How to create digital and printable lesson materials from Google Sheets in Flippity

Contents:

• What is Flippity and how is it useful?
• What materials can be created in Flippity?
• How to use Flippity to create a timeline from a Google spreadsheet?

What is Flippity and How is it Useful

Flippity Flippity is a powerful online service for creating a variety of digital materials suitable for both in-person and remote lessons. With Flippity, you can create interactive activities that can be used in lessons using printouts or interactive whiteboards. The service was developed by Steve Fortna, an IT integration specialist and Spanish teacher from the United States. Flippity is available to users in Russia and is free, making it accessible to everyone. Although Flippity is primarily aimed at teachers and tutors, its diverse templates and formats allow it to be used in a variety of educational contexts, including classes with adult learners. The service helps increase student engagement and diversify the learning process, making it an indispensable tool in the arsenal of a modern teacher. Flippity is a tool that allows you to create a variety of educational materials, including quizzes, quizzes, flashcards, and exercise programs. With it, you can develop mini-games and gamification elements, such as leaderboards and progress indicators. Flippity offers over 30 different formats, making it a versatile solution for teaching and engaging students. Flippity stands out among other educational services with its unique feature: it transforms Google Sheets content into interactive quizzes, exercises, and learning tools. Each format has a dedicated template that can be easily copied to your Google account and filled out according to the instructions. An alternative method is also available for some formats: using the builder directly on the Flippity website. In this article, we'll detail how to create content with Flippity and use it for effective teaching. The Flippity website is available exclusively in English, but this doesn't prevent you from using Cyrillic in your materials. However, the lack of translation may make it difficult to understand the instructions for filling out the spreadsheets. In such cases, we recommend activating the automatic translation feature in your browser. For example, the Chrome browser provides high-quality translation and can significantly simplify the process of working with a website.

The service offers a number of advantages that distinguish it from similar solutions. Firstly, it ensures high request processing speed, which significantly improves the user experience. Secondly, the accessible and simple interface makes it easy to navigate even for beginners. Thirdly, the system offers a wide range of functions, making it a universal tool for solving various problems. In addition, the service is distinguished by a high level of data security, which is an important aspect for users. Finally, regular updates and improvements ensure that users always have access to the most modern technologies.

• The number of materials that can be created here for free is unlimited. The project makes money from advertising, which is sometimes displayed on the pages (according to the developer, it is configured safely for an underage audience).
• The number of users who can interact with the materials simultaneously (for example, work with flashcards or take a quiz) is also unlimited.
• Registration in the service is not required - in fact, it is not provided at all. To create educational content from spreadsheets, you will need a Google account, while ready-made materials from Flippity can be opened simply by clicking a link.
• Flippity works on computers, tablets, and smartphones, and has been tested in various browsers - Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, and Microsoft Edge.
• If necessary, the created material can be saved to the device as a web page, and it will work without an internet connection.

The service has certain limitations, which in some learning situations can be decisive. It is important to consider these nuances to achieve optimal learning results. Without understanding these limitations, users may encounter difficulties that will affect the effectiveness of learning and comprehension of the material. Therefore, before using the service, it is important to carefully familiarize yourself with its capabilities and shortcomings. This will help avoid unpleasant situations and improve the quality of the educational process.

• Since it is impossible to register with the service, the user does not have a personal account with the created materials. Essentially, the finished content exists only as a link to Flippity, and if this link is lost, the material cannot be restored. However, if it was created from a spreadsheet, the link will always be found there (it is automatically saved).
• For the same reason, it is impossible to save and track student results: Flippity does not collect such data. Alternatively, students can send their results to the teacher as screenshots.
• The tools created in the service do not natively support collaboration. This means that when opening a game or quiz using the same link, each student will work with their own version of the material and will not see the actions of other users. A collaborative activity can be organized, for example, like this: the teacher opens the material on their computer and broadcasts it to students in an online lesson using the "Share Screen" function, accepts students' answers and enters them on the site.

What materials can be created in Flippity

We explore all available content formats, of which there are more than 30. Some of them are variations of the same type. There are templates that allow you to present data in several formats simultaneously. For example, a timeline can be converted into a "Put the events in order" task, and flashcards can be used to create quizzes or crosswords. These features make the content more interactive and varied, which promotes better information absorption.

