Technology Reflection: Instructional Use of Edmodo

Technology Reflection Assignment

 

Description/Experience

The technology demonstrated in the last seminar was Edmodo.  Edmodo is similar to a social networking website like Facebook, except it is for teachers and students.  The teacher ultimately controls the activity on the site, but students can log on to their account and post discussions, respond to other students, create profiles, etc.  The educator can have certain pages dedicated to all of his or her classes, and badges can be given to students as positive reinforcement.  What I took away from the presentation is the idea that networking websites are not strictly for social purposes.  Edmodo connects a website that most students are familiar with and use every day, Facebook, with the education of students.  In-class discussion with my peers proved that this is an idea that none of my peers had considered either.  We were all very impressed with the uses and positive outcomes Edmodo may have.

 

Application

The two major learning outcomes of this instructional activity are:

1.       Students will learn how to navigate Edmodo, specifically how to post one the class wall

2.       Students will become more familiar with adverbs and how/when to use them

This activity is designed for eighth grade students in a Read 180 classroom.

The educator may assess the students’ knowledge of Edmodo as well as adverbs by interacting on the website with the students.  The teacher will be able to observe the posts the students create, and he or she can comment with feedback on the students’ work.

For the first five minutes of the activity, the educator should do the following:

1.       Allow students to log onto school computers, preferably at-desk lap tops

2.       Show students how to log on to Edmodo and allow them to create usernames

3.       Show students how to register for the class in which they are using Edmodo, in this circumstance, it would be a Read 180 class, and allow students to do so

4.       Show students how to create a post on the class’ “wall”

For the next five minutes of class time should be spend reviewing what adverbs are, when they are used, and how they are used properly.  The educator should provide students with several examples and have them come up with their own as well.

The next five minutes of class should be spent allowing each student to post a sentence on the class page on Edmodo using an adverb.  When they are finished creating their sentence, and if time allows, students should comment on each others’ posts, rewriting their peers’ post using the exact same sentence, but changing the adverb.  It would be encouraged for the teacher to post on the page as well.

The last five minutes of this activity should be spent reviewing the sentences, defining the adverbs, and having a class discussion about Edmodo.

 

Reflection

Pedagogy-Content:

            The best way to represent the content when it comes to grammar is examples.  Ultimately, students know how to use adverbs, but oftentimes, they do not know what adverbs are or how to define them.  It is very important to provide a definition for adverbs for students, but to drive the point home, examples should be given.  It is also very helpful to allow students to come up with their own examples of adverbs and sentences that contain adverbs.  By having students create their own sentences with adverbs, the educator can assess how well the students are comprehending the material being covered. 

Younger students may have difficulty distinguishing between adjectives and adverbs, whereas older students may understand the concept better.  It is suggested to help students by teaching them about the “-ly” rule when it comes to adverbs.  Also, many grammar rules are different in different languages.  If an individual is an ESL or ELL student, the concept may be difficult for him or her to grasp, and modification in teaching methods may be reconsidered.

Technology:

            Edmodo has many functions.  One major function is classroom and student/teacher communication.  Some students may not check their emails often, but if they have a networking site that resembles Facebook, they might pay more attention to it.  Students can interact with each other and with the teacher in a timely manner on Edmodo.  If students have a question about an assignment, it can be posted on the Edmodo class page and other students and the teacher can respond.  It can also be used to encourage cooperative learning outside of the classroom.  If a teacher instills a sense of students having each others’ backs, the classroom culture and morale will be likely to improve drastically.

            When it comes to accessibility, Edmodo is very accessible.  It is easy to find if one simply googles “Edmodo.”  Furthermore, it is not a blocked website, so if students do not have access to the internet at home, school computers will support the website of Edmodo.

Technology-Pedagogy:

            The technology used in my activity involves students interacting with each other and the teacher on Edmodo.  The technology changes the way adverbs are taught because it forces students to come up with their own examples.  It not only tests whether students can identify what an adverb is, but it assesses whether or not students know how adverbs are used.  It would be significantly more difficult to enforce students to create examples without this technology. 

            It is important for students to have something else to do when they finish posting their example on Edmodo.  This is a classroom management strategy that encourages students who finish early to keep working.  Sometimes, students who finish early are more likely to distract students who are still working or the classroom in general.  In this activity, the students who finish early are instructed to comment on other students’ posts, rewriting what they wrote with new adverbs in order to keep a well managed classroom.

Technology-Content:

            This technology changes the way content is represented when it comes to examples.  Oftentimes, when it comes to grammar, examples are verbally given in classroom discussion.  Another way examples are given is on in-class worksheets.  When it comes to this activity, however, adverbs are represented by students on the internet.  Not only are the creating the examples, but they are observing the work of their peers, and reading examples, which leads to a deeper understanding of the content.

Technology-Pedagogy-Content:

            An educator cannot depend on technology alone.  It is crucial for certain pedagogies to be incorporated within lesson plans to ensure students’ maximum understanding of class material.  It is because of this that the educator facilitates discussion before the students are allowed to simply post on Edmodo.  By talking through adverb use, the educator is practically setting up the students with a template to use when creating examples using the technology.  This technology enhances how to teach because it gives students a more hands-on experience in the classroom.  My teaching strategy choice for this technology would involve classroom discussion and ideas that are carried over into Edmodo either as homework or during in-class activities.  Through the integration of this technology and good pedagogy, students will benefit greatly when learning certain content.