[ARCHIVED] Anyone using Flipgrid?

[tellison]

Just attended a webinar in regard to CanvasCon IUPUI: CourseNetworking - How a Social Media Platform Can Increase Engagement in the Onlin...‌ when I opened up an EmergingEdTech newsletter.  One of the featured apps was Flipgrid - Video for student engagement and formative assessment.  I was wondering if anyone has used this before in their classes and if so how did it go?  It says that it can be integrated with Canvas so I was wondering if it was effective.  I would like to share it with our faculty if it proves resourceful and a good form of active learning similar to the CN post.

[TeachMoore]

I have used Flipgrid, but didn't know it could be integrated into Canvas. I did an online exchange between a dual enrollment Comp class I was teaching and one of a teacher friend in another state. We used Flipgrid to help students introduce themselves to each other and brainstorm about our theme/topic for the project. It worked wonderfully. Plan to use Flipgrid in more ways now.

[sean_flaherty]

I have used FlipGrid for my in-person classes for the last few semesters.  I like it... and I don't.

In terms of integration, I thought it was pretty easy to set up the integration with Canvas.  When I created FlipGrid assignments via the integration, only the students who accessed the assignment via the link in Canvas had their gradebook show that something had been turned in.  Students accessing the assignment directly through FlipGrid may have completed the assignment but it did not show up that way in Canvas.  It created a few tense interactions with students when I initially entered 0's for non-completion according to Canvas only to find in FlipGrid that the assignment had, in fact, been completed.

Via exit interviews and end-of-course surveys, students have reported that they really appreciated FlipGrid... or that they hated it and it was not a valued part of the course.  It's really a mixed bag as to how the students received it in my courses.  In my Physics classes, I had students use FlipGrid for the following types of task: (1) Retrieval Practice, a brief summary of the main ideas discussed in the class or the specific "a-ha moment(s)" associated with a particularly challenging problem, (2) Pre-thinking a problem, students explain the process they'd expect to use to solve a problem as well as their reasoning but without the burden of actually solving the problem, (3) Presentation of Solutions, for a problem that has been completely worked out students provide their reasoning/explanation/solution, (4) Check-in with instructor, students let me know how they believe they're doing in the course as well as ask specific or general questions about what we're studying.  Some students really valued the opportunity to verbalize their thoughts and recognized that these activities helped in their understanding, others felt that it was a hoop to jump through and perhaps only recognized the value in arriving at the correct numerical answer when solving a problem.  Some students refused to participate and told me that it was due to discomfort/anxiety of recording themselves.  

I like that videos can be visible as it helps with building community but I did suspect that there was some "I'll watch somebody's video and paraphrase to get my points", as well.  I ended up moderating most of the videos and then featuring selected submissions so students could see some of the best examples; this was an additional burden to me because with 100 students each submitting a 3-5 minute video, I wasn't able to find the time to watch/comment/feature for every FlipGrid assignment in a timely enough manner.

I also played around with a program called Notebowl and will likely continue playing with both FlipGrid and Notebowl until I decide what suits my style/needs best.

[laurakgibbs]

Hi  @sean_flaherty ‌! That's been my experience also: a few of my students really want to do video, so I am glad to have Flipgrid to offer as an option for that, but I was surprised at how few students it turned out to be that wanted to do video. My students all have blogs, and we use Padlet too, so those are my mainstays, but for the students who like the video option, I am really glad to have Flipgrid as a possibility for that. Since I teach fully online, it makes sense for me to offer my students a variety of different online options: everybody blogs, but I also like introducing them to other tools either embedded in their blogs or beyond the blogs that we can use for connecting and sharing (while also respecting that students are comfortable with / enthusiastic about different modes and levels of sharing).

I haven't tried Notebowl yet, but I am definitely intrigued by that one also!

[shaomeng]

I definitely share some of your experience, Sean and Laura. Given the options, students will usually choose the most stress-free medium to complete the assignment, appearing on camera often is not that if offered with free-form writing or drawing. My strategy usually is to offer a part of the assignments as Flipgrid video, but also ask the students to not be too stressed about it and peer-review each other's responses. Even with about 20 students, it's unscalable to view each of their responses and keep track of their replies, plus, they are creating their social presence for each other, not just for the teacher.

About the Flipgrid integration, if your student is accessing Flipgrid directly, then there is no way to get the Canvas LTI context, meaning Flipgrid has no idea which assignment the student is trying to submit. One way to force students to access Flipgrid via Canvas is toggle "Canvas Only" in the grid settings, so they have to launch through Canvas. Also turn off the Canvas Flipgrid navigation sidebar, so they cannot launch from the sidebar, and have to launch through a Canvas assignment, Flipgrid will then know which assignment they are trying to accomplish. This is, unfortunately, a technical limitation with how LTI works currently. 

