This week's lesson was about online communication tools. In my research for the graded assignment I discovered the most fabulous site--Edmodo. I cannot wait to use it with my class! Two of the questions for this week are posed below:
1. Have you ever used online communication tools in the classroom before? If so, detail your experiences. If not, what has prevented you from using online communication tools? Yes, I have used online communications tools in my classroom frequently. The only reason I used them is that they were built into the software and were only email or comment areas for the online classes. I much prefer the Edmodo website for all supplementary materials because of its features which I plan to discuss below.
2. Identify one online communication tool you can use in the classroom and discuss how you will prepare your students for using this communication tool. There will be very little student preparation to use Edmodo because it is in a form that students are familiar with and use on a daily basis. When I previously polled my students, there wasn't a single one who did not have either a MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter account. Often they had all three. The great thing about Edmodo is that it is set up identically. What makes it especially useful to me in the classroom is that I can send and receive assignments from students, set up groups for specific discussions, utilize it for portfolio submissions, send links, alerts, and updates. I've already set up the first assignment for when we return from spring break. Initially I plan to walk them through the site and the submission process using the projector and smartboard. I anticipate very few problems with learning and using this system. One thing I do regret is that I don't have a cellphone with unlimited data plan. It would be nice to be able to get automatic updates when a new thread is posted to Edmondo--just in case it is a student question that needs answered right away.
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