I'd greatly recommend it to any teacher. It can be used in a variety of scenarios but mainly for speaking activities. It can work for example as an oral exam or oral evaluation, this I make them hiding it from other students' views. I also use it to analyze and comment about videos and readings. When students start talking and liking it, it's a killer. They start asking when is the next forum going to happen. However, something I do not recommend it for is role plays or collective readings, which I have tried and it fails miserably. This is because of timing, students upload the video at different moments and it is a hot mess. However, I am fine with the first part because it works pretty well.
Powtoon is a very capable suite of tools that help a developer create training videos that look way better than they should. I've used it to create fun, attention-getting commercials for new topics, I've used it to enhance what would otherwise be boring step-by-step tutorials, and I've used it to create all manner of "Explainer videos" for all kinds of topics - this is where it EXCELS! In my opinion, its biggest limitations are limits on imported video (max of 90 seconds), which mean that you have to do a lot of extra work to break up and import anything of substantive length. And because it presents your personal library of imported images and audio ONLY sequentially, it's VERY LIMITED in the re-usability of those assets - it's way faster to just import a new instance of an image and audio than to try to find it in your library.
Flipgrid allows teachers to post a question to students on how they accomplished a particular task. This is important because it shows the students process and also gives them an opportunity to teach others.
Flipgrid allows teachers to make a "mixed tape" of student responses and use it for assessment. This allows teachers to show parents and administrators whether student growth.
Flipgrid has a great feature that allows teachers to post their Flipgrids with the community. The community can reuse the questions and edit them. This allows collaboration among fellow teachers.
Not only can teachers post questions but they can also record themselves asking the question. This is great for non-readers and English Language Learners.
Flipgrid has been easy for both our students and staff to use. When there is an issue with the program, we can easily reach support, and the trouble is resolved in an extremely quick and timely manner.
Flipgrip is great for supporting educators. They provide opportunities for teachers to learn the program and become ambassadors for the program. They are also responsive to questions and concerns through many different modes. That includes online communities, email, and Facebook communities. They are eager to meet and troubleshoot with you and are also eager to meet educators at conferences and meetings.
I have never needed the support feature. As I mentioned, everything was intuitive to me however I have taught myself Adobe, Final Cut and iMovie so most of these programs became intuitive.
Flipgrid is unique in its ability to allow students to create and share their own videos. I’m sure there are other ways to do this, but this is the first program that I’ve seen with these features. Students aren’t necessarily used to sharing academic videos of themselves, so it’s good practice!
Powtoon has the advantage over traditional video editing software in terms of the library of characters and elements that can be easily dragged and dropped onto the canvas. Powtoon is easier to use and has a more intuitive user interface than Vyond.
This product is straightforward to implement and share across our building and district. As a large district, it was not difficult to train staff and have them feel at ease implementing the program.