[traciebosket]

Hi  @kevin9  and  @shaomeng 

We are having a problem with adding a Duplicated/Copied topic into a New Canvas Assignment. We were able to do that last term. When we created a New Assignment, we got a New Flipgrid Topic, but we cannot figure out how to link it  to the copied/duplicated Topic. It is blank. Do we need to create a new Topic each time we would like to re-use previous Topics.  @aolsonpacheco ‌

[aolsonpacheco]

Thanks for asking this Tracie! I'm working with faculty who are teaching several courses that reuse the same Flipgrid topics and am wondering if there is a more efficient workflow for them to either import previously used topics or link to duplicated topics in a grid.

It seems now that they need to create a new assignment in Canvas and copy/paste topic prompts and upload topic videos one by one when editing the blank assignment.... One of my instructors has 6 flipgrid topics per course and is teaching 3 courses. I'm sure there must be an easier way, but we just can't seem to figure it out. Tips welcome! 

[shaomeng]

Hi Tracie and Ali, thanks for reaching out! Unfortunately, there is currently no way to pick an existing Flipgrid topic and connect it to the current LTI assignment. However, if you are reusing a lot of the assignments cross semesters, you could copy/clone the whole Canvas course, so the assignments are all preserved in the new sessions. You just need to reconnect that new canvas course to a new Flipgrid grid once. I just tried this and it works! So try to put all your topic description in the Canvas assignment description/body, when the new Flipgrid topic is automatically created, only the assignment title will be passed over to Flipgrid, due to how LTI works. Picking an existing topic is technically possible in the future, although with its own design challenges, but it's something that we are willing to prioritize as more educators request this feature.

P.S.: We just announced a ton of features related to grid access and recording, please let us know if you have any ideas and feedback. Thank you!

[aolsonpacheco]

Thanks  @shaomeng ‌ for the fast reply! I think I understand the workaround you described, except for the part where you "reconnect the new Canvas course to a new Flipgrid once." Can you give me instructions on how to do that?

It would be awesome to be able to pick a duplicated/copied topic in the future, as duplicating topics is a cool feature in Flipgrid already. I'll be sure to take a look at the new features that were just released. Are there a release notes I can follow so I can be notified about updates in the future?

We are excited to promote this tool at our institution. So far, instructors love it! 

[shaomeng]

Hi Ali,

No problem! So after you've cloned your course, you just need to enter the newly created Canvas course, click any of your previously assigned LTI assignment, For example, I clicked this assignment and saw this:

You will see this button because we can not record inside Canvas due to the default iframe sandbox security settings, you are asked to open a new tab. After clicking that, you will be asked to connect to a new Flipgrid grid, like this:

Once your course is connected to a Flipgrid, all your previous LTI assignments will be good to go. You just need to do this once in the new cloned course. 

Don't hesitate to reach out if you have further questions!

[jayoder]

Has anyone experienced duplicate videos...I just did a demo assignment for the faculty at my school to show them how easy it is to assign and to submit as a student...but every one has created 2 videos in the grid...why is that?

[ckofeldt]

Yes, we are getting duplicate videos as well. Our students are also frustrated because when they look in their gradebook no icon displays for a Flipgrid submission, so it looks like they did not complete it in the gradebook view.

[sean_flaherty]

I haven't figured out why I see duplicate videos sometimes, but not all the time.  It's strange to me that I'm setting things up the same way every time, presumably my students are submitting the same way every time, and sometimes I see duplicate videos.  There are so many variables between which students are using computers, apple phones, android phones, etc that I have a hard time pinpointing any particular reason things do or don't work with Flipgrid.

As far as the Canvas gradebook issue goes, as long as I have created the assignment within Canvas and show that students are submitting via an external tool (which I have linked to their Canvas page) they can see that their video was submitted.  However, for one of my Canvas courses that is actually two sections of the same course merged together, I have had to create placeholder assignments within Canvas which direct the students to go to their particular Grid to submit their recording.  Since Canvas believes there is no submission (instead of submission via an external tool), the gradebook does not automatically show that they have submitted anything.  

[jayoder]

Thanks! This is helpful. I was demoing it for the Faculty and noticed it and wanted to make sure i wasn't crazy. Perhaps I can reach out to Flipgrid and see what they say...Do you guys use the Free version or do you have the Teacher subscription? We also have VoiceThread and now Canvas can do media uploads...So we are trying to see which one can help our World Languages out the most in terms of accessibility and ease of use. 

[sean_flaherty]

Is there a paid version anymore?

Last year I asked my college to pay for the full version then the subscription was refunded after Flipgrid was purchased by Microsoft or something like that.

