Sharing is a vital part of learning and collaboration. It’s something that was built in to iOS 7 via AirDrop. But, the use of AirDrop is limited to iPhone 5 or later, the 4th generation iPad, iPad mini, and 5th generation iPod Touch. What can we use for quick sharing if we have other iOS devices where AirDrop is not an option?

I recently came across an app called Flick and have been using it on my iPad and iPhone – it’s also available for Android devices. Its simple user interface will help you begin sharing quickly with other devices where the Flick app is also installed. Here’s what you’ll need to know to get started:

The Flicktop

This is where you’ll place the items to be shared. You have options to use your camera to take a photo or access your Photo Library, share Contacts, or type on a sticky note – just tap on the appropriate icon to see your choices. In the Settings, you can decide whether or not to keep the items on your own Flicktop after sharing with others or delete images after saving. I like the option to keep items after flicking. You can always choose to delete later by tapping one time on any item on your Flicktop.

Using “Open In Another App” to Share

What about documents that you’d like to share with others? For this, you’ll use the “Open in another app” feature found when using the Share button from most apps. For instance, I tested this in Pages, Keynote, Numbers and Notability – this is a feature that should be available in a number of other apps as well. It will also work from the Google Drive app on your device.

First, open the Google Drive app and locate the file you want to share.

1. Tap on the “i” button on the thumbnail of the file.
2. Tap on “Open in…”
3. Swipe through the apps listed to select “Open in Flick.”

The last step takes you immediately back to the Flick app.

Google Docs and Slides (Presentation) are shared as PDF’s providing students with a read-only view of those types of files.

To share Google Sheets or a Google Form, you would need to do a work around:

1. Tap on the “i” button on the thumbnail of the file.
2. Tap on “Get Link.” This copies the link to the clipboard.
3. In Flick, open a sticky note and paste the link then broadcast the note to the class.
4. Students will copy the link from the shared note then paste it into the web browser to access the file.

Sharing Options

With an item on your Flicktop, you have two options for sharing.

1. Share to a single device: Swipe through the connected devices at the top. When a device’s name comes to the center, you’ll notice that the name is highlighted. Simple “flick” the item upward to that device.
2. Share to all connected devices: From your Flicktop, tap one time on the item to be shared. This reveals a menu of options. Tap on Broadcast and the item is sent to everyone immediately.

Classroom Applications

• Flick a note with the learning goals for the lesson to your students as the class begins.
• Ask a question to prompt prior knowledge at the beginning of a lesson. Students will answer the question by flicking a note only to your device. With your device connected to a projector, you’ll be able to show all responses and discuss.
• Flick an image to your students that’s related to the content you’re studying. Students will tap one time on the image they receive from you, choose Save to add it to their Photos. Once it’s in Photos, it can be used in any app that accesses your photos. For example, it can be added to an Evernote note, opened in the Skitch app for annotation, used in the ThingLink app so they can tag what they notice in the image, added to the Edmodo library, inserted into an Educreations project and much more.
• Use it as an exit ticket for students to answer a question or summarize their learning at the end of class.
• Keep in mind that you can see all connected devices at all times. This is important for class management and means that, if you ask your students to close the Flick app so you can move on with the lesson, you’ll be able to check that they’ve all done so.
• Giving a mobile device a “name” can be an important step in setting up for sharing so that you’ll be able to identify the individual devices to which items are being shared as well as the devices that have the Flick app open.

How would you use Flick with mobile devices in your classroom?