For the convenience of users, we provide the format names in an automatic translation into Russian, performed using the Google Chrome browser, as well as in the original English. Each title includes links to interactive examples developed by the author. These examples allow students to preview how the content will be presented to them.

This is a digital version of flashcards for memorization and self-testing. Information is presented on the "front" and "back" sides, and the card flips when the mouse button, key, or arrow keys are pressed on the screen. This format allows for easy and effective learning, improving memorization and self-assessment. Digital flashcards are ideal for students, teachers, and anyone looking to optimize their learning process.

• Flashcards allow you to create classic-looking cards with two sides. Information from the cards can also be presented as a list, a matching exercise, a typed-in test, a crossword puzzle, and other formats.
• Flexcards can contain up to 10 "sides"—essentially pages that the user flips through one by one. It turns out to be something like a digital brochure, not cards.

Each option can be supplemented with images and videos, including materials from YouTube, as well as automatic voiceover of words, including in Russian.

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Not just Quizlet: a selection of services for creating flashcards

Flashcards have become an indispensable tool in modern learning. They help effectively absorb information and improve memorization. In addition to the popular Quizlet service, there are many other platforms that offer the ability to create and use flashcards. These resources allow users to design their own sets of flashcards, add images, audio, and text, making the learning process more interactive and engaging.

Among the alternatives to Quizlet, it is worth paying attention to Anki, which provides powerful tools for creating flashcards with the ability to use the spaced repetition method. It is also worth considering Cram, where you can share your flashcards with other users and find ready-made sets on topics of interest.

Using such services not only facilitates the memorization process but also makes it more structured. Choosing the right tool depends on your personal preferences and learning goals.

Formats in this category vary in design and additional features, but they all rely on standard testing mechanics. Students answer questions by selecting from suggested options or entering their own answers. These tests effectively assess knowledge and skills and promote deeper learning.

• "Virtual Breakout" is a quiz where correct answers to questions (answers must be typed in) unlock locked locks. Hints can be added to the questions, and images and videos are supported.
• "Video Game" is essentially a quiz designed like a retro video game. The screen features a launcher that shoots at incoming meteorites. To successfully shoot, you need to quickly and correctly answer the test question (choose from the proposed options or enter your own).

• "Color By Number" is also a quiz, but with added elements of a coloring puzzle. The user sees a field of square cells numbered 1 through 13. Each number corresponds to a specific color. To match the numbers with the colors and color the cells, creating a "pixelated" image, students must correctly answer multiple-choice questions. When creating a coloring page, students can choose one of the provided images or add their own. A printable version is available.
• "Certificate Quiz" is a multiple-choice quiz. Upon successful completion, the student will receive a congratulatory certificate. To create this quiz, you need to prepare a 530x100 pixel image and upload it to a file hosting service, obtain a link, and add it to the template table. "Quiz Show" allows you to organize an intellectual competition in the spirit of the TV show "Svoya Igra" (Je ne sais quiz) in an online class or in an offline classroom with an interactive whiteboard. Students are divided into teams, select questions based on their value, answer them, and earn points. Quiz Show differs from other formats in this category in that students answer verbally: the correct answers are shown on the screen, but the teacher records the result of the command (true or false).

• "Self Assessment" is another type of multiple-choice quiz, this time in the format of a personality questionnaire like "What Kind of Cat Are You?" There are no right or wrong answers; instead, each choice counts toward one of the predetermined outcomes. This lighthearted quiz can be used as an engaging exercise or when introducing participants at the beginning of a training session.

Random generators are tools that allow you to select specific elements from a given data set. These tools are widely used, for example, to determine the winner of a raffle among participants who fulfill certain conditions. They can also create random sequences, making them useful in a variety of fields, including statistics, games, and marketing. Using random generators increases the element of fairness and unpredictability in contests and promotions, ensuring transparency of the selection process.

• "Random Name Picker" randomly selects one name from a set, arranges names in random order, or distributes all students into groups (by the number of participants in a group or by the number of groups).
• "Randomizer" prompts you to enter data in several columns (up to ten) and randomly selects an element in each column independently of the others. You can add not only words, but also images.

Game mechanics make up These formats are based on these principles, but they can also be effectively used for didactic purposes, rather than purely for entertainment. The use of game elements in the educational process helps increase engagement and improve learning.

