Edmodo

What is edmodo?

  • edmodo is an online networking application for teachers and students. Think Facebook, but in a safe and controlled environment appropriate for school.
  • edmodo is primarily a tool for within-class communication, but it also provides several ways for teachers to connect with other teachers.
  • Over 500,000 students are using edmodo worldwide.
  • edmodo is free – and the edmodo organisation has said all currently available features will remain free

Here are fifteen things teachers and students can do with Edmodo.

1. Post assignments for students. Edmodo allows teachers to attach files to assignment
announcements. If there is a file your students need in order to complete an
assignment, they can access it at the same place they view the announcement.
Less clicking is good.

2. Create digital libraries. Students and teachers can create digital libraries for housing their important files. No need to keep track of USB drives because you can access your files from any
Internet-connected computer.

3. Post messages on the “wall.” This allows students to ask questions of each other and their teacher. Teachers, of course, can post messages for all students to read.

4. Create learning groups. Teachers can create groups of their students according to the courses they teach
or create groups of students who are supposed to be working together.

5.  Post polls for students. Use the polls to gather informal feedback on a question like, “do you feel prepared for next week’s quiz?”

6. Post a quiz for students to take. You can attach links and files to each question and
answer choice. This allows you to post a document and ask students to read and
respond to it. Quizzes can be in multiple choice, true/ false, fill in the
blank, or short answer form. You can allow students to see their scores
immediately or you can disable that option.

7. Connect with other teachers. Join discussion groups to share ideas about lesson plans, teaching
strategies, and project development. Discuss tools and content that you use. In
some cases you can find webinars like this one from Buck Institute for Education about project based
learning.

8. Create a calendar of events and assignments.

9. Access Edmodo through the free Android and iPhone apps.

10. Turn in assignments. Students can upload assignments for their teachers to view and grade. Teachers can annotate the assignments directly in Edmodo.

11. Create parent accounts. Teachers can create parent accounts. Parent accounts allow parents to see their
children’s assignments and grades. Teachers can also send alerts to parents
about school events, missed assignments, and other important messages through
Edmodo.

12. Generate printable class rosters. If you’re going to have a
substitute teacher in your classroom who needs a printed roster, you can print
one from your Edmodo account.

13. Embed Wallwisher into your Edmodo wall to host a brainstorming
session.

14. Embed videos, images, and audio clips into your wall to
spark a class discussion online.

15. Use the Google Chrome extension or
browser bookmarklet to quickly add content to your Edmodo library. Anytime you
find something on the web, click the Edmodo extension or bookmarklet to save it
in your Edmodo library.

http://www.slideshare.net/mel22tgrs/edmodo-training-presentation

edmodo security features – why it’s not like Facebook

edmodo explicitly deals with school and teacher concerns about social networking for students in the following ways:

  • Each edmodo class group is managed and controlled by the teacher
  • Students need an access code to join the class. If a student shares the code outside the class, the teacher can change it, without affecting students already joined in the group.
  • Students can only communicate to the whole class or to the teacher – private messages between students are not possible.
  • Anonymous posting is not possible.
  • Teachers can delete posts.
  • Parental access to their children’s posts and to the teacher is an optional feature.