I'm writing this post a little late- I think it was supposed to be posted today at noon. But after my boys basketball team got thoroughly beat Monday night, I hoofed it right out to Wisconsin Dells for the SLATE Conference- my second year attending. I'm now sitting in my room after a full day of sessions. One theme that seemed to permeate throughout the sessions I saw was moving away from paper. Through Google Docs, Edmodo, or any number of other tools, it's easy for teachers to not only communicate with students, but move the entire classroom online.
In my paper, I wrote about 21 Classes, Edmodo, and ThinkQuest. Edmodo, more so than the other two, seemed like a tool I could use that would really allow this shift to happen. The format is familiar to students, and I've heard other teachers say they take very easily to it. For a long time, the excuse for not making these moves has been access (and I'm as guilty of that as anyone). But more and more, students have that access, whether it be computer or phone, and a lot of these tools have Android and iPhone apps.
This fall, I'll be writing my second PDP goal (and boy am I excited). I think moving my class online will play a large role in this. As it stands, I see Edmodo playing a large role in that. It accepts a wide variety of embedded content, it allows for easy differentiated instruction, and the ability to adjust pace for students fits well into RtI.
Yeah I looked at Edmodo, too, and while I liked it the same issue crossed my mind as with all of these other student management systems. The issue is one of finding the solution that will be the closest thing to a one-stop-shop. I keep signing up for all of these student management systems to take a look and it seems like there isn't "one system to rule them all". I want to minimize the amount of logging in and remembering usernames and passwords as much as I can for students (AND staff). I'm thinking that getting our students Google EDU accounts may be the closest thing to having everything the students need in one place.
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