• "Matching Game" is a board with face-down cards that the player opens two at a time to find matching pairs (e.g., a term and definition, a date and an event, the name of an object and its image, a word in a foreign language and its translation). A robot voiceover is supported.
• "Connecto Game" is a tic-tac-toe-style game with unique rules. To place a mark on the board (different sizes are available), the player must correctly answer a question that is randomly selected from a pre-prepared question pool. It is possible to add an answer that opens on click, but there is no automatic checking: the student is expected to answer verbally, and the teacher marks whether it is correct or incorrect. Winning conditions are also left to the teacher's discretion, as the game will technically continue until the last filled square. An option can be enabled where players can only place their tokens in the bottommost unfilled row.
• "Board Game" — Participants take turns rolling a virtual die and moving their tokens across the board by the number of spaces they rolled. Questions and tasks can be placed on these spaces. There is also a deck from which a random card falls out when clicked: you can optionally place content on these cards (for example, additional information, difficult questions, or prizes).

• "Bingo" is a card with a field for playing "Bingo" or "lotto," which is filled with numbers or words. Each player receives a unique version—in the online version, a player's card is generated via a link; Flippity can also create the required number of unique printable cards. The presenter (teacher) names the elements in random order, and the players (lesson participants) mark them on their cards. The winner is the one who fills the field the fastest according to the rules (for example, the first to mark an entire row).
• WordMaster is similar to the very popular Wordle, in which you need to guess a five-letter word in six tries. The player enters the word, and the letters in it are highlighted in gray, yellow, or green. Gray means the given word doesn't contain the letter, yellow means the letter is correct but in a different position, and green means the same letter is in the same position in the target word.
• MadLibs is a digital version of a word game in which the host creates a story with missing elements and asks participants to fill in the blanks without showing them the text. The host then reads the story, which is often absurd and funny. To set up such a game on Flippity, you need to add text and mark the blanks, prompting participants for what exactly they should enter—for example, "name," "vehicle," "plural noun," "past tense verb." Once a participant has entered the words, Flippity will show the result. Russian is supported.
• "Snowman" is a Hangman-style game where you have to guess a word in several tries by entering letters one at a time; In this case, the player knows the number of letters in the word. When preparing the game, the teacher makes a list of words, chooses how incorrect attempts will be reflected (the snowman gradually melts, petals fall from the flower, and apples fall from the tree, the fuse of the cartoon bomb shortens), and, if desired, adds hints in the form of text, images, or video.

These formats are ideal for practicing specific skills and effectively reinforcing previously learned material. They will help deepen understanding of the topic and improve practical skills.

• "Manipulatives" is a minimalist field with words for dragging and dropping. This template does not provide instructions for the task and does not provide automatic checking of the result. It can be used for tasks like "collect concepts related to such-and-such a category" or "form a sentence from the words in the field that meets such-and-such requirements" - and observe how students cope with it right in the process.
• "Typing Tests" is a trainer that measures typing speed and accuracy, counting the number of correctly typed words per minute. Texts for checking are added when creating the trainer. It technically works with Cyrillic, but since the scoring mechanics are configured for English words, it's unclear how accurately the results are calculated in Russian.
• "Spelling Words" is an exercise in which the teacher creates sets of words (e.g., by topic, according to specific rules, for different students) and selects the audio language. By clicking on the exercise link, students will receive word lists and be able to listen to their pronunciation, practice writing, and then take a vocabulary dictation with automatic assessment of their results.

• "Group Game" is a task to group elements into categories. The teacher creates four sets of four words, which are then shuffled on the board. Students must sort them correctly—for example, by assigning words to parts of speech. It's important to provide students with clear instructions, as Flippity itself doesn't provide this, and even the category names aren't displayed on the page.
• "Timeline" is a timeline constructor, or chronological scale, that visually displays the sequence of events. Each time mark on the scale is accompanied by a pop-up card with a description of the event, to which an image, video, or link to an external resource can be added. The Flippity timeline turns into a "Put the Events in Order" activity with one click.

