Online Classroom Through Edmodo

Screenshot of our English 9 Edmodo Page

When our server went down before Christmas break, our online classroom at the high school (Sakai), also went down with it. I relied heavily on Sakai to post classroom documents, have discussions, offer online quizzes, etc. that I scrambled to find an equivalent site that I could throw together quickly. My solution: Edmodo.

Last year a colleague and friend from Lincoln Public Schools introduced me to the site. It's been an incredible tool in my classroom. It looks very similar to Facebook, so it's easier for me and the kids to navigate. And because of its resemblances to the popular social media site, the kids were excited to give it a whirl.

What can you do with Edmodo?

• Create multiple pages if you have several different classes
• Create a library with folders for individual units and then post links, documents, etc. for students to access
• Have online discussions
• Use for students to turn in assignments
• Connect parents with the class with Edmodo's parent code feature
• Create a calendar of events for students to access
• Keep track of grades
• Create a multiple choice, true/false, fill in the blank, or short answer quiz for students to take
• Post updates or notes to groups, classes, or individual students/parents

Edmodo is easy to use for both teachers and students, and it's not stored on the school's server...so in the event of another server crash, you could still access this site. The site also allows teachers to have a great deal of control over student access; teachers can limit individual students' access if need be. Here's a link to the help center that has many useful tools for getting started with Edmodo.