Edmodo: Social Networking and the K-12 Classroom

[C.J. McHugh]

Basically, I want to know.... 1. Whether or not you would consider
using Edmodo with your classes or not, and why? 2. How are some
teachers using Edmodo? 3. What do you like and don't you like about
it? 4. And finally a brief explanation of one of the Edmodo functions
and the steps of how to use that function. (For example, if you can
use it to posts assignments, tell me how)

[claire grace]

I spent yesterday afternoon and last night reviewing and learning
about Edmodo. I had heard of Edmodo earlier this year; I had to post
it on my homework email for my 6th grade homeroom (Even though I teach
6-8 English, I post all subjects for homework for my 6th grade
homeroom). Since I was posting it under gym homework for the PE
teacher, I just assumed it was some PE link for our gym teacher to do
'health' questions. It never occurred to me that it was for all
subjects. I learned something last night! I also found out that our
4th grade teacher was listed for our school. Needless to say, I have
contacted her through Edmodo to see what she did with this program.
I’m still waiting for a response. The public middle school in our area
- they were listed, too - is also using Edmodo,
When it was first introduced in January this year, I remember the
PE teacher taking heat from some parents who thought it was like
Facebook. (I always love
how some people 'kick and fuss' before they do any research). I
remember he sent out a second letter which explained in full detail
the purpose of the assignments and for the parents to please visit the
page. After that, it was fully accepted. So, now that he blazed the
trail, I should be able to incorporate it.
The 21st century classroom is definitely geared towards
technology, and by being able to have students utilize something that
is so similar and has the appeal of other social networking entities,
provides unlimited opportunities for the learning arena. The best part
is that is teacher controlled; no one from outside the class can
intervene providing a wonderful safety net.
I was impressed with the fact that there was a 5 min 'how to’
demonstration in simple terminology. The preview on the help page
provided a simple overview, and it demonstrated how user friendly it
was to view a video. The perspectives on ‘getting set up and
comfortable’ were well done bullet points that covered all aspects in
an easy to understand manner. To Edmodo’s credit is the opportunity
which they provide by offering Webinars on Aug. 9th and 6th at 4 p.m.
I know that I shall be tuning in to this instructional segment.
Another plus are the directions for students that can be printed and
handed out in class to help them get started –the hard part has been
done!- just print and get started. I recommend doing this, so there
is no question that they couldn’t remember what to do once they
arrived home.
Speaking of arriving home and not remembering something…I have
one particular grade that always claims they don’t know when a test
will be occurring. I love the calendar function. I can add this on to
where I post their homework. I can now select the calendar view from
the top of the Edmodo home page. Then, I can add an event by clicking
on a desired day and proceed to describe the activity or test and
content material. Next, I can send event details to an individual
student or group so that the event will show up in their calendar
view. To remove an activity I’ve created, I simply click on the event
and hit the delete button. Viola! No more “we never knew there was
test today!” Of course, if they don’t check homework, this could
still be a problem.
The language arts video example focused on a literature
assignment from Tuck Everlasting; I thought about how I could
incorporate this into grammar, punctuation or my writing class. I do
not teach any of the literature aspects of language arts; however, a
few different lessons came to mind since last night. First, I could
use an upcoming excerpt from one of the books covered in lit class by
my grade partner. For punctuation skills it would be simple enough to
transfer a paragraph to a Jing video or Voicethread and have students
view and post the corrections. I could do this with different groups
assigned on different homework nights. Next, for grammar there could
be a quick review of a previously learned skill; this would eliminate
utilizing valuable class time and I could see which student still
needs remediation. This is something I can check on my
I Phone while I sit at the pool for my son’s high school 2 hours swim
practices every night -no more toting messy papers and trying to write
on a bleacher! There is an app to download available for Iphone,
Blackberry, and Droid users on the Edmodo site. Being able to just
have a cell phone to carry with me will be a real time saver. Lastly,
the same concept applies for my 6th grade writing class. Early on, I
work with topic sentence writing skills. I will be able to post a
subject, and students can then enter their topic sentence on the
answer section. Again, this is something I can check on my phone from
any activity location after school hours. Best of all, no extra
papers –another tree is granted a stay of execution! Go green! I bet
Al Gore loves Edmodo!
I noted that some teachers use it for more than posting
assignments, homework, and answering questions. Many teachers have
also employed the site for posting grades. Although this not a concept
that my school would sanction, I can definitely see the benefit of a
student seeing their grade quickly.
The co-teaching opportunity is a great concept. When I teach
expository writing in 8th grade, I demonstrate using a Black Holes 5
paragraph essay. Within the same week, our science teacher instructs
from Nasa’s Black Hole program, which I brought back from Penn State
last year when I attended Nasa’s Black Hole course. This parallel
teaching idea has definitely been embraced by both students and
parents. So this is an area that will work for both of us and the lit
teacher in the upcoming year. Moreover, the library feature is great
to save one’s work-no point in recreating the wheel! On this same
wave length is the ‘community’ opportunity where teachers from other
schools, states, etc. can give input and advice on posted lessons- a
very cool yet productive advancement in education.
In conclusion, Edmodo is a wonderful educational tool for both
teachers and students. Multiple applications, such as answering a
teacher’s questions, checking in with another classmates as to when an
assignment is due, (yes, this cuts down on ringing telephones in the
home after dinner!) or simply checking on the comprehension of newly
taught lesson are available with Edmodo. If a student was absent, they
can check in to see what happened in class. After an in depth review
of this system, I can’t really come up with a negative. There are
plethora of exceptional, interactive features that can be employed by
an educator to promote and reinforce the learning skills and content
retention of the technologically geared students of today. As the
saying goes about technologically advanced students, if you can’t beat
them, join them! (I know I’ll join!)

