flippity

Mr. Steve Fortna is a Spanish teacher who created flippity.net.  He alerted Richard Byrne who reviewed it in his technology blog, which is read by Melissa Rollosson who spread the word to her middle school teachers, and to me. I decided to try it for myself.

Flippity.net simply provides a Google Sheets template for making and publishing flashcards.  For example, I made this set of Flashcards on some of our American Presidents.  According to Richard Byrne, Google provides different templates to do this same sort of thing,  but, they aren't as easy to work with as Flippity.   I didn't try the Google provided templates out myself, but, Flippity was pretty easy. Indeed--I just experienced a few minor "hiccups."

First, if, upon reading this review,  you decide to try Flippity, be sure to go to flippity.net (dot com will take you to the wrong site).

As you read the directions it says to "make a copy of this template"--that won't be difficult, because once you click on the hyperlink, making a copy is your only option.  As it says, make sure you are already signed in to your Google Account.  Next, after glancing at the spreadsheet, you'll understand that you should replace the text that is there with your own terms and definitions.  You can make the list longer or shorter, change the colors--it's pretty self-explanatory.

The creator of Flippity, Steve Fortna, has obviously gone to some trouble to try to make his directions as simple and brief as possible.  However, in making it so concise, a potential user might be a bit puzzled at this next step--publishing the cards and getting the link.  As you follow the directions  you go to a site where you get a  link and then you might wonder why you copy that link and get a second link.  The first link (which you copy) if followed, merely takes you back to a published version of the spreadsheet--not to the flashcards.  After you click the tab on the bottom or your spreadsheet, and paste in the copied link where directed, then you get a link  which your students can follow to get to the flashcards.  (You may want to use goo.gl to shorten that link.--for more on goo.gl click here.)

In summary,  Flippity is a elegantly simple way to make flashcards for your students.

A few additional comments.  While making these flashcards you create a spreadsheet in your Google Drive.  By default, if you go back and make changes your flashcards automatically update.  In the sample there are examples of images which appear on the web and can be included on the cards--as well as a YouTube which seems to get by our filter just fine (YouTube videos used in Flippity MUST already come through the YouTube EDU filter).  If you want to include either of these types of things and have questions--how to do it is further explained in the Frequently Asked Question section.  Students have the option of viewing and printing the cards in two columns, as a fill in the blank quiz, or as a matching quiz. I also note that in an the antiquated version of Firefox on a school desktop, flippity didn't work...once updated...no problem.  Finally, you'll note that Flippity also provides a template for making a Jeopardy style game.

More technology recommendations from ACPS teachers

I've learned a lot about different types of technologies. I have tried a lot of different activities with my students and a few stand out. My QR Code lesson went really well, and my students loved it. BigHugeLabs has a lot of great activities on it that I want to try with my students. I have learned to try new things. Not everything works for me, but I've given it a try. I want to try to master Prezi. I think it is a great and interesting tool for students and I want to be able to use it. Technology can be a great vehicle to success for many of our students.  Amanda - NHS

Nanoogo is an excellent site because it allows for and basically encourages student creativity to flourish. For instance, you could have students write a poem with illustrations, present a paper with illustrations, create their own cartoons, etc. Students loved using Nanoogo in my class, and as some sites good old after a while this site never did. Also, I wanted to say that after we introduce some websites which students can use, give them the option to pick which ones they feel comfortable using because the results are only going to be better in this case. Edmodo is an excellent site for many purposes, it engages the students, allows shy students to seek help, is good for organization, and best of all is ideal for parent communication. Quizlet is an excellent way to create and review flash cards, because it has exciting games and offers pictures for those visual learners. And finally, flip cameras really have no limits on creativity, all it takes is a creative mind and you instantly have a cool project.  Steve – AMS

The tools that I have used the most in class are Edmodo and Flashcard Machine. I like to be able to post assignments and notes so that students will have access to them outside of the classroom. Flashcard machine is great. I have seen a major change in the vocab grades since using this.  Connie – NHS

I've had a good time bringing what I've learned in class back to my team. I have collaborated with the English teacher on a few projects. We used Edmodo as the vehicle for our students to turn in their WAC papers. The English teacher joined my groups and I made her a co-teacher. This meant that she could also see their writing and help with the grading. I also shared Study Stack with her, and now the students are putting their personal dictionaries on Study Stack. I really like Study Stack because it is easy to use, I don't have to set up student accounts, and the different options it gives for review. The more we all share with each other and make use of the technology, the more competent our students will become, too.  Nancy – NMS

I didn't know you could monitor your student's progress using Khan Academy. Have students create their own free accounts and have them check you as the coach...they can have more than one coach. Coaches have access to all of their students' activities and achievements. It is an easy way to assess and provide feedback to the teachers.    Suzy – NMS

If usage time of tools during this class is any indication, student-generated videos and new presentation tools, such as Kizoa, will have the biggest use in the library. Both were fairly quick and easy to learn, and both are easy to work in to the library setting. I have enjoyed using both in efforts to promote reading. Another valuable benefit is that students are using technology to promote reading by using a Flip camera, computer, and LCD projector. I hope to have students create other and more presentations that promote reading and display them on a computer and LCD projector. My experience has been that students respond very strongly and positively to the videos of themselves and their peers, and, furthermore, many of them check-out the books that are recommended on the presentations. It’s been a beautiful thing.  Mary Margaret – NMS

Many of the 21st century technology tools, studied in this class, are great to help students learn. Many students have been using online flashcards to master essential knowledge. There are quite a few excellent U.S. History flashcards on Study Stack and Quizlet that have been proven to be extremely beneficial to my students while we have been preparing for the SOL test. I will also be using presentation tools to help students’ master essential knowledge. These presentation tools can really jazz up dull, boring Power Points. Therefore, I will be using online flashcards and presentation tools most often with future students.    Mary – AMS

I set up Edmodo for my class and the kids LOVED it. They were talking "math" on the weekend! We did a poll and they communicated with each other about the project they are working on. When they got ready to dig into the meat of their project, we set up groups for them to communicate in. They liked being able to ask me questions from home, and I liked seeing them excited about learning!  Angela – NMS