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Office of Academic Technology

Contact Information

oat@csustan.edu

Mary Stuart Rogers, MSR 380

Division of Academic Affairs

Flipgrid is a free video discussion service ("App") that can connect to Canvas, enabling threaded video-based assignments in your Canvas course. Flipgrid is not a built-in tool of Canvas.

Highlights

  • Canvas Access Control - Only students in your Canvas course can access your connected Grids. 
    • Students can still join on mobile but must start within the Canvas app.
  • SpeedGrader - Add a Flipgrid Topic for your Canvas Assignment. Student videos automatically show up in Speedgrader.
  • BYOD Anywhere, Anytime - As long as students click the green + within Canvas, they can record using any computer or using one of the free Flipgrid iOS and Android apps.
  • Students do not need FlipGrid accounts; only instructors do.

NOTE: Flipgrid recordings cannot be made in the Safari browser. Try Chrome, Firefox, or Edge.

Flipgrid vs. VoiceThread: Which to Choose?

Flipgrid and VoiceThread are both video-based tools, so it can be hard to know which one to use. Both tools have strengths and weaknesses for any given activity. Read on for information that will clarify which tool is right for your activity.

Overall consideration: Will your activity benefit from the ability to use multiple slides?

Choose Flipgrid when:

  • You want students to engage with a single topic or question using video replies instead of typed text.
  • You want students to be able to edit their video posts before submitting.
  • You want to grade student posts using Canvas's SpeedGrader tool.

Choose VoiceThread when:

  • You want students to have a web discussion using a set of multiple topics they can choose from.
  • You want students to contribute media to a common presentation.
  • You want students to create and narrate a multi-slide presentation from scratch.
  • You don't need to use GradeCenter to grade student work in the activity.

Features of both tools:

  • Moderation/hiding of student posts
  • Ability for students to upload media content as part of their engagement in an activity
  • Recording direct replies to specific posts
  • Incorporate a wide range of media documents, videos, files, etc. into an activity
  • Automatic closed captions on all posts (feature must be enabled in each Flipgrid grid)

Enabling Flipgrid in a Canvas Course

NOTE: Integrate Flipgrid if you are planning to do a graded assignment using Flipgrid.  It's perfect acceptable to use Flipgrid in ungraded activities. Simply set up your group and discussion topic, and then share the join code in your course like any other URL.

NOTE 2: You must do the integration once for every Canvas course that uses Flipgrid.

Part I – Create or Login to Flipgrid Account

  1. www.flipgrid.com - Flipgrid accounts are completely free.

Part II – Connect FlipGrid to Canvas Course

Please read the How to integrate Flipgrid tutorial to learn how to link your Flipgrid account to a Canvas course. This is necessary to use Flipgrid for a graded assignment.

  1. Login to www.flipgrid.com.
  2. Choose "Profile" from the user menu in the upper right.
  3. Select the "Integrations" tab.
  4. Here, you either create a new Canvas integration or retrieve the consumer key and shared secret for your existing one.
  5. Return to Canvas and add the Flipgrid app to your course from the Settings > Apps > +App page.
  6. Copy and paste the key and secret from Step 4 and complete the app installation process for this course.

Flipgrid will now be listed in the External Tools list in your course.

Part III – Use Flipgrid

Use as a graded assignment by specifying Flipgrid as the External Tool submission type in a Canvas assignment.

  1. In a Canvas course, create a new assignment
    • NOTE: Flipgrid assignments can only have a single point value even if you are requiring students to make multiple recordings in the topic. When grading, you will provide a score for the student's total performance in the complete activity.
  2. Specify External Tool as the Submission Type for the assignment
  3. Click "Find" and select FlipGrid in the list of available tools.
  4. Recommended: check the box to open the link in a new tab!
  5. Click Save
  6. Click the newly added assignment link. The Flipgrid Topic will be created and you arrive at the Topic's home page.
  7. In the Actions menu for the Topic, choose "Edit Topic".
  8. Review the settings of the Topic, such as maximum recording length, comment moderation, adding prompt materials, etc.
  9. Click Update Topic to save any changes.
  10. Make your assignment link available in Canvas.

To record their responses, students simply click the assignment link in Canvas and follow the prompts to record and save their responses. They do not need to install anything.

Part IV – Grade the Submissions

Return to the assignment in Canvas and launch SpeedGrader to review and grade the student submissions.  The videos will be visible in the SpeedGrader window.

Flipgrid Support Resources

Flipgrid is a video discussion tool that is supported by Flipgrid's tech support. Please see the instructions and support below.

Updated: October 11, 2022