[Douglas Sherman]

I would absolutely use Edmodo in my classroom. Just the other day
(before this assignment was given and after watching " The Social
Network") I was talking to my one friend how I would become a
millionaire. I simply told him I would create a social networking site
like Facebook that would be monitored by teachers, and be used for
classrooms. Then I googled social networking for teachers and Edmodo
was the second thing that came up, and shot down all of my hopes and
dreams. I started playing with Edmodo and realized that it is pretty
cool. The fact that I could post assignments and students could use
apps on their phones would be great. It is something that could really
engage a student, and most of all help them with organization.
I was watching videos online and seeing how some teachers use Edmodo
is amazing. With the posting homework, classwork, grades, and even
videos of things happening in the classroom is perfect for this type
of resource. Facebook got people connected, Edmodo would keep
teachers, students and parents connected all the time.
I like almost everything about Edmodo. The only thing I do not like is
the fear factor associated with it. If a teachers were to tell parents
they would be using a site edmodo that is similar to Facebook a lot of
parents would probably have heart attacks. A teacher who would be the
first one to introduce this at his or her school would have to do a
lot to acclimate parents to it, if not it would never be able to be
used as the resource it was intended.
To post an assignment is absolutely simple. It is simpler than posting
on Facebook. You simply click assignments, type it in the text box,
and share it with everyone in your class. They can access it from
computers and smart phones.

On Aug 5, 8:19 pm, "C.J. McHugh" <mchughcornel...@hotmail.com> wrote:

[Angela Byrne]

Clair, I agree, Edmodo is awesome. Our elementary literacy coach tried it out this year with a reading club for our second graders. Parents & kids loved it! We will roll it out to our teachers at the next in-service. The fact that it looks like Facebook will entice more students to use it. Our parents were okay with it once we explained that it is self-contained within our school filters.
Good luck with it! Enjoy!
Ang

[Angela Byrne]

If and when I return to the classroom, I think I will definitely use it. Our district’s elementary literacy coach tried it this past year on a limited basis with a second grade reading club, and loved it. The parents in our test group were invited in to see what it was before enrolling their children, and they gave us a positive response as well. After searching teachers, I was surprised to find that many of our middle school English & reading teachers already have accounts, so I will talk to them about how they are using it in their classrooms at our first department meeting.

