Edmodo: Keeping Your Class Connected Online

By Andrea Dennis

Melissa Smith

EDUC 5553

Prof. Scott Parks

29 May 2012

Table of Contents

Introduction……………..……………..… Page 3

What is Edmodo?…………………..…… Page 4

History………………………….………...… Page 5

Required Materials …………………… Page 5

How to use Edmodo………..………… Page 6

Safety & Security……………………… Page 10

Pros and Cons……………………….… Page 11

Resources…………………………….… Page 12

Introduction

Students are able to connect with others, share information and interact with people anywhere and anytime through the many different forms of social media available. Facebook and Twitter have become major tools for sharing information quickly with a wide group of people. While such social media sites have their faults and precautions have to be taken in regards to what is posted on these sites, they are convenient tools for connecting with others quickly and easily. With the increasing use of technology in the classroom social media would make it easy for students to quickly and easily access classroom resources outside of the classroom and be able to communicate with their teacher regarding school matters. Since the use of popular social media sites in the classroom is prohibited, there are other mediums that have similar features and are safer to use. One particular site that would be a useful classroom resource is Edmodo. There are many ways Edmodo can be incorporated into the classroom. The method we used was to create a class website that students and teachers can use to share work, assignments, grades, and even offer parental access to the site.

What is Edmodo?

Edmodo is available for free to teachers and students to create an account and join secure groups, upload work and assignments, access class materials and communicate and collaborate easily with peers and teachers. Edmodo offers the familiarity in terms of design and function to that of a Facebook page. Teachers and students can create individual profiles, although not to the full detail of a Facebook profile, as well as create and join different groups, which are secured with a key that users must have in order to join. Teachers can create a group for their class, and create subgroups within that group to allow students to communicate with the other students in a smaller group for assignments. Anyone in the group can write on the wall of the group or send direct messages. Calendars are automatically created within student profiles to notify them of upcoming due dates and assignments. There is a Library section on the page for students to post links to resources, materials, or document that they found useful and they can access them on this page each time they sign in. You can create a poll for your students on any decisions regarding assignments or activities and you can make and post a quiz on the group wall as well. Teachers can grade work right on the site, and students will receive instantly receive the grade. Edmodo allows students to gain skills of working online, collaborating with others, and learning independently. Having an online class group also allows students to build and access a wealth of resources. To recognize positive student work and dedication, teachers can reward good work by awarding students with badges. They can choose from the pre-created Edmodo badges or create more specific ones and send them to specific students. These badges will then appear the student’s profile.

History of Edmodo

Edmodo is a new tool and is listed on Bloom’s Taxonomy of Web 2.0 tools. This resource allows students and teachers to create an electronic learning community. Edmodo has become a popular resource since 2010. Two technologists living in Chicago, Nicolas Borg and Jeff O’Hara created Edmodo and it has been developed and changed over the past few years.

Required Materials

To set up a class Edmodo group you need to ensure that all students have access to an e-mail account that they can use to set up their own accounts and join the Edmodo group. Students need a computer to with Internet access in order to sign into Edmodo. There is also an app available for Edmodo so students can download and access the group on their phones or tablets. Once an account has been set up, documents, links, and other materials can be uploaded to the group.

How to Use Edmodo

· Setting Up

1. Go to the following link www.edmodo.com

2. Select whether you are a student or teacher and enter the required information to finish setting up an account

3. On the Home page you can search for other people or groups you are looking to join (you will need to be provided with the code from the creator of the group). If you are a teacher then you can create a new group. Once that group is created you will be provided with a code that you will have to give to those looking to join.

4. Create a profile by clicking on the “Profile” tab in the top right hand corner

· Things You Can Do

1. Create subgroups for students to work together in smaller groups on a task. For example in literature circles for each novel and have students discuss and share information within their groups.

2. Upload assignments, documents, links, import Google docs, create poll questions and quizzes, post messages on the group wall or send direct messages to specific individuals, award badges to individual students

3. Can be used for any discipline and there are a variety of projects and assignments you could have students do online.

4. Posting/Sharing Student Work-students can simply share something they did in class or a separate project that they are proud of

5. Complete assignments with students in other classes, schools, countries: Teachers could have students in their class complete group projects with another teachers class. This is an easy way to connect with students elsewhere to gain a wider perspective on their topic

6. Post lesson plans and assignments for supply teachers.

7. Have students respond to discussion questions

8. Open groups for informal discussion on areas of difficulty: students can post questions about any difficulties they are experiencing and have their peers and/or the teacher provide assistance.

9. Join or create “communities” so you can network with teachers around the world and share ideas and resources.

There are many more specific examples of ways Edmodo has been used on the main Edmodo blog and the Edmodo Teacher’s Hub wikispace (links provided in reference section)

Safety/Security of Edmodo

Edmodo has been promoted as a secure means of online learning and communication for students and teachers. Some of the security features have already been mentioned in this module. To repeat, the groups are secure and can only be accessed by those that you as the teacher give the code to in order for them to join. One concern raised about safety and security was the issue of cyber bullying. On Edmodo, students cannot privately message other students or post anonymous messages as they all have a username. Only the teacher can send direct messages to individual students, everything else posted by anyone in the group can be seen by all memebers.

Pros and Cons

· Pros: Easily accessible; secure; classes can become “paperless” by posting assignments and having students post completed work on the page; students can take responsibility for some of their own learning by collaborating with others and researching information; project-based learning and group work becomes easier because students can work together even when they are not in the same place; using Edmodo allows students to acquire useful collaboration and digital skills; promotes media literacy as students will be encouraged to find and assess good sources of information; improves literacy—students are posting their work on a site where their peers and teachers can see their work so they should be taking the time to review spelling and grammar before posting; this site can be used across the curriculum for topics in any school subject

· Cons: Be considerate and prepared for the fact that not all students will have access to technology outside of the classroom. When creating an account, anyone can sign up as a teacher as there is no screening or specific identifying questions to ensure those signing up are actually teachers. Precautions can be taken by only giving students and colleagues the code to join the group and by instructing all the students to create clear usernames that identify who they are when creating accounts. Majority of creating the page and what is uploaded is done by the teacher, which can make set-up and updates tedious. Teachers need to remind students, just as in completing non-electronic assignments, to cite sources used.

References/Useful Links

“Edmodo”. Wikipedia. Accessed 26 May 2012 fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmodo.

“Edmodo Blog”. Edmodo-Safe Social Networking for Schools | A Secure Social LearningNetwork for K12 Education. Accessed 26 May 2012 fromhttp://blog.edmodo.com/

Edmodo Teacher’s Hub. Accessed 25 May 2012 fromhttp://edmodoteacherhub.wikispaces.com/

Guzman, Angela. (2012). “Edmodo and Student NETS”. International Society forTecnology in Education. Accessed 25 May 2012 fromhttp://www.iste.org/connect/iste-connects/blog-detail/12-0328/Edmodo_and_Student_NETS.aspx

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