Flip (formerly Flipgrid and originally Vidku[1]) is a free-to-use video discussion platform owned by Microsoft for use in classroom environments. The platform is available via a web browser,[2] or through a mobile app on iOS and Android devices. The software allows teachers to post topics arranged in a grid which contain videos and text-based information, and allows students to submit their own videos in response.[3] Students and teachers are able to add items to the videos they upload including sticky notes and stickers,[4] and the videos uploaded can include automatically transcribed closed captioning.[5]
Flipgrid can sync to a teacher's already existing Google Classroom roster,[6] and includes a library of pre-existing video discussion topics from organizations including NASA, PBS, and the BBC.[1] The platform also allows for temporary guest speakers to act in a teacher role and to upload videos and topics of their own.[7]
Two 2020 studies that showed that use of the software improved student engagement in online or hybrid classroom environments.[8][9]
Flipgrid was developed by the LT Media Lab at the University of Minnesota[10] and was first released in January 2014 with a subscription based model where teachers would pay for the software and would allow for an unlimited number of students.[11]
Flipgrid was set up as the name of a Minneapolis-based startup company in 2015 to manage and support the software, and was later acquired by Microsoft in June 2018, who then made the software free-to-use for teachers and refunded any teachers who had an existing subscription.[12] At the time of its acquisition, Flipgrid was used by more than 20 million students across more than 180 countries.[13] Microsoft announced on June 27, 2022[14] at the 2022 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference ISTELive, during an event they called FlipFest,[15] that Flipgrid would be renamed to Flip.
^"Events". Flip.com. June 27, 2022. Archived from the original on July 2, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
^Microsoft Education Team (June 14, 2022). "Join us at ISTELive '22!". educationblog.microsoft.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
