It’s been a strange couple of days. I was filled with sadness seeing my friends in the educator community hear the news that Flip as a standalone product will no longer exist. It’s hard to believe. From Flipgrid’s earliest days, I was fortunate enough to witness the power of educators coming together around a mission to amplify the voice of all their students. Flipgrid was the tool, but you all were the ones making change. And you were sharing everything you discovered along the way. I have never experienced anything like what I saw everyday when you built up your fellow educators, you shared your ideas, you shared stories that moved all of us on Team FG to tears. That was you, that wasn’t Flipgrid. It appears to me that, with Flip’s news, this student voice community is once again rallying and helping each other more than ever. Times of adversity can bring people together, and I see it happening among those who believe that this shared mission to amplify every learner is more important than ever. Your voice is clear: no matter the setback, you will continue until every child knows that their voice matters and that their voice can change the world. It’s always been about the people. I will always support you. 💚

If you haven't heard, Microsoft Flip as we know it is being retired. So many emotions. Sad. Grateful. Disappointed. Thankful. I've seen EdTech tools and companies come and go for the last 12 years. Flipgrid was different. (Yes, in the end it was called Microsoft Flip, but to many of us, it'll always be Flipgrid.) The product was unique ... But the community was INCREDIBLE. Educators rallied around Flipgrid not for the product but for the mission: empower student voice. Or, as Flipgrid cofounder @design2research said, bringing the back row of the class to the front row. I made lifelong friends because of Flipgrid. The tool was incredible. (I could say "is" because "still in Microsoft Teams" and all, but that'll disqualify lots of us ... and today's Microsoft Flip is NOT the best version of itself.) Flipgrid did elegantly what other tools tried to do -- and just didn't do as well. (And I'm on team @HollyClarkEdu -- don't come at me with "x tool can record video." Nothing else does what it did in the way it did.) I'm grateful and thankful for the people that made Flipgrid special ... ... but mostly I'm just disappointed. If you stay around for a while, you see this happen. A product that was someone's passion / pride and joy ... gets acquired by a company that doesn't care as much. And something special gets lost from the world. Students and teachers lose in this decision. All in the attempt to make Microsoft profitable and efficient. My heartfelt thanks to those that made Flipgrid special, including @Taralson, @Savvy_Educator, @jessxbo, @GridPalGeorge, @FelyTeachnology, @annkozma723, @MrCoachK15 and so many more. I'll try to find new tools. (Please don't recommend any here. Not ready for that yet.) But for right now, I just need to settle my emotions and say ... To my #FlipgridFam ... Thank you 💚

Awesome, Danielle!!! We have some amazing memories with you in the Bold North 💚💚