The largest issue I'm having with Flipgrid is that students can't even see their own submissions when the topic is moderated.  Many of the assignments I assign are personal reflections.  Ideally they would be able to see their own reflections so that they can refer back to any statement that I provide specific feedback for.  Also, it would be a nice metacognitive task to have them reflect on the progress suggested by their reflections throughout the semester.

[aolsonpacheco]

 @shaomeng ‌ Would you be able to look into this?

[shaomeng]

Hey everyone. Thanks for tagging me. I just returned from a vocation, will be looking at this today and post an update as soon as we have something in the works. 

[shaomeng]

@Jonathan Yoder @Sean Flaherty We found the issue and can confirm this is only happening on the web browser, should not impact mobile Flipgrid apps. We will push a fix later today or tomorrow after we verified the fix. Thank you everyone! Please don't hesitate to reach out to me or the team with your feedback or concerns.

[shaomeng]

 @jayoder    @aolsonpacheco   @sean_flaherty   We pushed a fix this afternoon that fixed the duplicated video bug. Thank you all for your patience.

[jayoder]

 @sean_flaherty    @ckofeldt 

I reached out to Flipgrid about duplicates...

Hi Jonathan,

I'm sorry for the issues you're having.

Our team has identified the duplicate video issue to be caused when integrating a Grid you previously created outside of Canvas. To prevent the duplicate issue, you will need to disconnect your Grid from Canvas which will allow you to generate a fresh Grid within Canvas. (FYI: All existing content will be disassociated with SpeedGrader, however the grades that have already been given will be retained, so we recommend grading all ungraded assignments before proceeding.)

I have the rest of the instructions if interested I can forward the email to anyone. Email me at Jayoder@ojrsd.com

[shaomeng]

For courses with multiple sections, we do not create multiple grids corresponding to different sections, I'd recommend just creating a cross-section assignment, because, you know, it's Flipgrid, the more the merrier   . Or, you create different assignments and assign it to different sections, so separate topics (in the same grid) will be created for these assignments. When student accessed the grid from outside of Canvas, or not following the external assignment link, (something like https://canvas.instructure.com/courses/1/assignments/2), the response will not be submitted as a Canvas submission because Flipgrid has no submission context (is it just a regular social video or a video for which assignment?), as a result, it won't show up in the Speedgrader automatically. 

Hope that helps. Still looking into duplicate video issues....

[traciebosket]

Nick Zingo, Moorpark Criminal Justice faculty, created these two super helpful videos about integrating Flipgrid and how to "re-set" them if needed...

"Canvas & Flipgrid Detailed Instructions" and "Flipgrid_Start Over" 

"Canvas & Flipgrid Detailed Instructions"

This video is currently being processed. Please try again in a few minutes.

"Flipgrid_Start Over" 

This video is currently being processed. Please try again in a few minutes.

[aolsonpacheco]

Can you add a Canvas Rubric?

Hi Flipgriders! Has anyone been able to figure out how to apply a Canvas Rubric to an integrated Flipgrid assignment? It's awesome that it links to speed grader, but I have several faculty requesting the use of rubrics and external tool assignments doesn't seem to have that option.

Note: I've tested the flipgrid provided rubric and it doesn't seem to integrate into speedgrader well and it doesn't have enough customization. 

Please let me know if you've found a way to do this!

[shaomeng]

Hi Ali, because rubrics is not a standard feature across LMS's, LTI launches do not have any rubric information attached, there is no way to sync Flipgrid rubrics to Canvas. I'd recommend just use Canvas rubrics and Speedgrader if you are using Flipgrid LTI integration.

[aolsonpacheco]

Thanks for the fast reply. I would actually prefer to use a Canvas Rubric with Flipgrid. However, when you create a Flipgrid assignment the button to "Add Rubric" disappears.

See images below: 

I am wondering if anyone in the community has found a workaround for this.

[kevin9]

Hi Ali! From what I've been told, it is a Canvas setting where they don't allow their Canvas Rubric when you select an external tool for the submission.

Someone mentioned they found a way around this by creating a Canvas assignment, selecting a Online submission type, adding your rubric, then editing the assignment to be an External Tool submission type using Flipgrid. From what I've tested, this seems to work. Let me know if it does!

Kevin

[aolsonpacheco]

Thanks, I knew there must be some kind of workaround!

I just tested this. It looks like if you first create an assignment that is NOT external tool and add a Canvas rubric to that, then go back and change it to an external tool Flipgrid assignment you can see the rubric still in Grade book and use with Speedgrader. Yay!

One thing to note is that students won't see the rubric when they are posting to the discussion board. So it would be good to summarize how they will be scored in your directions. They can access the rubric through "Grades" but not while they are submitting their response. 

[traciebosket]

Yes, I recommend that they take a screenshot of their rubric and add it to the bottom of their Flipgrid directions.

[sschandler]

Good morning! We have been using Flipgrid at Mesa Public Schools via Canvas and it works great. Here are three tutorials I created on how to integrate Flipgrid in Canvas and how to create an assignment. I hope you find them helpful. 

