Edmodo is a free social learning tool designed for education. This website provides a platform for teachers to easily post notes, share links, and host conversations among their students. In my sixth grade classroom we have been using Edmodo extensively throughout the first two months of school.The students have enjoyed using Edmodo because they can easily interact with each other on the site. I have enjoyed using the tool because my students are engaged with and discussing what we are learning in class. Edmodo provides a private and secure place for these conversations.
The initial learning curve for Edmodo is very low. My students were able to pick up how to use the site and were customizing it to their liking in only a few minutes.
We have used Edmodo a couple of different ways so far this year:
- Hosting classroom discussions. I will post an initial question and my students will dive into the laptops and hammer out their thoughts. As a student posts a reply it instantly updates on the site. This type of conversation has been effective at eliciting responses from all students.
- Quick classroom polls. We study five different ancient civilizations in sixth grade and after introducing each civilization the students voted in a poll on Edmodo about which one they were most interested in learning more about.
- Home to school connection. When students use their out of school time to learn more about the topics we are exploring in class they can use Edmodo to share what they have learned with the other students.
