What is Edmodo?
Edmodo is an educational website that takes the ideas of a social network and refines them and makes it appropriate for a classroom. Using Edmodo, students and teachers can reach out to one another and connect by sharing ideas, problems, and helpful tips. The teacher can assign and grade work on Edmodo; students can get help from the entire class, and participate in discussions 24/7. A student that is absent one day, can easily log on and review not only the content that was/is being presented, but interact with the class in real time. Students also have access to pretty much all class materials, documents, simulations, articles, etc. by logging on and perusing what is posted.Is Edmodo safe?
Yes. There is no bullying or inappropriate content, because the teacher can see everything that is posted on Edmodo. Inappropriate behavior is easily corrected by setting the student to read only, which allows him/her to still interact with the teacher and assignments, while limiting postings to the group.How do I use Edmodo in the classroom?
I use Edmodo in the classroom in a variety of ways:
- Assignments: Almost all of our learning opportunities have been digitized in some way. Students will log on to Edmodo, and check for assignments. In their assignments, they will be given a link to their project details (including entry documents, due date(s), tasks, processes and rubrics).
As they progress through the assignment, students are able to post interesting things they find, comments, struggles and victories, and myself and the class can provide feedback and guidance. Once the project is completed, the students can turn in the digital copy of their work to the assignment for grading. As the work is graded, the students receive a digital copy of the rubric, and, depending on the assignment, can access an annotated copy of the work for further development.
- Quizzes: Edmodo allows me to create quizzes to share with the students. The student complete a quiz, and get their grades immediately (if it can be scored automatically), and I am able to provide personalized feedback. If the student is absent, he/she can take the quiz at home.
- Communication: This is probably the most exciting feature. Edmodo allows me and the students to communicate with each other, and continue class conversations outside of class. Whenever I find additional curriculum related materials (videos, simulations, etc.) that I think may help the students understand the concepts better, I post links with a note on how it may help the student (particularly helpful if a student is absent). If a student finds something of interest to their project or for someone else's project, they can also post it as a note. All students can then interact with all materials without having to go on random searches on their own.
- Digital Libraries: Students can create digital libraries (called backpacks) for housing the content they find online.
Can parents have Edmodo accounts?
Yes. Here is a link that gives details on Edmodo Parent accounts. It is worth noting that a student can and should have their own Edmodo account. Parent accounts are linked to their particular student(s), and parents cannot post to the classroom or even to their own students.
