Monday, April 21, 2014

Edmodo



Group code: iwd45a


Edmodo reminds me of a free version of Blackboard. Students can use Edmodo to submit assignments, receive instructor feedback, and see the class calendar.  The teacher can use Edmodo in order to send important links, reminders, and encourage students to share their own resources.  Additionally, discussion questions can be posed that require student responses and a continued discussion outside of the classroom.  Students can post their own assignments that can be shared/ embedded within Edmodo so that students can see each other's work and provide feedback.  Overall, Edmodo can greatly enhance the way the classroom operates and communication with the students can become even clearer and more transparent.

One way I would use Edmodo would be to have students submit projects that they would create with a one out of a choice of several Web 2.0 tools such as glogster.com, smore.com, and weebly.com. For example, I would have my students research a historical figure and creatively present at least 10 important facts using a tool. I would post this project online, with a link to a pre-made symbaloo I made showing what tools they could use and what websites would be appropriate to use for research. Then through edmodo, they would post their projects. Students would then be required to post one response to each project that shows that they not only viewed the project, but learned something new.


Edmodo is a good way to get students involved with a participating in a project. Not only does it instill 21st Century Skills, but it also gives every student the opportunity to be apart of this project. For example, if students were to simply present their projects in class, not everyone would really have a say in what they learned… or if they had a question… it may not be expressed and therefore not answered. Students who may be less likely to participate in class will have the requirement of actually participating in Edmodo. This would provide for a good learning experience for students to be able to articulate their ideas about what they saw when giving feedback and also give others the chance to see other perspectives they may not have seen if it were responded to by the “same old people” who always raise their hand in class.

Here are pictures of a couple Edmodo accounts I have made in the past for my students to submist assignments and participate in polls:




Google Maps Exemplar







Monday, April 7, 2014

Week 10: Assignment 3




I uploaded the video and also provided a link through YouTube.




Week 10: Assignment 2

The game I chose is called “Case Chase” from The Teacher’s Gaming Network. This game allows students to participate in a game that would make them feel like they were on a television game show. This game reminds me of “Deal or No Deal.” The game is completely customizable and teachers can make several multiple choice questions or true/false questions. Students will want to continue playing to see how many points they can get. Students are able to read the text presented on the suit cases. There are many graphics and sounds to help them feel like they are on a game show. The goal of the game is to have students earn as many points as they can get, adding to the competition and motivation. There is no time limit. Basically, students are presented with a series of suit-cases with an amount of points on each. They click on the cases with points they would like to earn. If students answer the questions successfully, they earn the points. If they do not, they do not earn the points and have to try again. Overall, students are pretending to be on a game show through a scenario design. Through the layout, students can quickly become engaged and learn/practice while having fun.