Russell Stannard shares a tool that promotes sharing.
Edmodo is a sharing and collaboration site which offers so many interesting features that it could almost be called a virtual learning environment. I find it hard to believe that it is free. If you want to create a quick space where your students can share content and upload files, links, videos, etc, then this is the site for you. It has a similar look and feel to Facebook, so your students will be familiar with the format and, in most cases, will immediately take to it without you having to provide any guidance. So what can you do with Edmodo and what are the special features it offers?
Multiple features
- You can create an account and separate groups for each class you teach in seconds. Your students can sign up to these groups very easily and don’t even have to provide an email address.
- Each class group can share interesting links, files, videos, articles, etc on a central wall – you can upload content and so can your students.
- You can use it for discussions.
- You can upload any files that you want your students to access, putting them in a special folder.
- You have a calendar where you can input important dates on your course.
- You can create quick polls and quizzes.
- You can send alerts.
- You can give students special award badges.
- You can set up assignments.
Don’t be put off by the range of things you can do with Edmodo. It is quite simple to use and, once you become familiar with it, you will be able to create groups and get content up for each group at the touch of button. Each time you create a group, you will be given a ‘group code’ which you share with the class. The students then join by simply typing in the group code.
Here are a few simple ideas to start you off:
- Set an essay for the students to write and get them to upload comments, links, videos and pictures onto the wall as a way of brainstorming ideas on the topic. They can then use all the material to write their individual essays.
- Set a weekly discussion topic: the students post their comments on the wall.
- Share a video on the wall. Tell the students to watch it and share their comments on it.
- Upload an interesting article that you want your students to read onto the wall. Tell them to post comments when they have read it.
- Use the wall to create a quick poll. For example, you might offer the students several options for the topic of their next essay and get them to vote on which one they would prefer.
- In class, tell the students to go onto the internet and find an interesting news story in English. Tell them to read it, take notes and then post a quick summary of, say, 100 words on the wall. This way you will create a news feed.
What I like about Edmodo is that nearly all the main benefits come from the central wall and once the students are clear about loading files and videos, leaving comments, etc (all these are done in a similar way), they will be up and running.
Multiple uses
Edmodo is a tool that you can make use of both in class and also for homework. If my students are working in groups and discussing something, I can get one person in each group to share the group’s ideas on the wall. I can then see the key points that each group is discussing.
I have also found it very useful for teacher training sessions when I wanted a central location where the participants could have easy access to all the content I wanted to share with them, but where they could share useful content that they found, too.
It is great for project work as well. Let’s say you want your students to discuss the world’s energy problems. Tell them to work in groups, go online, find interesting material related to the subject and put it onto the wall. You might provide them with a list of topics (eg carbon emissions, solar power, pollution, etc) to get them started and tell each group to choose one. The students can even tag everything they upload so that you can quickly find content linked to each topic. Just tell them to click on ‘tag’ each time they load something and then choose ‘new tag’. You can then use the wall in all sorts of ways. The students could use the content to create a five-minute PowerPoint presentation on their chosen topic or they could write a short article around the main issues, etc. Again, you could get them to upload their articles onto the wall.
There is much more to Edmodo. For example, you can create special folders in the library where you can upload larger files for the students to access. You can also create quizzes, perhaps asking the students to watch a video and then do a quiz based on it afterwards. The tool is extremely flexible and, as your confidence grows, you will be able to use more and more of its features.
I have created some help videos to get you started and also to explain the more detailed features: www.teachertrainingvideos.com/edmodo1/index.html www.teachertrainingvideos.com/edmodo2/index.html
Russell Stannard is a Principal Lecturer in ICT at the University of Warwick, UK, where he teaches on the MA in ELT. He won the Times Higher Education Award for Outstanding Initiatives in Information and Communications Technology in 2008, TEFLnet Site of the Year in 2009 and a 2010 British Council ELTon award, all for his popular website www.teachertrainingvideos.com.
This article first appeared in English Teaching professional, Issue 83, 2012.