INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Microsoft has acquired Flipgrid, a social education app that utilizes short video clips to create collaborative lesson plans
The Minneapolis-based startup, which began life as Vidku, has had strong growth for an experience that has been alternatively described as
Instagram and Snapchat for the classroom
Early last year, it reported an 800 percent year-over-year growth in teacher accounts
It’s certainly a play that makes sense in Microsoft’s portfolio, as the company looks to take back the education market currently being
dominated by Google, thanks to its wildly popular Chromebook category
In May of last year, the company launched an educational variant of Windows 10, which joined such existing plays as its Minecraft Education
“We’re thrilled to see the impact Flipgrid has had in social learning thus far and look forward to helping them continue to thrive as
part of the Microsoft family,” Microsoft VP Eran Megiddo, said in a release tied to the announcement
“We’re diligently committed to making sure their platform and products continue to work across the Microsoft, Google and partner
ecosystems to benefit students and teachers everywhere.” How, precisely, Flipgrid will fit into Microsoft’s overall edtech play remains
to be seen, though the company has already integrated the app into Microsoft Teams in Office 365 for Education. As with its Office 365
Education offering, the company will be making the app free for schools
Those who already purchased an account, meanwhile, will be getting a refund
A round of updates to the app is forthcoming, as well
Microsoft will be unveiling those at Flipgrid’s education conference in early April
Terms of the deal were not disclosed
