Flip is a cloud-based application that allows for asynchronous video and audio discussion. Flip is included in UVM’s Microsoft license and is available to faculty, staff, and students with a UVM login. Flip can also be embedded into Brightspace, creating easy access when using it for classes. The following instructions are for faculty to set up Flip. (See instructions for students.)
For an overview, here’s a quick video made by Flip:
Do not use Flip with the Safari internet browser.
Logging into Flip
Be sure to use “netid@uvm.edu” (i.e. jdoe@uvm.edu) as your login when signing in, not first.last@uvm.edu.
Option 1: If you DO NOT have a Flip account (click to unfold)
- Go to www.Flip.com and click “Educator Signup” at the top right of the screen.
- Click “Sign up with Microsoft.”
- Login with your UVM email address in this format: NetID@uvm.edu.
- Enter your demographic information (the birthday field is required, although it does not have to match your actual birth date).
- Login with your UVM credentials
Option 2: If you DO have a Flip account (click to unfold)
- Go to www.Flip.com and click “Educator Login” at the top right of the screen.
- Click Log in with Microsoft
- Enter your UVM email address in this format: NetID@uvm.edu.
- Login with your UVM credentials
Group Setup and Management
Now that you are logged in to Flip you can start setting up and using your groups.
- Click the “Create a Group” button to create a new Group and then add a discussion area.
- Enter a name for your Group, and under Select Group Type choose
- Click Next
- Define the UVM email address domain options by typing @uvm.edu. Click Next. (NOTE: if you have medical students in your class, they will need to use their @uvm.edu email address to login.)
- On the next screen, note that there are options for sharing. The most straightforward way is to copy the link using the button provided, and post this link in Brightspace or share it via email.
Create a Discussion Topic
- Your Group now needs to be populated with a Topic for discussion. Click the “Add a topic button.”
- Enter a topic title (1), enter a prompt (2), select a recording time for the replies (3). You are finished unless you want to add a video of your own as a prompt, an emoji or other media. If you do want to add any of those options, see step 3.
- There are a variety of media types to add to the topic of the discussion. You are welcome to choose any of these options. When you are finished, click “Create Topic”.
- You should get a screen that says your topic is ready and you can share the URL with your students.
Editing a Flip Discussion Topic
- When you edit a Topic (click the Pencil icon next to the topic in your discussion), you have options for setting the time limit on student videos (15 sec to 10 min), editing a prompt, adding media, adding an attachment to a link (URL). The link could be a shared Microsoft office document, or a podcast, or a website. You can set the email notifications you get on this page as well. When you are finished updating your topic, click the”UpdateTopic”button.
- If you would like to record a new video within a topic, click into the topic and then click the green button with a plus symbol.
- You may get a pop-up window that will ask you to enable your camera, microphone, and screen to be recorded. This may depend on your browser settings and your machine settings.
- You or your students can record your screen in Flip (to narrate a slide deck, for instance), when recording on a laptop or desktop with the Chrome or Edge browsers.
Respond to a Discussion video in a topic
- Respond to a student’s video by watching their video and clicking the Add a comment button.
- After recording your video (and before it posts), you’ll be prompted to choose a cover image (a screenshot from the video, a selfie, an uploaded image, or your name). And you will be asked to edit your display name (which defaults to first name + last initial), an optional link to accompany your video, and an optional title. Once these steps are complete, you can click the blue “Submit” button.
Accessibility: Captioning and Immersive Reader
Captions
Captions will be auto-generated, although it may take a few hours for them to show up. Flip’s auto-captions are not 100% accurate. The quality of the captions will be influenced by several factors. Try to record your video in a small space with limited background noise. Speak clearly.
Instructors can also edit captions on most videos (although students cannot). Please ask your students to notify you if their captions are erroneous. These corrections are important to provide access for people who rely on captions to understand the content of videos.
Consider the limitations of a video-based discussion when choosing to adopt this technology. For instance, if a student in your class communicates with sign language and would typically use an interpreter to participate with hearing peers, that student would not have the option of including captions for their video because an interpreter would not have the ability to edit those captions.
Immersive Reader
Flip includes Immersive Reader, an accessibility tool that allows you to listen to the transcript of a video, read it line-by-line, change the font size, or adjust the spacing between words.
Getting Help
For additional assistance and questions, visit the Flip Help Center.