without it being fun. Encourage them to add stickers to their video posts! And add some stickers and GIFs to your own comments or posts! Technology aside, being as silly as your students are is a pretty good way to get buy-in.

3. Know When to Moderate Submissions.

There’s a time to moderate submissions and there’s a time not to. If you don’t know what this means, turning on “moderating” on a topic means that students will not be able to see other posts that have been submitted so far. Here’s an easy guide to when you should turn moderation mode on or leave it off:


4. Create a Minimum time for Responses.

Something that I did not do in my first year of using FlipGrid but I plan to do going forward is to create a minimum time, rather than a maximum time, for students to explore or explain a topic. My thinking is that a minimum time limit will help tease out some more nuanced responses than ones given previously. Let’s call this a piece of advise in “beta”. Test it out and see how it works for you!

5. Return to FlipGrids and do “Revise Replies”

A really powerful idea that I’ve tried with my students is going back to prior topics and having students revise and comment on their old posts. There’s nothing stopping you from using FlipGrid to boost students’ metacognitive skills. Think of using FlipGrid to spiral too--when you return to those skills or content you want to review, add a twist or a new idea to push students’ learning further.

 Until next time, happy FlipGridding!
--Nate

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