Edmodo – An online platform for teachers, students, and parents to connect.

There are many social platforms that have recently been used for teachers to connect with their students. Whether that be from assignments, quizzes, tests, or even an announcement that has to be made. Although those other platforms allow for students and teachers to connect with each other, parents are being left out of this situation. For the younger age group of students, parents want to know what their child is doing in school and what their child is being taught. Platforms like Google Classroom do not give parents access to their child’s schoolwork and upcoming tests and quizzes that they have. Edmodo however, allow both teachers and students, as well as parents, to be connected onto one social platform right at their finger tips.

Edmodo is a a social media platform that allows parents, teachers, and students to all connect in one place. Edmodo can be used for all different type of age groups. It allows the teacher to post upcoming tests/quizzes, homework assignments, reminders, and can contact their class if class is cancelled or give the students busy work if they cannot attend class that day. Not only will the students be notified, but parents can also be included into this. Parents will also have access to whatever their child will be able to see on their stream page.

At the bottom of Edmodo’s Homepage, you can see that there are three options for teachers, students, and parents to sign up.

Not only will Edmodo allow the addition of parent’s to get in on what their child is doing, but Edmodo also has a mobile app for both IOS and Android users. So no matter what kind of phone you have, you will receive notifications from Edmodo whenever your student has a test/quiz coming up or an announcement from the teacher you should know about.

Here is a quick tutorial on how to sign up for Edmodo for student.
Here is a quick tutorial on how to use Edmodo for teachers.

A high school educator named Steve H., introduces Edmodo to teachers and how they can use Edmodo in their classrooms. He compares Edmodo to Facebook saying that it has advantages that are similar to Facebook, and allows students to see immediate feedback from teachers and their classmates.

Below is a brief outline of how Steve will be using Edmodo in his classroom:

  • Hook: Since Edmodo is so similar to Facebook, the format will be somewhat familiar to students. With the feedback option on Edmodo, students will be given short journal topic to be uploaded for proofreading and editing by the class.
  • Direct Instruction: With the ability of editing and revising, the editor’s own writing will be improving will be introduced.
  • Guided Practice: The student will have multiple chances to edit and revise their classmate’s works. All of this will be posted on Edmodo so everyone can see and critique the process.
  • Independent Practice: With multiple journal entries that are posted on Edmodo, students will have a stronger grasp of the writing process.
  • Wrap-up: The educator will be able to have immediate access to the students works and will be able to edit their classmates works as well as their own, while also having a real time writing project.

I have also used Edmodo in the past. I remember using it in my 8th Grade writing class. My teacher would always post our assignments on there and allowed us to view our classmates’ works and revise them if we deemed necessary. It really helped my enhance my writing skills because I was able to repeatedly go through everyone’s writings and compare it to mine and see if i was missing anything. It was easy to keep track of our assignments and to chat with our classmates and get their advise on an assignment. My teacher also thought that it helped us understand the concept better.

Thank you for tuning in to this week’s blog about how to incorporate tools to help you in the classroom! Let me know if there are any other tools like Edmodo that I should know about.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Beware! Technology Misuse Can Cost You Your Job!

Technology is amazing! It lets us share our daily lives with others who have the same interest as us. It allows us to connect with other people who live on the other side of the country. As great as technology is, we are the ones who decide what we post online and what other people see about us.

In this article, Alison Doyle talks about many different situations where you can get fired for posting on your social media. Below are a list of a few examples that Doyle provides in her article of a couple of situations that can potentially get you fired on the job:

  1. Sharing warnings or personal company information: Posting about new products the company is launching, private staff information, or any private information about the company is never a good idea. A good rule of thumb that Doyle mentions is that, ‘If your company hasn’t shared the information online, hold off your own post.”
  2. Providing references/endorsements on LinkedIn: Firstly, check to make sure if your company has a policy prohibiting references. If they do and you end up providing references, you may get a warning from your Human Resource department if you reference a former colleague at the company on their LinkedIn page.
  3. Negative Comments about your job or clients: Although most social media nowadays have secure privacy settings, it can still be dangerous if you bad-mouth them on your private account. If you are friends with one of your co-workers, that Facebook post or Tweet will be spread throughout the office or company in no time. So always think twice before you decide to complain about your co-workers, job, or clients on your social media.
  4. Deceptive Posts: The biggest mistake you can do on social media is lie. Lying to your manager saying you are sick but two hours later you post a picture of the beach isn’t really the smartest decision to do. It is ok to take a day off and relax but posting the evidence online will not help your position.
  5. Off-color, racist, sexist ,or inappropriate comments: This is very problematic if the comments are about your co-workers. If one of your co-workers happen to see your comment about an inappropriate matter and share it to around the company, there is a high possibility that your employer might find out about this matter.
Be smart about what you post on your social media!!!

