If you are considering inviting families and guests into your Flipgrid discussions, we want to introduce you to Guest Access! Our friends and teachers in Florida, Kristin and Joe Merrill, share ideas with you on how to use Guest Access in your classroom:

As both educators and parents, we love that Flipgrid has worked diligently to develop a private and secure platform. One of our favorite features is Guest Access, where families, community members, experts and more can be granted special permission to specific Topics without having access to other Topics in your Groups.

How to Use Guest Access

1. From within your Educator Admin, navigate to the Topic and click the edit pencil ✏.

2. Under “Permissions”, set the password by filling out the “Guest Password” field and click “Update Topic.”

3. To share, simply copy and paste the URL! Upon clicking the link or entering that unique Join Code on the Flipgrid app, your guests will be prompted with the option to enter the Guest Password you created.

4. You can share Guest Access with whomever you’d like and can also revoke access at any time by simply regenerating the Guest Code.

Ways to Use Guest Access in the Classroom

How can educators create impactful ways to engage parents, school and community? Here are some ideas!

1. 1. Speak to an Expert: Remember the old Career Days where different professionals would come in to talk about their job? With Guest Access, you can bring them in using Flipgrid! Maybe create a Topic about various professions where parents or community members jump share their expertise. Or could create your own mini Explorer Series and have a professional join your class to share their experiences and answer questions.
      Check out this example!

   2. Family Homework: Use a Topic you have already spent time learning in class then assign a task to families! Send the Guest Access QR code home with the assignment directions and have your students teach the skill to their parents. Then, have them record on the Topic showing what they know!
      Check out this example!

   3. Schoolwide Challenges: Consider a school-wide challenge or prompt. Conference nights or school-wide STEAM events are a great time to introduce parents to Flipgrid and have them interact with one another. You could also have students summarize books they’ve just read or set up a Topic dedicated to teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week. Lastly, consider a nightly read-aloud Topic where students, parents, teachers and administrators share their favorite nighttime book with the school.
      Check out this example!

   4. Say Thank You: Guest Access is a great way to send gratitude. Simply have your class, grade level or school share out simple and sweet thank-you messages and then, share a QR code on your school website, through a newsletter or at an assembly program.
      Check out this example!

Flipgrid has always championed #StudentVoice. With Guest Access, we can now promote #FamilyVoice, too! We are excited to see how educators use Guest Access during remote learning that will help to break down the barriers of “four classroom walls” and extend out into our community and world.

Always remember, we are #BetterTogether!
Joe and Kristin Merrill, a.k.a “The Merrills”