I think Edmodo is a pretty awesome site. It is a free educational/professional social network that brings teachers/students/parents together. It is a great resource to help students reach their full potential. I can join different communities that spark my interest or join communities that tie into my curriculum, and I can share and collobrate information with other teachers all over the world.
EDMODO
lets me set up groups for my students and lock the groups for their safety. I love that I can do this, which is a big difference compared to blogging. Edmodo also provides the opportunity for students to contribute in collaborative discussions. The discussion can include images, videos, and link. A feature I would like Edmodo to add is the ability to reply to a specific comment like you can in blogs. It can be a bit time consuming having to write a reply to someone who wrote something 10 comments back.
There is also an assignment and grade book section. I really don't have use for this yet because I do not give grades in my class but I love how it could be used as a class management system. My students last year really loved the file sharing, which is very easy with Edmodo.
I can also create polls and quizzes to check for understanding on the material that I taught. There is also a
Library/Backpack. For teachers, it’s called Library and for students it is called the Backpack. Either way, it offers an easy to use file uploading and storing system, which is handy when you do work at home or school and want to continue it at the other location.
There is also a motivation award system through badges. Badges won't be everyone’s cup of tea. Kids love earning the badges that are animated! You can create your own, but it’s a lot easier to just grab badges already created by other Edmodo teachers. I’ve collected over a 100 of them from my connections. It is a great way to encourage or acknowledge student efforts you can simply select their name in your class list, select a badge and award it to the students!!
Click Here to Try Edmodo!!!
I really like the idea of Edmodo. I have several teacher friends that use it in their classrooms, all the way from 3rd to 12th grade. My husband is a 4th grade teacher, and uses it in his classroom, as well. The students love it, as they use it for so many different things. They can discuss topics, send a message to the teacher to ask a question or make a comment (all privately done), and can even take quizzes on the site. I think the badges are great for younger students. Obviously, this will be less enticing as they grow up, but I say use what you can while you can!
ReplyDeleteBeing a teacher grades 3-5, students really love it because it is like Facebook but for school. I can lock the groups so that way it is just for them! I think if I had an older grade, I would probably try to have students try to create badges that I could use. For example, think of an idea and write in MS Word. Then find a picture and copy and paste it to word. Then save this information to their student drive or flash drive. I think a lot of students love creating things that could be used. But then again I could be wrong about the older kids. I definitely know that Elementary is my calling<3
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I love your blog! It is so cheerful and fun. I can tell you love your students and teaching. I adore edmodo as well! Isn't it awesome how one website can span so many age levels in education? Students can relate to its look and design. In the past, when I introduced my students to it they always said "it looks like facebook." My only challenge with using Edmodo were the students without computer access at home (yes, there are still homes without internet). I worked out a system with the librarians to allow students to use a specific computer during the lunches and before school.
ReplyDeleteJulie,
ReplyDeleteI have used Edmodo and the students really like it. The function that benefits me as a teacher most is the ability to sign on if I'm out of school to check the progress of assignments being completed. That may sound a like I'm out a lot but I am also varsity girls golf coach in our district and our competitions usually occur during school hours thus during golf season I need the ability beyond notes from subs to stay up with my students work. The students like it and it benefits me as well - win/win.
Ghamm- I think having these internet opportunities is helpful especially for educators in your situation where you give your time to coaching, which is awesome. It gives you the opportunity to still stay in touch with your students even though you left early to coach.
DeleteI use Edmodo and the students love it. The benefit I like most is my ability to sign on and see my students progress when I am out of class. This happens frequently during golf season as I am the Varsity girls golf coach at the high school. Our competitions usually happens during school hours. The students like it and it benefits me as well - win/win
ReplyDeleteThanks A.J for the great feedback! This being my first blogging experience, you helped make me assure myself that my blog looked fun and cheerful! I am not sure if I would use a blog for all my 522 students because of the monitoring issues, but if I had maybe one grade level then I would consider a blog. What I like about BlogSpot is it provides items that you can add to your page to make it more personal, such as a fish tank or pictures. I think students would love adding things like that! You are right about not all students have internet at home. Being a computer teacher, I allow all students to get on Edmodo the last ten minutes or so of class. Seeing your high school, it was a great idea to work out a system with the librarians! Great thinking:)
ReplyDelete