“Focus On”The Flip CameraChris Tomlinson350:230Summer 2010

The Hardware•Plug and play

•Cost $129-$159

•1 hour or 2 hour battery life

•4.25” x 2.19” x 1.17”

• Includes TV cables

Getting Started: Install and Charging1. Find the latch

button and release the USB arm (ours are on the top).

2. Plug the camera into the USB port of your computer.

Install and Charging •Agree with statement.

• If error message comes up, unplug and plug in again.

•Leave camera plugged in (dead battery takes about 3 hours of charging).

•USB light blinks when charging.

Using the Flip

•Turn it on.

•Make sure the monitor is pointing towards you and the eye of the camera is pointing toward the subject to be recorded. Check the battery indicator on the lower right of the monitor.

•Record—beware of external noise, however.

Operating the Flip Camera• Recording▫ Red button stops and starts recording

▫ + and – buttons zoom in and out

• Playback▫ Play/pause (upper left) starts

playback

▫ Right and left arrows go to previous and next recorded videos (tip: they also function as fast forward and rewind while in playback mode)

• Delete▫ Trashcan (upper right) deletes

current video; monitor will prompt with “yes” to confirm (tip: it’s locked when first powered on—hold down once to unlock)

Downloading• Open the Flipshare

software; there will be a shortcut on your desktop.

• Plug in the camera.• Click on camcorder if

not already open (1).• Select all (2).• Save to computer

(3).

Alternatively, if there are obvious clips you don’t want, you can click on only those you want to save.

1

2

3

Downloading, continued•Choose “remove” if

not already marked.•Click yes.

•You should see a bar indicator to show progress in the lower left corner of your screen.

Simple Movies—Really Simple!Flipshare does NOT give you the ability to edit;

however, you can add titles, credits, and music.

To Make a Simple Movie1. Choose a clip to make

into a movie; click on it to select it.

2. Click on movie in the Create box at the bottom of the screen.

3. Follow the instructions in the pop-up box.

Student Uses

• Interviews•Poetry Projects•Self-Assessments•Field Trips•Debates•PSAs•Science

Experiments•Metacognitive

exercises

Teacher Uses

•Best Practice•Presentations for

later grading•Exemplars•Modeling•Sick students•Formative

assessments•Self-assessment•PD

Further Resources

• From Teaching All Students Blog: 43 Interesting Ways to Use your Pocket Camera in the Classroom

• From Free Technology for Teachers 20+ Ways to Use Flip Cameras in the Classroom

•Descriptors for Rubrics —look on last page (some ideas for use are included as well)

• From Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age A Flip and Digital Cam links page–A huge list of other sources from operating the camera to useful ideas and blogs about it.

Sources

•Flip Camera Images and instructions from http://store.theflip.com/en-us/products/Ultra.aspx

•Black Flip Cam Image and Rubric from http://cit.jmu.edu/useruploads/files/flipcam_handout.pdf