I use FlipGrid in my Business French online course. My goal is to allow students to have a voice and to practice using the French language in a professional yet conversational tone. The online students first respond to discussion prompts about course content in a D2L discussion. Then I pose a FlipGrid question involving a more personal take on the course content, asking students to explain (in French) a past or present example of work experience as related to the content of the week. I do not want the FlipGrid responses to be read so the video component helps create a conversational tone as I can see if they are reading a response. The unscripted video also creates for a more natural conversational tone because the video has pauses, stalls, fillers, etc. similar to what would happen in a face-to-face conversation, and helps students become more comfortable with these.
In this class my goal was to have a tool that would allow students to have a voice to practice and use language. FlipGrid is providing a chance for students to practice their language as well as a way to help create a better community in my online course. Hearing and seeing a response to a question helps students get to know each other better and be more comfortable in their own language development. In addition, I get to know the students better and can evaluate their speaking skills on a regular basis while watching their skills improve throughout the course.
I am considering using FlipGrid in future classes to complete quick assessments such as 5 minute essay or muddiest point. The video response with assessment on class progress may prove especially useful because I may hear more of the language issues in the video than I might see in a written response to such a question prompt.
An instructor instance of FlipGrid is $60/year (21 day free trial) which allows for five different grids. I use one grid for each of my classes. FlipGrid does allow me to copy questions from one grid to another. My students do not create accounts but rather I send them a link to the grid, and they simply click to record.For more information, visit http://flipgrid.com/info/
Submitted by Virginie Cassidy, Modern Languages