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Free timeline tools offer users the ability to visualize events and projects. These services make it easy to organize information chronologically, making them useful for educational purposes, event planning, and project management. Popular free platforms include Tiki-Toki, Time.Graphics, and Sutori. They offer a variety of templates and customizable features, allowing users to create unique timelines. Using these tools helps improve information comprehension and effectively present data. Choosing the right service depends on your needs and goals, so it's worth considering the functionality and usability of each.

These materials are not traditionally educational, but can be useful for lesson planning and organizing extracurricular activities. Their use can enrich the educational process and promote student development.

• "Tournament Bracket" is an interactive tournament bracket builder for holding knockout competitions. Participants for the first round are paired randomly or based on the order of names on the list. On the Flippity page, you can mark winners, thus creating pairs for subsequent rounds. A printable version is also available.
• "Progress Indicator" is a tool for visually displaying student progress on any quantitative metric. In a Google Sheet, the teacher creates a list of students, sets the minimum and maximum scale values ​​and units of measurement, and adds each student's results. The Flippity page will display multicolored individual progress bars that will update when changes are made to the table.
• "Badge Tracker" is a gamification tool that allows you to develop a system of badges—distinctive badges that students will receive for certain achievements. The teacher adds a list of students, creates a set of badges (they can upload their own images) with names and conditions for achieving them, and then assigns them to students. You can introduce levels for the badge, displayed as 1-3 stars, and also demonstrate the student's progress towards achieving it (using a scale from 0 to 1). And if you create a personal password or passphrase for each student, they will only be able to see their own badges.

• "Leaderboard" is another popular gamification tool. The teacher creates a list of students and a list of "events"—for example, assignments or activities—for which points are awarded. When evaluating student performance, the teacher enters points into a table, and Flippity generates an overall rating and ratings for specific activities or assignments. By clicking on a student's name, you can see exactly what they earned points for and how many.
• "Fun with Fonts" displays entered words in a variety of unusual fonts—for example, neon signs and sand prints; it also creates them from chemical element symbols or Lego pieces. However, this template does not support Cyrillic. And there's one more nuance: to use words to design posters or handouts, you need to take a screenshot, as you can't simply save the result as an image.
• A "Word Cloud" is a data visualization method that uses keywords to form a cluster. Simply enter the terms or names, and then optionally adjust the size for each word, select the font family, color scheme and font density, and background color. You can't directly save the result as an image, but you can take a screenshot.

Some file formats are designed exclusively for printing, while others allow students to open them via a link and work on their computers or smartphones. This makes them less flexible in use, as they are not suitable for digital work. Choosing the right format is important for the usability and accessibility of learning materials.

• "Word Search" is a game in which you need to find given words in a grid of letters. In addition to the word list, you can add questions or hints for students.
• "Crossword Puzzle" is a simple crossword generator from a word list. You can't choose the field configuration, nor can you specify a keyword consisting of the letters of other words.
• "Word Scramble" is where the teacher creates a word list, Flippity scrambles the letters, and students have to restore their correct spelling. If desired, you can add a key phrase made up of the letters from the guessed words.

Reading is an important aspect of personal growth and development. It helps to expand horizons, improve analytical skills and critical thinking. Books help deepen knowledge in various fields and inspire new ideas. It's important to choose quality literature that aligns with your interests and goals. Regular reading not only develops mental abilities but also strengthens your emotional state, allowing you to better cope with stress. Don't forget to share your discoveries with others; this can help spark engaging discussions and knowledge sharing. We've compiled a collection of worksheet builders and generators to assist teachers and tutors in preparing lesson materials. These tools allow you to create customized worksheets tailored to student needs. Using these builders, you can easily create assignments, tests, and exercises, significantly simplifying the learning process. Effective use of these resources helps increase student engagement and improve learning outcomes. Browse our list to find the right tools for your lessons and tutoring sessions.

How to Create a Timeline from a Google Sheet with Flippity

In this article, we'll look at how to use Flippity and Google Sheets to create a timeline based on the provided template. The workflow remains the same for creating various materials; only the cell contents will change. Don't forget that you'll need a Google account to use the app, so it's recommended that you sign in to your account beforehand.

On the Flippity main page, select the desired format - "Timeline" (Flippity Timeline). Then click the "Instructions" button for more information.

The instructions that open will contain a link to the spreadsheet template, as well as instructions for filling it out. We recommend using your browser's automatic page translation feature to translate the instructions into Russian.

