This week we took a look at Edmodo, a course management system that is "dedicated to connecting all learners with the people and resources they need to reach their full potential."
When I began this design experiment, I was excited because I was not familiar with this system and I knew it would be a project that allowed me to soak in a lot of information and come up with new plans for my courses. In this blog, I will break down my thoughts into four pieces. The first will talk about the technology behind Edmodo and then its affordances. Next, I will compare Edmodo to Pearson Learning eCollege and lastly, I will talk about what theoretical approaches and lessons I would use to implement a career development course using the resources in Edmodo.
Technology behind Edmodo
The first thing I noticed about Edmodo was how easy it is to sign up for an account on the website. The website itself is very user friendly and has a very simple user interface. The second thing I noticed was how similar the user interface is upon login to Facebook. There have been a lot platforms going to a user interface design that is similar to social app style because developers believe students will be more engaged in a familiar style of system.
Edmodo provides a number of classroom rollout resources to assist in the implementation of the courses for the teachers. It also works in conjunction with Google Drive and Microsoft Office. Some of the problems I ran into with this system were that it was not overly intuitive and appears user friendly, but it, in my opinion, was not as easy to use as other systems which I have used such as Pearson ecollege and Google Apps. I was looking at the integration of their third-party applications and not just the tools offered
Affordances of Edmodo
Edmodo provides a number of classroom rollout resources to assist in the implementation of the courses for the teachers. It also works in conjunction with Google Drive and Microsoft Office. Some of the problems I ran into with this system were that it was not overly intuitive and appears user friendly, but it, in my opinion, was not as easy to use as other systems which I have used such as Pearson ecollege and Google Apps. I was looking at the integration of their third-party applications and not just the tools offered
Affordances of Edmodo
The first affordance of Edmodo is that it provides a collaborative space for students to post questions, thoughts, and discussion items with their classmates and teacher. This allows students to learn how to communicate better with their peers and teachers. Second, Edmodo allows students to experience what a social network is like in a safe and controlled environment. Using this at a younger age, before getting Facebook or other social media profiles, can teach them social media responsibility. Lastly, it teaches students accountability by giving assigned due dates for assignments, posts, and other work. These are all life skills that are imperative to being succesful as they get older.
Edmodo v. Pearson eCollege
Edmodo v. Pearson eCollege
After thorough review of Edmodo in comparison to eCollege, I would definitely choose eCollege over Edmodo. While on the surface it seems extremely user friendly, many of the embedded applications do not work correctly and the course system does not have, that I could find, a set of available resources for college educators. When you go to implement apps, there is an option to filter them by grade level and the only options are K-12 options. While this is great for a teacher in those grades, it would not work for the kind of courses I hope to implement. Although Edmodo is more user-friendly on the student side, the difficulties I had getting a course set up for my specific audience, this would lead me to choose another course management system such as Google Classroom or Pearson eCollege over Edmodo.
Implementing Edmodo in the Classroom through the use of third-party applications
Implementing Edmodo in the Classroom through the use of third-party applications
Virtual Job Shadow lesson:
Technical Knowledge: The virtual job shadow app (free and paid) in Edmodo allows students to view more than 1,000 videos associated within the different career clusters. This a the perfect resource to help students plan for their future, whether it be for college or career readiness. The affordances of this are engaging videos that allow the students to experience all the benefits of a live job shadow without leaving the classroom. The videos contain advice from employed professionals in the field and there is the ability to quiz the students at the end of the videos. You can also track student activity so it is a great tool to add to an online class.
Pedagogical Approach
Pedagogical Approach
With the shadow lesson, I would apply a learning by exploring teaching method and assess the learning through a quiz (within the job shadow application) at the end and a reflection paper assignment. Since you can track a student’s usage, I would assign them to watch 3 videos and complete the related quizzes. Then they would submit a 2-3 page reflection paper on what they learned and how it is applicable to their future career path.
Nepris lesson:
Nepris lesson:
Technical Knowledge:
Nepris helps you connect your students with industry professionals from around the world to bring real world relevance to your classroom and lessons. There is a library of available topics Let us know what your topics your teaching or a project your students are working on and we'll find the professional with the right skill-sets and connect them virtually with your classroom.
Pedagogical Approach: The approach I would take to implement Nepris into the career course would be through debate and discussion. Nepris allows you to connect via live webcast with industry professionals (or pre-recorded, but in our case we would connect with several live professionals over a 3 week time span.) We would have the students determine, through guided discussion and debate, at the beginning of the course, what kinds of professionals they believe would most benefit them. We would use the polling option in Edmodo to start our discussion and see what kind of professionals our class believes they would most benefit from.
Then, I would coordinate the professional speakers through the Nepris application. Since the professionals will be presenting live, students will be assessed based on their classroom participation. To further assess their knowledge, a quiz will be assigned in the Edmodo application at the conclusion of all of the different professional’s webcasts.
Overall, I think Edmodo has some good qualities but is more focused for the K-12 classroom than higher education. It has many useful (and free!) applications and is definitely something that would benefit distance and online educators and learners.
Nepris helps you connect your students with industry professionals from around the world to bring real world relevance to your classroom and lessons. There is a library of available topics Let us know what your topics your teaching or a project your students are working on and we'll find the professional with the right skill-sets and connect them virtually with your classroom.
Pedagogical Approach: The approach I would take to implement Nepris into the career course would be through debate and discussion. Nepris allows you to connect via live webcast with industry professionals (or pre-recorded, but in our case we would connect with several live professionals over a 3 week time span.) We would have the students determine, through guided discussion and debate, at the beginning of the course, what kinds of professionals they believe would most benefit them. We would use the polling option in Edmodo to start our discussion and see what kind of professionals our class believes they would most benefit from.
Then, I would coordinate the professional speakers through the Nepris application. Since the professionals will be presenting live, students will be assessed based on their classroom participation. To further assess their knowledge, a quiz will be assigned in the Edmodo application at the conclusion of all of the different professional’s webcasts.
Overall, I think Edmodo has some good qualities but is more focused for the K-12 classroom than higher education. It has many useful (and free!) applications and is definitely something that would benefit distance and online educators and learners.
While these are my opinions, I encourage you to check it out for yourself!
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