Tune into Technology: Classroom Websites ~ Edmodo

It's that time again! During the summer, I tend to lose track of the days of the week because I don't have things going on as much, especially since I've been on vacation for three weeks!! Today is Thursday which means it's Learning to the Core's Tune into Technology linky party! This has been my favorite linky party, and I've really enjoyed writing for it.

I use Edmodo for my classroom website. I have not logged on since May, and I was shocked when I did today. It has COMPLETELY changed! But I am glad that they did now and not during the school year. They did this last year and it made for some confused students. I have actually already written a post about Edmodo, but will try to talk about different things in this one. :-)

Edmodo is meant primarily for middle grades and above. It is designed similarly to Facebook with a wall that features new posts from any groups they are a part of. We will be going to the computer lab during BTS to sign them up all at once, and to complete a scavenger hunt to get used to the website. This helps out so much during the year, otherwise they are always asking where to find something!

Organize into Groups 

I do these by class period, but you could do them by subject. Each group has a code that you use to join that group. I label mine by the class name and teacher name. If they are part of another teacher's Edmodo as well, it is helpful to have the teacher name on their. You can also add co-teachers to the groups! You will notice that I am also part of "Viergutz". This is my grade level partner's group. We found it helpful to be a part of each other's group to see what we were posting to help keep us accountables. I had the co-teacher for my 4th Block assigned as well.

Folders

I post the learning goal and homework on Edmodo nightly. If their is an worksheet I can post this to Edmodo as an attachment as well. This is to help when you get the inevitable "I lost it" excuse. I can post the homework to the wall, and then assign it to a folder. If at the end of the quarter they are missing an assignment, they can find it there. I also post Show Me videos, math games, info for their INB, etc. All of which is organized into folders!

Assignments

If you are doing a digital project (prezi, ppt, video, doc, etc.) you can have the students upload them to an Assigments post. You can view and grade them right within Edmodo! Saves so much paper and time! I would grade these write on my iPad! Super easy! One of our teachers had them do this after working on a simple word doc in the computer lab. No more printing!

Parent Access

Edmodo is primarily made for students and teachers. There is a parent code attached to each student account that the parents can sign up for. This is tied ONLY to their student for privacy concerns. They have access to the calendar, wall posts, grades, etc. I give my parents homework to sign up the first week, the kids love it!

Accessability

Edmodo is a website, and had apps for ALL devices (YEAH!) They can get notifications sent to their phone when I post something to the wall or an alert. They can easily contact me or post to the class. Parents can have it on their phones. I have it on my phone and iPad. For those users that do not have a Smart Phone they can get text notifications sent to their phone. I never know their phone numbers. 

What website do you use? Have any other suggetions? 

Melissa

Classroom Website: Edmodo

When I joined my school this year, I was expected to create a classroom website. The majority of the teachers used ClassJump, but a few were starting to branch off to Edmodo. I created a website with each website, but decided to go with Edmodo.

I was first introduced to Edmodo in college when one of my professors used it. It was mostly for notifications of class cancelled, changed, etc. But I have taken it to a whole new level and used it as a student and teacher community. I have to do a leadership project as my first year in KY (second year overall) and I chose to do it on Edmodo because of how successful I think it is. Several teachers, including the entire 6th grade, have converted to Edmodo or at least are more comfortable with using it. I chose to use Edmodo as my classroom website for lots of different reasons. 

1. Student Interaction, Promotes classroom community
• On Edmodo students are encouraged to post questions on the group wall or can direct message the teacher. One concern that I had is messaging each other, but Edmodo only allows them to message the entire wall or the teacher. If students have questions on homework, were absent, etc. they can easily get in contact with me. I did set an expectation at the beginning of the year, that I would not respond after 8:00.
2. Quick and easy to update, comment, post
• This year I have planning at the end of the day. I try to set aside the first fifteen minutes to update Edmodo. I post a few sentences about what we did that day, the homework, and will sometimes post a picture of notes, a handout, or worksheet. I can post this to several of my classes at once (regular vs. advanced) in minutes! If I have assigned a quiz, test, or other deadline, I can quickly update the calendar. If parents have signed up for Edmodo, they can elect to receive text notifications or download the app and receive notifications. Everyone is kept up to date so no more excuses of "I didn't know!" I can post videos, links to website, worksheets, warm ups, etc in a library where they have access to everything. 
3. Accessibility: Receive notifications through text, email, and iPhone, iPad, and Android apps.
• I have the app downloaded on my iPhone and iPad. A lot of my students have a smart phone or device (kindle, iPad, tablet) that can download the app. If they do not have access to the app they can receive text messages or emails whenever I post something, and always use the website. 
4. Organization: Allows a student to connect with all teachers at once.
• This was the first thing (maybe quick updates) that ClassJump and Edmodo had in common. A student can have access to all of their teachers that have Edmodo all at once by joining a group. On ClassJump, the teachers are associated with the school group and they can find them from there. 
5. Create small groups, add co-teachers for co-lab or PLC (grade level partners)
• I have a co-lab teacher in one of my classes and she has been added to the class group. My PLC partner and I added each other to one group at the beginning of the year to help each other out when we were first learning things. I can create small groups within my classes if they were doing a project, etc.
6. Great support team! Quick and fast to respond to questions
• Any time I have had a question or stumped on how to make something work, I have posted something to their support group and have gotten a response, or multiple responses within a day, and sometimes an hour! This was wonderful at the beginning of the year.

Like I said, I love Edmodo! It's had a real positive impact with my students and our learning community. Because of the KTIP project, I have a PowerPoint on Edmodo (basics, set up, etc.) if you are interested in it. :-)