Monday, September 6, 2010

BP4_Edmodo


I found an outstanding Web 2.0 tool called Edmodo, which I plan to use for my AR project.  Edmodo is a powerful tool for interacting with students and sharing information and assignments.  Upon entering the site, there is an easy to follow video tutorial, which allows teachers to quickly set up an account and create a group.  The site allows teachers to distribute a code for student access and student emails are optional.  After creating a group, teachers simply invite students and give them the access code.  On the home page, there is a post bubble and instructors can choose to post an alert, assignment or poll.  You can choose to send to an individual, multiple individuals, groups or multiple groups.  Assignments can be created or uploaded from a file on the instructor’s computer.  When students post a reply it is date tagged and facilitators can reply individually or publicly and add a tag or filter for later organization.  Choose options like email, text or twitter to get notifications.  The site allows the management of multiple groups.  Teachers can organize messages using the tags and filters to save time in later retrieval.  The system includes a gradebook to easily track student progress.  Teachers can connect with other teachers to share ideas through the site as well.  The group page even has a calendar so that students can keep track of assignments and a library to consolidates links sent to the group.  The site is simple enough to easily manage information yet offers enough features to be useful.  I have used similar platforms offered by the school district but had difficulty with students handling the complexity of the system and with student access problems.  Frequently, students forgot the N# assigned to them and occasionally numbers were deleted or did not work.  With this site, everyone has the same access code and students can easily access the system from any other computer.  The site is easy to understand and eliminates the frustration of hunting for information and assignments.

8 comments:

  1. Since we are considering this for our igoogle assignment I decided to check you out. This sounds almost identical to the new website that my school purchased through New Technology Network. Ours is called ECHO. It does all of this as well. As well, our learning outcomes (new grading system) that we have decided on, will allow us to evaluate each student universally. That is, I can pull up a student and see how he is being graded on the learning outcomes by all of his teachers. This will allow a more complete profile of each student. I will be able to see where individual strengths are as well as identify areas of concern as identified by all teachers.

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  2. Hi Melissa,

    This Web 2.0 tool looks incredible! My AR project revolves around adult learners who are coming back to college to get their undergraduate degrees. They are very timid around technology and would rather use their pencils and paper for everything. The theory of Andragogy revolves around the adult learners’ need to know things like the why and how something will be useful to them. This Web 2.0 tool is set up perfectly to entice them by presenting the introductory video immediately.

    Thanks for sharing. I can’t wait to see how this tool works for you!
    Mary-Ann

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  3. Edmodo seems like a really nice tool. It actually reminds me of the tool I found. It is called Schoology. Its free and have some of the same features. I just signed up for it and am waiting for my confirmation so that I can test it. Our school system is very tight with the network. Have a question...Does this site grade the assignments that are loaded by the teacher? I like the fact that it allows you to share information with other teachers. If I run into a snag with my school system then I may try this one.

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  4. Thank you to everyone for your comments. Dena, from what I can tell, Edmodo allows you to post and assignment and sent the post to the group. Students in the group can then submit the assignments. Once graded by the teacher, you can post the grades to a gradebook.

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  5. Edmodo seems really useful and has a user-friendly interface. I like that its a free service and that anyone can log on from any computer. It is also a helpful feature that assignments can be made private. Thanks for the great research and sharing. I think that Edmodo might be something that I can use, even as a corporate trainer.

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  6. This tool looks very enticing to use as well as others I have seen. I am like Mary-Ann in which I am also involved in Adult Education but from a technical point of view in the Oil & Gas Industry. I echo her comment in that adults want to know how something will be useful to them in their working environments in completing a task or increasing production. I will love to see how this tool works for you.

    Thanks,

    Manny

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  7. Yes, yes, yes! That is the answer Edmodo gives to most of my technologically challenged teachers! Like you, my district has set up a Hand In/ Hand Out system, but it is very confusing. This tool seems much easier. Edmodo is great also because it can be accessed anywhere- why stay after school grading a paper when you can read it at home or on your phone at a cafe? I will be sharing this tool with my fellow teachers!!!

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  8. Edmodo sounds really interesting. I like the interaction between students and teachers and the grade book aspect. I would be very interested in using it, but I think it is way above the students I teach at the moment. It looks like Edmodo is geared more for the older student. I teach at the elementary level, with my class consisting mainly of resource and very low students. This tool would be great for the student that is more mature and responsible and can use the computer on an independent level. I am going to keep it in my iGoogle for the future. Thanks for finding it.

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