Other than situations on how you can get fired by what you post on your social media, Doyle also gives tips on how you can avoid these situations:

  • Post smart: Think before you post whatever you are thinking about posting. If you are having doubts on whether you should post it or not, don’t.
  • Keep it confidential: Never disclose confidential information about your employer or co-workers. If it is something good about them, make sure you ask them for their permission before you post it.
  • Be intelligent: Use your personal email, devices and accounts carefully if you are currently employed.
  • Be prepared: Be prepared for the consequences you will be facing if you do post something you are not supposed to.

Not only will misusing technology will cost you your current jobs, it can also prevent you from getting jobs at other companies. Other companies will be able to see your past records and will most likely not hire you if they see that you have previously misused technology.

Thank you fir reading this week’s blog post! If you want updates on when I post these blogs then click on the button below to be directed to my Twitter where I will be posting whenever I upload a new blog post!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Dull to Dynamic: How To Engage Learners In An Online Science Course

Hello, and welcome to my first blog post! I’m currently a Freshman and enrolled as a Biology major. As a Biology major I am interested in articles that talk about how to make learning Biology as interesting and enjoyable as possible. Although some people may argue that learning about Biology is boring and tiresome, I cannot help but disagree. Learning about Biology can become fun and interesting if you know how to make it that way. Twitter makes it easy for us to find information by hash tagging out interests like #biology, #science, and #edtech.

Biotechnology can help students engage in their learning a lot faster and easier

While scrolling through Twitter, I came across this article that not only caught my eye, but also may help many students who dread science courses:

https://elearningindustry.com/dull-dynamic-engage-learners-in-an-online-science-course

This article was written by Pamela Wirth. Wirth brings up topics about how non-science major students dread taking any form of science classes. The most heard comments by students when asked why they decided to take the science course according to the author are:

I am taking this course because it is required for my degree.

Pamela Wirth (2015)

I am not sure how this course will support my career goals.

Pamela Wirth (2015)

After looking over the course requirements, I am a little nervous and intimidated!

Pamela Wirth (2015)

Wirth introduces 3 different ways on how you can motivate your students in the classroom.


Here is a short outline of all three of them.

1.Help the student to feel more cared about as a person – Science courses can be very intimidating with the large amount of work presented in the first week. To prevent students from fear or resistance of the course, one of the best ways to engage a learner is by tapping into any prior knowledge they possess. During the first week of the class, get to know your students. Having an emotional connection with your students not only will make you look like someone that genuinely cares about them, but it also helps them engage more into the class.

2.Recognize all students for their contribution – Many students to take science courses are non-science majors. Each student has a unique perspective on the course itself. By allowing students to have options on a projects or assignments will expand their interest and and help them engage in that specific science course. Not only will in help your students, it can attract many other students to the idea of engaging in a required course and not having to dread over it.

3.Provide opportunities for networking and social engagement – Give opportunities for your students to pair up with others for assignments. By providing social links, group forums, discussion boards, or even group activities allows your students to have a chance to working with others and discuss the topic with different people. Discussion boards are a great chance for students of 2 or 3 to collaborate and discuss the topic at hand.


I genuinely think that these techniques can help you in any classroom setting, whether it be a physical classroom, or an online classroom. Even just praising your students once in a while can boost their engagement in the class. Every learner has a different learning style that can help them engage in the class. It is the college professor’s job to learn about the student’s learning style.

Have an experience or another technique you want to share? Let me know in the comments!

Thank you for reading today’s blog post! Make sure you follow my Twitter: https://twitter.com/sul_1229 for more updates on my blog!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment