WTT v1 From the Field

Flipgrid is getting a whole lot of buzz lately! Useful in any grade, it brings social media style to curriculum content by having students do their own recorded responses to teacher prompts.

Renee McLaren at CHHS and Farrah Shipley at MHCS are both early in their usage of the app, but they are very excited about it, partially because of how much their students like it. Once everyone gets past the initial embarrassment of being recorded, presentation quality greatly improves, because students get to plan, record, re-record if dissatisfied, and submit when they’re perfectly happy with their final recorded product.

Flipgrid allows teachers better use of their class time by having students only view specific oral reports and respond to their classmates using activities like the Critical Friends Protocol, rather than doing mass class viewings, thus meaning students can complete more oral work in a year/semester. Teachers find that student voice is much stronger with this, because it is the polished version that students prefer to present. Both Renee and Farrah are impressed with the improvement in student confidence in doing spoken assignments, especially as students master the tool and learn it is a safe environment for their spoken work.

Both teachers are taking this globally. Farrah currently books authors to record book talks, connecting students to authentic writers and their writing process. Renee intends to use it with the French Global Read Aloud, and is looking for a French Immersion class in Canada to pair with her students to asynchronously discuss current issues.

Worried your students will be scared to do that first recording? Farrah found that covering the camera with a stickie tab the first time helped greatly.

Wonder if Flipgrid is something you want to try? Contact the Ed Techs, or visit https://flipgrid.com/ to set up your grid and get started!

Want some more SD76 teacher hints/suggestions to help you decide? Check out Farrah’s and Renee’s full responses and recommendations.