Falling in Love with Edmodo- 6 Steps to Get Started

This is a guest blog from Joanna Wallas, a middle school world language teacher at South Eastern York School District. We would love to hear about your newest technology discoveries and how you apply them to your classroom.

I’m obsessed. I admit it; I am completely and unequivocally obsessed and possibly in love. The object of my affection? Edmodo. You may scoff, as many of my colleagues have, however it does not negate the truth- I a former skeptic, have fallen in love with Edmodo.

Why am I so crazed you may ask? I have discovered that it is not just a mere
facebook interface for the classroom, but a class management system that can
make your classroom mobile. It’s secure, and circumvents several problems that other learning platforms have with email requirements, moderation, peer to peer texting, and parent transparency. Here are some tips to get started with Edmodo, try them and maybe you will fall in love too.

1. Build & Organize your library- The first flirtatious feature that drew my eye was the library. Within minutes, I could upload the entire year of class notes onto Edmodo. However, that was only the beginning. Prezi’s, voicethreads, youtube videos, screencasts, pdfs, audio files, and other websites can be uploaded easily and appear as a small preview icon. The key here is to have a collection of materials from a variety of sources. Many of us already have engaging electronic materials; we just never had an easy secure way to share them with students or maybe even not enough time. After you upload material, you can organize it by folders and control whom you share those folders.Material can appear in more than one folder allowing you to refer to it later on in another lesson, or to allow students to review past concepts.
2. Simplify scanning- The part of my relationship with Edmodo that I dreaded committing to was scanning my paper materials. The thought of sitting there and scanning page after page was daunting. Maybe you have already gone paperless, maybe you haven’t. This was the big thing holding me back; however, I discovered one tiny secret that made my life easier. The brand new photo copier at work emailed scans of images straight to my work email. All I had to do was punch in my address. Most of the teachers in my building are unaware of this, check out your photocopier- you may get lucky. If you are not the lucky goose I am, check out other options like your local library, staples, or mail centers. If you can streamline this part, the rest of the relationship will be easy. Electronic copies can easily be added to posts, assignments, quizzes, and the library.
3. Think ahead and give yourself time- I’m looking forward to marriage or at least a committed relationship with Edmodo. However, I am not diving in and shopping for a wedding ring at this very moment. I’m “dating” first and laying the groundwork for future plans. I work on the library,then make a quiz or two, and then try adding a student or two before adding a whole class with assignments and tasks.
4. Test the Waters-Some couples buy a pet together to see how things work out. I created a fake student to how things would work. I put my fake student into class and explored as her. I gave her assignments, checked out my library (her backpack), and posted things to see how students might experience Edmodo. I learned students can message me or the whole class and I can even moderate those comments. They can’t directly communicate with each other which cuts down on many cyberbullying or time wasting concerns.
5. Join a community- Dating’s more fun when you can do it in a group or with other couples. Many teachers are out there having the same problems you are, or they are creating incredibly innovative things and sharing them with others. This is a great way to multi-task and have a PLN as well as a platform for your students.


6.Meet the Parents and Do Your Homework- This goes back to planning your
dates and your future. You can’t just marry someone your parents never met. Edmodo has a help section with FAQ’s and a blog. They even created some resources that you can adapt to your classroom. These helpful items include student guidelines, codes of conduct, parent letters, and guidebooks for everyone involved. Their resources help explain to parents what Edmodo is and will help you explain what purpose it will serve in your classroom.

As with all things electronic, there are many things like access and time constraints to consider before entering into a relationship with Edmodo. I haven’t yet regretted my commitment. If you decide to start flirting with the idea of Edmodo in your classroom, write and tell me how your relationship with Edmodo works out!