 

From the little I've seen so far from my fellow coach, and playing with it this week, I like it much better than our Moodle sites. It seems more user friendly for students. It also has social networking, something Moodle doesn’t really offer. That’s why I particularly like that it mirrors the look of Facebook, because I work with older students, and they should find it motivating and easy to use. The instant chat feature would allow me to respond to my students in real time. Since I have not used it with students as yet,  I'm not too familiar with all of the functions (i.e. assignments & grading), but it is definitely something to consider if I return to the classroom.  I may continue to post some content to the library, just in case. :)

[cgr...@stjw.org]

Angela,

Between teaching stints, -30 years ago vs the past 8 back in ed.- I was
in marketing. It's amazing- I guess somethings are all about how they are
packaged- Kids love it because it resembles Facebook. Amazing how things
work.

Perhaps we should join the group thing and check in through the year.

Claire

[Drew Dymond]

I would consider using Edmondo if I did not have another teacher
website. At this point I think I have most of the capabilities that
Edmondo offers on my teacher website. Discussions, assignments, and
polls are all capabilities I have on my teacher website. The positive
of using Edmondo is that it is easy to use. Creating a group was as
easy as naming it and labeling the grade and subject. Each group gets
a code that would be distributed to students to gain access. It is a
great idea but for me I would like to keep everything in one place
rather than have students checking multiple sites for assignments and
discussions.

On Aug 5, 8:19 pm, "C.J. McHugh" <mchughcornel...@hotmail.com> wrote:

[Malone, Hagar]

Finally--what I have been waiting for--a collaboration site that I can
use with everyone in my Middle School and with younger students if I
find it's appropriate. My school will be going through Middle States
recertification next year, and we have been searching for ways to
challenge our more academically talented students (not necessarily
gifted). This is one way we can use the identified 21st century
skills and challenge them at the same time. The biggest problem will
be to get the classroom teachers onboard. Why not me? I teach the
kids how to use the software, but for this purpose, the teachers of
the major subjects would have to provide the content.

Would I use it? Yes. I can use it in the same way I would use Google
Docs and the classroom wiki. I would post certain assignments and
rubrics. Since the students have to type some of their assignments,
they could submit them to me online. Save paper, save carrying all
those documents home, not losing them when they are submitted over a
period of several days.

Some teachers are using Edmodo in the ways I have described above.
The calendar piece would show students what they should be doing on
each day and when projects are due.

I like that Edmodo is usable for K-12. In the "terms of use" policy,
the parent permission requirements are specifically spelled out so I
don't have to reinvent the wheel and miss something. The students
don't need to have email addresses. It is private. The Help Menu has
very clear instructions.

I don't like that it can do so much. This is not a scaled-back
version of Google Groups. I will have to be very aware of how I am
using Edmodo with younger children so they are not overwhelmed.

I like the function of being able to create smaller groups within the
larger group: 1. From the group members page, click "create small
group." 2. Enter the small group's name. 3. Click "Create." 4.
Add members to this group by selecting names from the "Available
Members" list and moving them to the small group box.

On Aug 5, 8:19 pm, "C.J. McHugh" <mchughcornel...@hotmail.com> wrote:

[Malone, Hagar]

I share your concern about the fact that parents are going to freak
out. That's why I read the terms of use policy. First I have to
convince my principal that this is the way to go. Then a permission
form has to go out with a full explanation of what Edmodo is and how
it would be used. And then I would make sure the parents know that
accounts would be set up for them so they can view (read-only) what is
going on. I think if we used it as an enrichment activity for a
select group of kids, we would be able to break the ice for something
on a larger scale.

[Malone, Hagar]

If my students were old enough to use wikis and Google Groups, I would
agree with you--I don't need still another website. When our school
has our new website go live in about 3 weeks, I will have many of
these options on my teacher page. So I will pick and choose the
features of Edmodo I will use. This is supposed to cut down my work
load, not increase it.

