Sailing Away in 3 Different Directions with EDMODO

Photo by Omri Epstein

I first learned about Edmodo from Sandy Millin’s detailed post back in June, 2011. Yes, that was quite a while ago but till recently I hadn’t had any real incentive to experiment with it on my own. Tools I had already mastered were enough for me.

All that changed after I had taught my first course to 38 adult students in a private language school and had agreed to teach another such course.   I was determined to ERADICATE some of the problems I had encountered the first time around and I can’t thank Sandy Millin enough for discussing Edmodo with me. The course ended last night and here are a few problems I DIDN’T HAVE:

“Let there be light!” Photo by Omri Epstein

1) No student claimed that he didn’t know which assignment he was supposed to have done (or that I never said it needed to be done). Edmodo shows the students very clearly, both in a written list and in a graphic representation which assignments are waiting to done, which have been completed and how they were graded. Complete with comments!

2) No student claimed that he HAD handed in assignments and its just me that was claiming that he didn’t. True, in the first course there were only two such students and they said to me later (after I refused to back down) that since the final exam is such a “high-stakes exam” they were just trying their luck, but it stung.  Such an argument can only be used when tasks are done on paper, graded and returned. On Edmodo all tasks are handed in online and remain there.

3) I didn’t receive multiple copies of the exact same answers to a homework assignment, sometimes even photocopied copies of the same task! I won’t say it isn’t possible to do so on Edmodo but the fact is that it only happened once during the entire course. It could be argued that I didn’t notice but I teach low level students and copying is so much easier to spot at that level…

4) I didn’t come home with piles of papers every lesson and carry them back the next lesson. The number of papers multiplied since some students are absent each lesson and their papers go back home again too. This time I only carried home certain vocabulary quizzes which I wanted the  students to do in class – everything else was handed in and checked online.

5) Students can upload a profile picture. Remembering 38 students’ names was more successful this time around (though not perfect -only half of the students bothered to upload a picture.). I had a terrible time with names last course!

During the last lesson we discussed Edmodo and almost all students said that  it helped them be more organized (me too!). They also said they liked the fact that they could easily write me with questions. If it was really needed, I sometimes answered in Hebrew – Edmodo supports that too!

After working so intensively with Edmodo for the last two and a half months I have been emboldened to explore other ways it can be used. These are in the beginning stages so I will mention them briefly here – more in the future!

* As a safe platform to collaborate with other high-schools of the Deaf around the world. This project is led by the amazing Arlene Blum. We have been using a blog till now and I suggested we move it to Edmodo.

* As a platform for an a-synchronous 3 week online course for deaf and hard of hearing high-school students mainstreamed into regular classes. This hasn’t opened yet (Feb. 8)  – I’m working on it!

Someone asked me how Edmodo makes money and I haven’t a clue. It is completely free and there are no advertisements at all. All I know is that I’m glad it exists!

13 thoughts on “Sailing Away in 3 Different Directions with EDMODO”

  1. hi Naomi,

    to answer your question about how they make an income their terms of service say:
    —-
    However, we may offer certain premium products and services for a fee, including software available through the Edmodo Store. This does not mean that if you’re currently using one of the basic accounts described above, that we’ll “reclassify” it as premium account in the future and start charging you to use it.
    —-
    http://www.edmodo.com/corporate/terms-of-service

    My question is do you know if one can export content one has uploaded to Edmodo?

    ta
    mura

    1. Mura!
      Didn’t notice that on the site, thanks!
      One can certainly export things. I haven’t explored all the options yet but I have exported quizzes created in their quiz feature to WORD and I export the grades. Other things I have posted as Word documents to begin with so there was no need to export.
      I’ve also embedded things from Quizlet…
      Naomi

  2. Hi Naomi – Great post! Would you be interested in having it re-published on the Edmodo blog? If so, please send me an email Lucia [at] edmodo [.com]

  3. Hi Naomi,
    Great post, and great to see the directions you’ve taken Edmodo in. I started using it again this week after a break of three months, and it’s already making a difference. I already feel more organised!
    So glad that my post helped you so much 🙂
    Sandy

  4. Sandy,
    It wasn’t just your post – thanks for your encouragement when I was just starting out.
    More to come!
    Naomi

  5. Thanks Naomi
    Fascinating as usual
    (and encouraging)

    writtten while hail incessantly pours down – wondering if electricity is an issue today. If so, it’ll be paper and pen for everyone.

  6. A very timely post for me, Naomi. Thanks. We are just about to embark on an EVO course where our main communications platform will be Edmodo. I have really enjoyed using it so far and you post provides an ample supply of encouragement and ideas. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

    1. Tamas!!
      Now I am working on building the course I”ll teach via Edmodo. I’m glad to hear you are satisfied with it as a platform for such a thing.
      Thanks for stopping by!
      Naomi

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