Campfire Session — Study Abroad

Learn about Flint's recent product updates for the month of April, including learning reports, grade customization, and a personalized home page.

Jacob Edington, Head of Customer Success at Flint

In this Campfire session, Jacob (our Head of Customer Success and former Study Abroad Advisor) explores how Flint can support the full study abroad journey, from application all the way through post-trip reflection.

We covered:

• 🗣️ Using Sparky to create conversational student applications with a discreet rubric system
• ❓Building a Q&A hub where students (and parents) can ask trip-related questions anytime
• 📍Designing in-country activities that replace paper museum packets with real-time, AI-guided exploration
• 💬 Crafting post-trip reflection assignments that go deeper than a standard essay
• 📈 Using Flint's group analytics to track student progress and surface key info (allergies, missing work, etc.)
• 🚌 How chat with Sparky can help staff plan itineraries, find restaurants, and generate trip documents from scratch
• 👀 A look at Flint's new folders feature for organizing group content

All activities shown are available in the Flint Public Library, so you can duplicate them and make them your own!

Slides from the presentation can be found here.

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Introduction • 00:00

• Jacob introduces the session and credits Adam from Nightingale Bamford School for sparking the idea
• Jacob shares his background as both a former history teacher and university study abroad advisor

Why study abroad? • 01:10

• Flint isn't just a teacher-student tool — staff members across campus can use it too
• Study abroad and service learning trips present a unique opportunity to use Flint beyond the traditional classroom

Flint activities for study abroad • 02:55

• Overview of the four stages Flint can support: applications, pre-trip prep, in-country assignments, and post-trip reflection
• Jacob shares that his master's thesis focused on reverse culture shock, highlighting why the return experience matters

Flint walkthrough • 04:45

• Jacob demonstrates how he used Sparky in chat to build out trip materials, including itineraries, packing guides, and FAQs for a hypothetical Paris art history trip
• Shows how staff can plan entire trips conversationally with Sparky before ever building a single activity

Groups in Flint • 09:30

• Groups function as a central hub for all trip-related activities and materials
• Introduction of Flint's new folders feature, allowing staff to organize activities by trip phase (application, pre-trip, in-country, post-trip)
• Group-level analytics let coordinators ask Sparky questions like "which students are missing work?" or "who has a peanut allergy?"

Q&A hub activity • 10:51

• A pre-loaded resource hub where students and parents can ask questions about the trip at any time
• Staff upload trip documents (itinerary, flight info, packing guide, health & safety) and Sparky answers questions directly from that content
• Can be used before applications open as an interest and information resource

Your personal art guide at the Louvre activity • 14:40

• Students can type in or photograph a painting and receive real-time information from Sparky about the artwork
• Louvre map is uploaded so Sparky can give directions to specific galleries or exhibits
• Replaces the traditional paper museum packet with an interactive, conversational experience
• Can be set to voice mode so students explore hands-free with headphones
• Works on mobile via app.flintk12.com with museum Wi-Fi

Key benefits of Flint for study abroad • 19:33

• Real-time insight into how students are feeling and engaging, even if they wouldn't share openly with trip leaders
• Reduces administrative burden for coordinators managing documents, deadlines, and logistics
• Scales whether you're managing one trip or many, and whether you're a solo coordinator or part of a larger team

Conclusion and Q&A • 20:49

• All activities from this session are available in the Flint Public Library — duplicate and customize for your own trip
• Andrew asks about mobile access for the Louvre activity — Jacob confirms it works via browser on any device
• Jacob demos a live chat with Sparky to build a two-week Great Britain itinerary on the spot

_Have a use case you'd like us to cover in a future Campfire? Reach out and let us know!