As a former first grade teacher, I know that with additional supports, creative workflows, and specific instructions, even the littlest learners can be successful when using technology to share their voices. I reached out to some amazing primary teachers to drop their tips, tricks, and best practices for leveraging Flip. Here’s what they had to say…
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Joe Merrill, @MrMerrillsClass
Tip: Don’t be concerned about students being too loud, or the background noise in videos. That just means everyone is learning!
Trick: Upload anything saved from your camera roll into Flip! This is called app smashing. K-2 students LOVE the Chatterpix Kids & Flip app smash!
Best Practice: Change the join code on your groups to something familiar - like your last name!
Brandi Miller, @bmilla84
Tip: Use a checklist or rubric to help students’ prepare their video.
Best Practice: Have students review their videos before submitting to self reflect, edit, and/or re-record if needed.
Eric Garcia, @EdTechGarcia
Tip: If you believe your students will struggle with signing in with their Google or Microsoft account or they don’t have any of those two accounts, try using the username option. QR codes and customized identifiers can be created for easier access for those students.
Best Practice: Let students know everyone will be growing together in making AWESOME Flip videos. Make time to critique videos as a whole class. What worked well? How can we improve our videos? This will take time, but well worth it in the end. The look on my student’s faces when I showed them their first recorded video compared to their last recorded video was amazing.
Michael Hughes, @LakersHughes
Trick: I create PowerPoints for my students to engage with. It is easy to activate student voice by hyperlinking a Flip Topic. That way students can simply touch launch the Flip App, type in their password, and record a response.
Best Practice: Working with TK and Kindergarten, I found it is important to remember students need to organize their thinking before recording a response in Flip. This can easily be done by allowing students to use a graphic organizer to take notes and use when they respond.
Sara Malchow, @smalchow
Tip: Use built in Immersive Reader for audio and visual support! The tool helps students who may need to see or hear the directions more than once.
Susan Stewart, @TechCoachSusan
Trick: As an alternative to traditional homework, have students (and families too!) share to Flip. If your young learners do not have access to their Microsoft/Google logins at home, enable Guest Access and share the link with families via email or whatever messaging tool you use!
Trick: Use GridPals to connect your young scholars to others around the globe to build foundations in geographic and global awareness.
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If you teach young students, please feel free to reach out to any of these incredible educators. They all share generously and are willing to help you take the next step with Flip in your primary classroom! For even more tips, check out the PreK-2 Integration Docs. Moreover, as always, reach out any time if you have any questions.