Tutorial Designer: Student Tutorials: A Larger Community of Learners

            

              Many teachers are constantly looking for ways to assess students effectively and efficiently. To ensure that the 21^st-century learner is comprehending the material using a variety of assessments to check for understanding, technology can make a huge impact. It is extremely difficult to hide from technology, it is everywhere and it has made its way into the classrooms all around the world. When searching for an app that allows teachers to collect and share student tutorials to a larger community, from the blog The Educators Guide, I was interested in one particular post about Flipgrid. Flipgrid can be used to teach other classmates and one another through their responses. A teacher can ask a question assessing a particular objective and have students record themselves and explain their thinking and reasoning. Flipgrid is a great way for students to take ownership of their learning, taking the role of a teacher, reflect, spark discussion, and differentiate assessments. Learning is social, personal and can happen at any time and anywhere. It promotes that everyone is a teacher and a learner and individuals are able to make connections and explore topics that one another has taught. The section topics allow learners to share their videos with the larger community and can be any topic students want to share their knowledge about. Responses can only be shared if approved by the teacher using the Flipgrid account.

            I can see myself using Flipgrid in my classroom. I had wanted to learn even more about the app and how other educators have used it in their classrooms. I have been messaging on Twitter with a teacher from NY who is Flipgrid certified and he is going to teach me how he uses Flipgrid in his classroom.  When exploring the app, what stood out to me that would be beneficial for student learning and create curiosity is the Flipgrid Explorer Series. This allows students to connect and engage with people doing interesting things around the world. It allows students the opportunity to learn from experts all over the globe and allow them to experience what it is like to be in a career that they are unaware of.

            Creating a topic or connecting with individuals on the Flipgrid experience can have with a potential to ignite engagement opportunities in classes around the world! The teacher can post a prompt for students to reply to create a short video discussing what they had learned using the webcams from the technology provided. These classroom tutorials students can watch to gain a better understanding of the content by using examples.

            How I would use Flipgrid in my classroom would be as a student tutorial and digital exit ticket at the end of a lesson in learning centers or for homework and to extend classroom discussions beyond the time of physical class meetings. It is a way for students to share their learning students and allows students to learn from one another. Students would prepare ahead of time if it were a homework assignment and brainstorm how they would teach the subject. An example could be solving a math problem and proving a real-world example. If a student is absent from school, students can look at other classmate’s student tutorials to learn about the lessons presented that day. A teacher can post a video asking students questions about a lesson/or topic and students can reply back with a video response.

            A question that I had about the app was how students log in if they do not have an email. I learned that the teacher can create a spreadsheet to assign IDs and passwords for students. Flipgrid can be used for more than just posting prompts for students to respond to. You can use Flipgrid to publish a series of instructional videos for your students to watch and reply to with clarifying questions. That’s exactly what I demonstrated in this video. Students learn how to respect diverse voices and responses, be kind and share meaningful and creative replies. Flipgrid empowers students to get creative and allows shy students to open up and share. We connect and learn from one another. It teaches us that we have a voice and can use it to share all that we know and help others learn.