• Flipgrid - General Information
• Flipgrid - Canvas Integration
• Flipgrid - Creating a Canvas Assignment

Thanks,

Shelley

[shaomeng]

What a great set of resources  @sschandler ! Thank you!  Also, from this link and from our support email, it looks like the Sidebar navigation integration is more confusing than helpful. The original intention to put it there was so Flipgrid could be encouraging for spontaneous social sharing that's not assignment-related, but from what I'm seeing, it's causing some confusion when students are accessing Flipgrid from there instead of from assignment. I wonder if this is just my narrow sampling or a common problem, if so, we can consider removing that integration point from the canvas LTI app  configuration. What do people here think? Should we keep it because it helps with sharing or remove it to avoid confusion?

[sschandler]

You're welcome  @shaomeng ‌! To answer your question about the Flipgrid link in the Sidebar navigation, from a K-12 teacher's point of view, I prefer it NOT to be there because of the following reasons:  1) if students use it for an assignment, their submission will not display in Speedgrader and 2) if we provide the resource as part of Canvas on the Sidebar, then as a K-12 school we would be responsible for monitoring all of the student posts, which would be too overwhelming for teachers to tackle. For higher ed courses, I would probably remove it from the Sidebar, also, due to confusion with using it for assignments. Teachers could provide a link to Flipgrid within their courses to encourage sharing. Thanks for asking!

[shaomeng]

Thank you for your input! It looks like we have a consensus. We will disable the sidebar on our next version!

[aolsonpacheco]

I agree with Shelley. It would be great if the Flipgrid sidebar link was disabled by default. If instructors want to enable it they can, but in most cases the whole reason why we are using the Canvas LTI integration is to have it sync with grade book and assignments. Also, if an instructor forgets to create a separate "grid" for each course, having that flipgrid link so visible could open the flood gates for FERPA compliance issues (e.g. they could easily access posts from other courses).  

[warren_goetzel]

Flipgrid is refusing to participate in the Ga Tech  App vetting process for Canvas integration. If anyone has had better luck with them please let me know. I have also reached out to IMS Global for support. Thanks! 

[traciebosket]

Hi All,

 @nzingo  made a new video about Adjusting Flipgrid for a New Semester. This is really IMPORTANT!

For some reminders...

Canvas-Flipgrid Detailed Instructions (Nick Zingo)

Flipgrid Start Over (in case you made a mistake) - Nick Zingo

Adjust Flipgrid for a New Semester - Nick Zingo

How to Use Flipgrid as a Student (If someone knows a better way, please let me know)

Tracie

[jcox1]

Has anyone experienced problems with the mobile app using Flipgrid with Canvas? We were able to do this previously, but now we are experiencing problems. We have tried deleting the App Integration and starting over without success. This is even happening on new integrations for teachers who had not previously used Flipgrid as a Canvas assignment. Let me explain where the problem happens. We can get to the step on the mobile app where the student clicks Submission, it then goes to the screen Download App or Open in App. There is where the problem is: instead of opening the Flipgrid App as it previously did it asks for a flipcode. Even if the correct code is typed in it doesn't work. We cannot think of anything that has changed in our system that would cause this error. We did a PD session on this in January and teachers with iPads were so disappointed that it wasn't working. Those teachers whose students have MacBooks are not experiencing any problems in using Flipgrid as an assignment. I appreciate any help you can give me on figuring this out!

[kevin9]

Hi Jo - I'm sorry you continue having issues. As mentioned in our support emails with you, we haven't heard anyone else having issues. I would love to know if anyone else in the community is though!

We will continue looking into your device version, iOS versions, and see if we can identify any potential issues. Thanks for your patience as we track this down!

[traciebosket]

Hi  @jocox ‌ It is doable, but difficult. Unless someone else knows a better way, please let me know! I made this video for students who use the app for a Canvas assignment.

[traciebosket]

 @nzingo ‌

Hi  @kevin9 

I was working with  @csheaksmcgowan  today and we couldn’t figure out two things:

1. How do you edit video captions? I used to see the Transcript tab on the right top of a video. Now I just see the captions on the screen and I can't figure out how to edit them.

2. We are trying to duplicate a Topic in the same Grid. She has three different groups and wants to give each group the same topic. We enabled Flipgrid on the nav bar so we could duplicate the topic. I looks like it went through, but we don't know where the copy went.

Please help!

[kevin9]

Hi Tracie! 

We currently do not allow captions to be edited. We are working to allow this in the future though! For now, students can attach an online document with their video submissions where they can write out their own transcript.

As for duplicating a Topic, the copy goes to whichever Grid you select. Email support@flipgrid.com with details on the Grid, Topic, and account so we can look into this for you!