With Flipgrid’s recent addition of Guest Mode, Kristin and Joe Merrill, Flipgrid Ambassadors from Florida, shared some fantastic ideas for using Guest Mode in their classrooms that I wanted to highlight on EdTech Shorts.

1. Speak To An Expert
2. Family Homework
3. Schoolwide Challenges
4. #GridPals
5. Thank a Veteran

You can check out the blog post where they share these ideas here: Welcome to Flipgrid, Guest Mode. You can find Kristin and Joe both on Twitter, and I would recommend adding them to your PLN if you have not already.

This past summer Flipgrid introduced the Grid Launchpad and it allowed users to tailor their grid security settings to be unique to their own learning community. Parents have wanted to see what their students were doing on Flipgrid, but could not do so in a way where the educator still had control. Now Flipgrid has introduced Guest Mode to help with this problem.

Guest mode can be turned on within the topic settings for any topic. Guest mode is granted with a unique guest code. Educators can control whether guests can have view-only access or the ability to view and respond. Educators can share out that code however and to whoever they want and can revoke that code at anytime to remove guest access. A QR code can also be generated to allow guests to scan and have access.

If an educator allows guests the ability to respond they will be prompted to enter their first and last name. They also have the option to require an email address be provided as well. Once that information is entered they will be launched into the same recording interface that students know and love.

Microsoft has now integrated their Immersive Reader into Flipgrid. The Immersive Reader is a part of Microsoft’s Learning Tools accessibility tools for the classroom. It allows you to break down a text for students with learning difficulties. Students can begin using the Immersive Reader immediately on any topics. They simply click on the Immersive Reader icon (it looks like a book with a speaker on it) and press the play button to hear any text of the topic played back for them.

Today’s EdTech Shorts features Kasey Bell (Twitter, Website) sharing her 4 C’s Learning Menu. This is a tremendous tool for helping your students share their learning while exploring the 4 C’s (Creativity, Communication, Collaboration, and Critical Thinking). You can quickly access the 4 C’s Learning Menu at http://shakeup.link/4cmenu. Give Kasey a follow on Twitter, check out her website, and be sure to listen to her on The Google Teacher Tribe podcast with her co-host Matt Miller (Twitter, Website).