[rmacey]

Honestly, I won't be using Edmodo. First, I'm not into social
networking at all, call me an introvert. Second, I agree with Drew,
the school wants us to use the teacher website and now we've already
put a bit of time into our wiki spaces. Typically I am at work early
and leave late, unless I specifically tell students to email me a link
or that it is a difficult assignment and I will check my email at 5
and at 8, I log off at the end of the day and anything else can wait
until morning. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and working with my
students very much and want them to succeed in my class, but I need
some time being Rachel and not Miss Macey.

On Aug 5, 8:19 pm, "C.J. McHugh" <mchughcornel...@hotmail.com> wrote:

[Malone, Hagar]

I hear you, Rachel. Having a life outside of school can be difficult--
there's always something more that should be done. If you have an
active family, an active social life, do volunteer work (any or all of
these), you need to carve out that time that is just for you and
yours. With my children grown and gone, my volunteer work is very
important to me, but when I had an increase in teaching assignments a
few years back, I had to give up a position that I really loved. I
still have an active role, but not the amount of responsibility. My
husband can't believe the amount of paperwork I bring home to
correct. If your school wants you to use something besides Edmodo and
it fits what you want to accomplish, then using Edmodo or Google Docs
or a wiki in addition would not be a good use of your time. But this
course has at least exposed us to some things that we may not have
explored otherwise.

[Malone, Hagar]

I had heard that the learning curve for using Moodle is high and that
it is not always user-friendly. This is why I didn't even consider
using it.

[Angela Byrne]

It is definitely not user-friendly! And it looks "boring" as well. Kids and parents don't use it, but that is what our district has chosen to use. I don't have a classroom, so I only use it as a place to store resources for the various professional development workshops I do. Even the teachers don't access it, LOL.

[Colleen Kingsbury]

I apologize for the delay but there isnt a strong internet signal in the Dominican Republic. I checked out Edmodo the other day and while I think it is a good idea, I do not know if I will use it. I feel like I have a lot of websites and pages to direct my students attention to. I have my teacher pages, moodle, and wiki. This would be one more site. That being said, perhaps I would only use this site or the wiki instead of pointing them to all of the others. It seems to be set up like facebook, where I could post friendly reminders and assignments. The students could im me or they could hand in assignments. The idea that they could access it through their smart phone is appealing because then there really wouldnt be any excuse for missed assignments, I believe the majority if not all of my students have a smart phone or access to the internet.

I agree with Claire in that I believe a lot of parents might look at this as a facebook situation where teachers are contacting students. BUT it is a professional tool to help faciliatate learning and nothing else. There would have to be a lot of rules, like the internet contract the students sign for school on appropriate internet usage, and I would definitely send home a letter explaining what I was doing. All would be signed by the parents so I know they read them. Other than that it looks like a good tool to use, it is just deciding which tool would be the most efficient.

Colleen

[Jason Smith]

I like the fact that it looks similar to facebook because the students
are more likely to warm up to it.
I also found it very user friendly. I was able to create a group in
seconds. It then produces a code to give students so that they can
access the the Emodo site for their group.

I also experimented adding an assignment. It takes less than a minute
to post an assignment and add an attachment for the assignment. I also
like how the students can submit the assignment. I hope that once
assignments are submitted that students cannot access other students'
work, but I don't know for sure since I haven't yet seen it in action.

I also downloaded the app to my iphone, which i think kids would find
useful. I also (in the settings tab) set Emodo to send notifications
via text messages to my phone. I think this is a great idea since kids
practically live on their phones. However I found it strange that
there was no option to be notified of assignments......the only
options to receive notifications are for alerts, notes, direct
messages, and replies. Perhaps a posted assignment is considered a
direct message, I'm not sure yet.

Now the negatives;
Even though I like what Edmodo has to offer, I think it can become
confusing to utilize so many resources. A class website thru the
district, a wiki, Edmodo, google groups, etc. If a teacher is to use
multiple resources for students to access, he/she would need to be
very effective at communicating to the students specifically what each
one will be used for and how they will be used and then stay
consistent. It can also become overwhelming for the teacher to manage
all of this.

