Let me first start by saying that the  Flipgrid professional learning community is made up of the most vibrant, encouraging, committed, and wonderfully weird educators that I have had the pleasure to meet. They alone are what thriving thanks almost solely to the efforts of teachers who have found the platform invaluable. It’s a group that gets me excited about empowering student advocacy.

In the past, I shared about 20 ways you can use Flipgrid to empower student voice in the past, but so much has changed recently that it deserves an update. If you’ve never used Flipgrid you can check out my Flipgrid tutorial (password: Flipgrid) or the testimonials of some student voice ambassadors (including me, password: sva).

What’s Fresh

So the big new announcement is that Flipgrid recently became part of Microsoft. That means a couple of things. First, they can expand their community but will remain committed to retaining the fun and features that made them worthwhile. It also means that all educators can now have access to the full platform for FREE. If you or your school had already bought a license you can apply for a refund.

NEW FEATURES

There are also a number of other updates that are worth highlighting.

• Security – Everyone has been updating their security protocols and Flipgrid is no exception. For security, all grids are automatically password-protected.
• Feedback-You can now provide feedback and rubric scores much more easily to students via a private link rather than in an email.
• CoPilots – Connect with other teachers across your school, state, or the world. You can share grids access and controls.
• GridPals – New York educator Bonnie McClelland has empowered educators to connect across distances. It allows students and classes all over to share what they’re learning with one another through book buddies, mystery locations and more.
• Discovery Library – This is where teachers can share their favorite topics and borrow the best ideas from others. You can get ideas for succeeding in the new school year, play would you rather-math edition, or make your wish for the world
• Explorer Series – The Flipgrid folks regularly provide connections to virtual learning experiences with professionals talk about aquariums, robots, music, and more.
• VoicePod – They created a way for you to have a special space for students to record their responses and they have given many away.
• Bus Tour – The Flipgrid folks have taken the show on the road and visited schools across the country. They promise they’ll be doing it again next year.
• Flipgrid Live! Splash – On July 31 through August 1st, Flipgrid has invited any and all educators to join them in Minnesota to hang and learn with other rockstar educators.
• Grid Launchpad Controls – I can’t say much except that on August 1st Flipgrid will be rolling out of a bevy of new features that educators have been clamoring for.

There are a number of great ways educators are inventing to enhance instruction with Flipgrid including Flipgridding their sub plans, math tutorials, or for summer learning. Check out some of these end of the year ways to engage with Flipgrid and pose questions to the Flipgrid team