ISTE’s Global Collaborator Standard calls for students to broaden their perspectives by working with others at the local and global level. This means leveraging digital tools and resources to connect with others across their school, community, and world. Technology is a perfect platform for fostering relationships beyond the classroom walls… think of it as having virtual pen pals, without having to wait weeks for a letter!
One way that Flipgrid is helping to infuse global collaboration is by connecting educators from around the world. Students can connect with one another to learn about different cultures, to hear from different perspectives, and to form relationships.
Who Is Using Flipgrid?
In fact, Tori Sylvers at Sunny Hills, Carrie Alexander at Creekside, and Courtney Gilpin and Thai-Hang Nguyen at Skyline High School are using a collaborative grid to work across schools and grade levels within the district. For an ongoing project, they are having the high school students send a set of personal vignettes to the 5th graders to read and comment on, while the 5th graders are sending personal narratives for the high school students to respond to. All responses will be facilitated through Flipgrid, providing each students with an authentic audience to share their writing with!
Flipgrid has also made it possible to connect with others across the globe by using Grid Pals. To get started, simple make sure to complete your bio, and then make it active so that other educators can contact you. You can use the interactive map to find educators who have also signed up, and send an invitation to connect and begin planning a collaborative grid for your students! You can also find a Grid Pal match by searching grade and subject. Flipgrid allows “CoPilots” (aka co-teachers), so collaboration is simple and easy.
Need Project Ideas?
Geography seems like the natural go-to here, as you can quite literally learn about life across the country or world. However, there are so many other ideas!
- Talk about your community, sharing what makes it unique
- Read books on similar topics, and have virtual book talks
- Create a collaborative story by adding back and forth
- Engage in a digital debate over a controversial topic
- Trade video and information about your state/country/city’s food, currency, landscape, etc.
- Collaborate with speakers of other languages to teach specific vocabulary
Ready to Get Started?
Get the complete Grid Pals Guide Here, which will walk you through each step of the process.
One of the best parts of Grid Pals is that it presents a perfect opportunity to reinforce digital citizenship concepts, such as what it means to participate in a respectful online community, and protect the safety and privacy of others. These are essential conversations that would enhance the entire Grid Pals experience.
Find other Flipgrid Posts Here, and catch the #FlipgridFever!