I currently have a Moodle site which I would agree is not as user
friendly as Edmodo, but I feel I can do much more with it. The feature
I like most about Edmodo is the notifications via text
message......everything else and and then some I think I can
accomplish with Moodle.

Last year I used a wiki page which I lked very much except that I
couldn't maintain a calendar of assignments and daily content.

jason smith

On Aug 5, 8:19 pm, "C.J. McHugh" <mchughcornel...@hotmail.com> wrote:

[paul naser]

Edmodo

1 - I am not a huge fan of social networking as I watch the news on a
daily basis and see all the security breaches and hacking types of
happenings on a daily basis
That being said after reviewing this it looks similar to facebook and
myspace - this would definitely interest students and possibly get
them to interact in an educational setting

2- Teachers are using edmodo - like an assignment pad - they are
posting homework and other types of due dates
They are also posting polls to check on student progress with
assignments
They are also able to post actual copies of assignments on the website
- this allows absent students to get their work or if a student
forgets an assignment they can pull it up online

3 - Likes - easy access and posting ability

Dislikes - the gradebook - hard to use and set up

4 - To post an assignment
- click the assignment tab
- name the assignment
- list the assignment type
- upload the assignment by picking the assignment from the drive on
your computer
- pick a group to send the assignments to - class list etc...
- click send

To upload an assignment might be the easiest part of the website

On Aug 5, 8:19 pm, "C.J. McHugh" <mchughcornel...@hotmail.com> wrote:

[J.Cogan]

No, I would not use Edmodo. I teach 5th grade and honestly, I don't
have any use for it. It seems to me that the features are redundant. I
really don't want to post my assignments to three separate locations,
and I like using a website, I also like the wiki, but I want to choose
one for assignments. This would make a third location for assignments.
Also, all grades at PV are available online to parents, so again, it
seems as though there would be a need for additional work inputting
grades. Maybe I am missing something, but for my classroom, I don't
see any value in this program.

As far as how other teachers are using Edmodo, I don't know. I could
not figure out how to see other teacher's pages. I was able to see
their profile, but nothing beyond that. I am not sure if I am doing
something wrong, but I can't see how to see how they are using this
site.

I like the idea of this for secondary teachers. It seems great for a
teacher that uses the Internet to post assignments and create
assignments that are online. Or for a teacher who may use it outside
of school hours. I like that students can keep track of their work
through the use of turned in button. However, again, not something I
would use. It is very difficult to get 10 year old students organized,
this would be another burden on them on top of simply completing the
assignment. I like the groups feature, I think this would be valuable
for students to share information, and the teacher to comment on the
information shared, it actually seems less confusing than the Google
Groups program we use for this class.

I could use it to post assignments. Again, I wouldn't, but I could if
I wanted to. :-) Here is how to do it. If you are not already on the
home page of Edmodo, go there. Choose assignment, type in the name of
the assignment, description, and the due date. Then if you would like,
use the send to feature (this is a great feature because you can send
it to students, or parents, who are in your groups). Another nice
feature of this program is that files can be attached like on a
website or wiki, or a link can be attached. (I hope this is what you
were looking for. )

So I wouldn't use this particular program, but only because I can't
find any value for my classroom. But it definitely seems like a great
program for teachers who have use for the functions available.

On Aug 5, 8:19 pm, "C.J. McHugh" <mchughcornel...@hotmail.com> wrote:

[Theresa Sinisko]

