I recently discovered FlipGrid and I am truly excited about sharing this (currently) free, interactive discussion platform at the high school school and about using it with my grad classes, perhaps in a way similar to the way I currently use Voicethread.

But first, please help me test drive it by recording your video response to this prompt (http://flipgrid.com/#8275117a):

Please share your best “elevator speech” addressing why school libraries are important to children.   You have 90 seconds and you may include links.

Created by LT Media Lab at the University of Minnesota, FlipGrid is currently free.

It’s super easy and very attractive!  Students select a question, click on the green plus button, and agree to terms of use.   (Note: this is not meant for the under 13 set!) After allowing webcam activation, students are asked to select a filter option and snap a thumbnail photo. They are taken to the “Record” screen where they have up to 90 seconds to record and re-record their video response until they are satisfied with their videos.  After the recording, students enter their names and email addresses and their video is posted or send to the teacher for moderation. Their videos are added to the grid which may contain up to 150 videos.  Grids hold collections of questions. Questions hold collections of video responses.

Responses may be shared, embedded and liked using social media buttons below each video.

Videos may be sorted randomly or sorted by name, date, likes or views.

On the administrative end:

Administrative features allow you to make grids public or password-protected, to choose whether or not to moderate video responses before they are viewable, and to receive email alerts when new responses are posted.  A wide array of color styles area available. (And that makes me happy.) Once a grid is created, it may be easily edited using toggles and switches in the administrative view. Questions may include up to 240 characters and may be published immediately or set to appear by date.  Student responses my be viewed using the link generated by the question or in the administrative area.