What a whirlwind of a day we have had here at FETC! We are so thankful to have such an amazing PLN and we have continued to grow it through all of the amazing connections we continue to make. We had one big hit during our presentation this afternoon and we thought we’d post it up here on the blog to share with everyone who is #notatFETC.
Flipgrid Podcasts
One idea shared this afternoon during out InterACTIVE Class presentation was the idea of having students share their voice through podcasts. Now, with the new Flipgrid sticker feature this is easier than ever. Let’s share how easy it is for students to create their own podcasts.
1.) Choose a topic. This is where students decide what their podcast is going to be on. Maybe you guide the subject a bit to match up with a unit of study you are currently working on, or possibly students can have more freedom with their podcast topic and choose something that they are personally interested in.
2.) Develop branding and create a graphic. This can be as simple or as detailed as you make it. You can simply give students time to design in one of many creations tools—Canva, Adobe Spark, Google Sides—and allow them to design their own unique podcast image. If you choose to take a bit more time on this step, you could do some smaller lessons on branding with students and dig deep into the thought process put behind a logos, colors, fonts, etc. Either way, students leave with a branded image that they can save as a .jpeg image on to their device.
3.) Set up your space in Flipgrid. This is yet another way to differentiate according to your specific class make up and personal preferences. You could have a weekly topic where each student posts their most current “Episode” for classmates to enjoy. Or, maybe you create a class Podcasting Grid where every student gets their own Topic. Each time they create a new “episode” they could add it as a response on their own personal Topic thread.
4.) Record an episode. When students log in to record their episode, they will open up the recording window and using the sticker feature, choose their saved podcast image from file.
Students will then stretch the image until it is enlarged enough to cover the entire screen.
When they begin recording viewers will only see the still image just like we do when we listen to our own real podcasts!
Benefits of Podcasting
Through Flipgrid, giving students a platform to write, create, record and share their voice with classmates and those around them is truly exciting. They are SO many additional ways to take this simple activity and spark even more creativity and collaboration. Possibly try:
-allowing students to “interview” each other and get a chance to not only produce but also guest on a classmate’s podcast
-Create AR or QR codes and share various episodes around campus, in class newsletters or through a school email.
-Merge a class grid pal or Skype class with podcasts and give students a chance to share their podcasts with others outside the room. Enable the ability to reply to responses so listeners can leave their thoughts on the topic or ideas for a new episode.
InterACTIVE learning doesn’t have to be time consuming or require a lot of planning prior, but with the help of Flipgrid, sharing every student's’ voice is just one click away! If you try this with your students we’d love to hear their “episodes!” Tag @themerrillsEDU or #interACTIVE class so we can see the creativity firsthand!
For a quick tutorial on how make podcasts using Flipgrid, check out on of our TECHnically Speaking tutorials here!
Stay interACTIVE!
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For more #interACTIVE lesson ideas using Flipgrid, check out our book The InterACTIVE Class on Amazon!