I agree with almost all comments made regarding Emodo to date.
Specifically, we have been introduced to many new technologies in this
course (many with redudant features) and I feel that it is best to
pick and choose what will work best for the teacher and his/her
classroom. If you just introduce your class to many technologies, you
are lacking the depth and true expertise in any one or two
technologies that will most benefit the students. I think that Edmodo
will work best for those teachers who are up to date on Facebook and
its many features already--the learning curve for them will be the
smallest. Since I am somewhat new to Facebook and social media
networking, I am not as comfortable with this technology. I really
liked the calendar feature and it seemed like Emodo might be an easier
way for the students in your class to regularly communicate and ask/
respond to questions. For me, I think that the use of Edmodo should
be a district decision first. If it catches on like Facebook, then it
could be a fascinating technology in the future. To use the calendar
feature, you just have to click on the day that you want to add
something to. In the popup window, you type the description such as
No School or Chapter 1 Quiz. You then have to type in the name of the
group you want to add it to or you can choose all groups (this took a
few times to get used to since you didn't automatically get a drop
down menu to choose from). The last step is to click on Create and it
will be automatically added to your calendar. It took me a few times
to get used to it and then it seemed easy to add items to a class
calendar. Again, I am going to try to use the calendar on our
district website this year as I think it is an easier, more convenient
place for my students to access this information. However, our
calendar items need to be approved every time. To date, the approval
process has been easy and quick--I just hope that continues since I am
planning to add homework assignments daily.

On Aug 5, 8:19 pm, "C.J. McHugh" <mchughcornel...@hotmail.com> wrote:

[JerryLangan]

1. I would definitely consider using Edmodo with my students. I
really liked the Facebook feel that my students would relate to while
on Edmodo. I do have concerns that being a newbie to technology, I
don't completely understand all the ins and outs of the site. I am
afraid that my students' parents might feel this is a social
networking experience and that bullying could take place since they
can access it anytime. I would feel much safer in experimenting with
Edmodo for a bit before introducing it to my students.

2. I am aware of an elementary teacher using Edmodo for a summer book
reading project. It's a book club online. Students read a book
independently and then come together on Edmodo to discuss the book.
The teacher in charge of the site, provides discussion questions,
website links and question polls for the students. I really can see
this type of tool, when used in an organized fashion, being extremely
appealing to the students.

3. Like noted earlier, I like the social networking format of
Edmodo. Students who are on sites like this (Facebook, MySpace,
Togetherville) will immediately understand all the capabilities and
want to become engaged. I also like that students can only respond to
the teacher. What I don't like is that I'm not sure if there is a way
to review comments before they are posted to the group. If someone
has discovered that, please let me know!

4. The one tool that I liked was the polling tool. So many times we
ask questions of our students in class and only a few feel comfortable
answering or they answer the way they think others want them to
answer. This polling tool is anonymous and allows everyone to have a
voice.
To create a poll:
a. Select the group you want to pose the question to in the left
column.
b. Click on the Poll icon at the top of the Post window. (looks like 3
columns)
c. Type in your poll question and the possible answers. (there is a
button to add more answers then just the standard two)
d. Press Send to Group. (remember you selected the group at the
beginning)
e. Sit back and watch them respond.

On Aug 5, 8:19 pm, "C.J. McHugh" <mchughcornel...@hotmail.com> wrote:

[JerryLangan]

Hey Angela,
Brooke showed me that teacher's site about the book club. It is really
cool!
I plan on using Edmodo in the future, but I need to play around with
it a bit more before doing
so.
Jerry

[JerryLangan]

The wiki's that we created are really cool and will be useful to me
anyway.
I am about to start my third full year of teaching 7th grade and this
type of
stuff is mostly intimidating to me. I usually have a hard time with
organization and
this site will help me be more confident with my classes and what is
expected.
Jerry

[Angela Byrne]

Hi Jerry! Julie did a great job with that book club, and she rolled it out to parents before the school year ended, and had only 1 parent decide not to let their kid participate. I've noticed that several of our JTL teachers have Edmodo sites, so I'm looking forward to seeing how they are using it as well.

[Angela Byrne]

Jason,
I too really like the "Facebook" look. That will be huge in students' motivation to use the site. I also agree that we confuse kids if there are too many options as far as resources. I think we each need to decide on which one works best for us as teachers, as well as work within our district guidelines. As a regular Facebook user, I was more comfortable with Edmodo than Moodle, lol. Good luck in the coming year, end enjoy what is left of summer!
Ang

[cgr...@stjw.org]

The book club sounds cool. I'm going to check into that !
Claire>