Dig Deeper into the Mainstays--Social Sites

The social site I picked to check out is Edmodo, because I am not familiar with this tool. I created an account, and immediately liked how I could create a class, post assignments, collect assignments, etc. I decided to see how it works with Multimedia files, as I’d like to experiment with it for that class to turn in videos, music, etc. I think this would be a great way for my students to explore social networking in a safe environment while learning proper netiquette in a social virtual community. I had students enter a class I created using a code. I linked an assignment for a Video Editing Unit. Then, students turned in their videos by uploading them right to the assignment. They were able to add comments and even rate how they felt about the assignment by clicking on a face. They loved this feature! I had to chuckle, because right away two students said, "Hey! This looks like Facebook!" (Which Steve Dembo and Adam Bellow even mention in their book, Untangling the Web.) When looking how others are using it, I learned even more options available in this site. For example, my students can group with other classrooms for further collaboration and communication. I also read about a feature called Backchannel discussions for real-time conversations, and teachers are using the Edmodo quiz builder to determine pre and post lesson learning. I read a blog post from Peter McAsh, a Computer Studies teacher at St. Marys DCVI in St. Marys, Canada who spoke about the co-teacher feature. This way, teachers can share assignments and students can work together. Also, if a teacher is curious about a class,the creator can also invite them to be a co-teacher, but make it “read only” so that student work and information cannot be accessed and privacy is maintained. There are many more uses of Edmodo. For additional classroom ideas, click in this great list.