By clicking the link highlighted in yellow, Google will provide the option to copy the spreadsheet to your account. To do this, click the "Create a copy" button.

In the table on the tab The Timeline displays the contents of the timeline. Each element has a separate column, allowing you to easily organize and visualize information. This provides easy access to data and simplifies the analysis of time-based events.

• Year, Month, Day — year, month, and day respectively. It is important to note that the month is indicated by a number, not a name. Also, Flippity cannot display periods — in this case, you need to create two separate marks for the beginning and end of an event.
• Headline — the name of the event.
• Description — a description of the event that will open the card when you click on the name.
• Color — the color of the event mark on the timeline.
• Media — a link to an image or YouTube video, allowing you to attach it to the description.
• Credit — an indication of the source of the media content.
• Link — a link to an external resource, which is also attached to the event card.

The timeline can be designed in a minimalist format, since to create it you only need to indicate the year and name of the event. The remaining data is optional and can be added as desired. This approach allows us to focus on key points and makes the information more accessible. Minimalism in the timeline design improves the user experience and effectively presents important events in chronological order. After analyzing the table structure, we'll remove the contents of the Timeline tab to create space for our content. Please note: the blue cells cannot be deleted or edited, as this may disrupt the template. This rule applies to all Flippity templates.

Now you need to fill the cells with the relevant content. This example shows the publication chronology of Fyodor Dostoevsky's novels. The title of the material displayed on the finished Flippity page corresponds to the title of the first tab (Timeline) and can be changed as desired.

Years, titles, and event descriptions should be straightforward, as they are standard text. However, some other data may present some challenges.

• Months (the Month column), which are indicated as numbers in the table, will be displayed in English by default in the finished timeline. To change this, go to the Options tab and in the Setting column replace the English names with Russian ones - exactly as they are written in the template, that is, separated by commas and without spaces: "January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December."

• The default color of event markers (Color column) is white. To change it, enter the name of one of the basic HTML colors in English (red, blue, yellow, green, etc.) or a hexadecimal code (HEX) like #DC143C in the corresponding cell. You can use, for example, this palette with codes.
• An image (Media column) can only be added as a direct link (URL) to a file on the Internet - that is, it must begin with http:// and end with the extension .jpg, .png, .gif, or .webp. To get such a link, open the webpage containing the desired image (for example, on Wikipedia), right-click the image, and select "Copy image URL" from the menu (the wording may vary across browsers, but the idea is the same). This method may also work when searching for images in Google or Yandex. Unfortunately, links to cloud storage services such as Google Drive or Yandex Drive will not work. If you want to add your own image to the material, you will need to upload it to a hosting service that supports direct links. Flippity's developer recommends the free service Postimages.
• Flippity only plays videos (also in the Media column) from YouTube links, which is unlikely to be a suitable option for users in Russia. While preparing this guide, links to Rutube and VK Video were tested, and they did not work. Alternatively, you can share a video on a topic with students using the Link column—adding a video link there will open it in a new browser tab.

After adding data, you'll need to publish the spreadsheet to see the results. Although there's no preview feature, you can make changes to the spreadsheet at any time after publishing. These changes will appear on the Flippity page after a five-minute delay.

In the main Google Sheets menu, go to "File," then select "Share," and then click "Publish to the Web." This process will allow you to make your spreadsheets accessible to a wider audience online.

Opens A window with publishing settings. There is no need to change them, as the default is to publish the entire document as a web page, which is ideal for use in Flippity.

Click the "Publish" button, confirm your decision and copy the generated link.

The final step is to insert the resulting link into the appropriate cell of our template. This cell is located on the "Get the Link Here" tab. and highlighted in green.

When the link to the published table is placed in the desired cell, an additional link to the finished timeline on the Flippity platform will automatically appear below it.

Now you can familiarize yourself with final result, make the necessary adjustments and share the material with students.

Finished The feed can be used for the "Arrange Events in Order" exercise. To do this, click the Activity button on the page with the material. This exercise helps develop logical thinking and sequencing skills, making it a useful learning tool.

In this exercise, students must drag and drop events and arrange them in the correct chronological order. After completing the task, click the check mark to verify the result. This activity helps develop critical thinking skills and understanding of time sequences.