In the fall semester of 2016, Syracuse University professor, Kivanç Avrenli, was teaching his statistics class and noticed something wrong with the picture. “I saw one student constantly on his phone,” he said, describing how the behavior got him thinking. “That student was wasting his time — he was wasting his investment. You’re there to learn, and he wasn’t learning.”

Flipd is a platform that helps reduce digital distractions and phone use during class. Not surprisingly, however, educators using Flipd have discovered that it can also help shape and change behavior well beyond the lecture hall. One such person is Dr. Alicia Drais-Parrillo, a psychology professor at Penn State University, who has been using Flipd with hundreds of students for the last three semesters and closely observing its impact.

After countless hours at the whiteboard, many iterations, and an intensive look into the soul of Flipd, our team has emerged with a fresh and energizing new brand. We're excited to finally reveal it to you, our loyal community because, honestly, it's all for you. 

Finals alert! Here's some study inspiration 💡 At Flipd, we value balance — so if Instagram is what inspires you to get into flow, then all the power to you. On the other hand, if scrolling away on social media isn't inspiring you, it can be nothing more than a major time suck. So why not follow the best #Studygram accounts to get your thinking juices flowing? We've got you covered.

Stewart Reynolds, better known as Brittlestar, has the dream job. A social media celebrity with over 400 million views of his content, the suburban father of two teen boys has created viral video videos for brands like Disney, ESPN, Subway, Walmart, KFC, and numerous others. As the self-titled (and well-deserved) "Internet's Favorite Dad", Brittlestar quite literally eats and breathes the internet.

What’s the first thing you see in the morning? Is it your spouse or your pet? The sun? If you’re like most people, you’re probably awoken by a phone, vibrating within arm’s reach, its alarm blaring at you that it’s time to wake up. For you, and many of us, the very first thing our eyes will adjust to is that small screen and all of the shiny new treats it has to share. But if this is indeed the relationship you have with your phone, then ask yourself — How healthy is it?

Every new year, media tends to focus on weight loss and a healthier you — gyms offer up free membership trials and weight watching ads saturate our news feeds, all while mental health awareness takes a back seat. But as we've discovered after the first few days of 2018, it's become increasingly important to pay attention to our mental health as much as our physical health. 

According to a 2016 study by Flurry Mobile, the average person spends a total of 5 hours a day on their smartphone. Considering many of us work or attend school for a large portion of the day already, this is a significant (and alarming) amount of time.

Award-winning educator, speaker, and business-brain expert, Dr. Brynn Winegard, is a professor who advocates for the importance of real deep learning in the classroom. To Dr. Brynn, learning is a lot more than just writing notes — it's a process that takes significant effort, focus, and even physical exertion that leave little room for distractions. In this article, Dr. Brynn explains why she chooses not to use technology in her classroom and expects that her students put pens to paper instead.