Edmodo: CMS Products Part 2

Last time around, we discussed Moodle in part 1 of our tour of Course Management Systems (CMS). Today, we are talking about Edmodo. I had heard about Edmodo, but really learned about it a few weeks ago while visiting Zeeland East High School to check out their totally amazing iPad program. While on my visit, I was told told that up to half of the teachers at the school were using Edmodo. After my visit, I signed up and started "test-driving" it with my classes for a few weeks. My students generally liked it. Why? Because it totally looks and feels like Facebook.

Ah yes, a video.



Some of the features that I liked about Edmodo were I could easily set up my three classes by having students sign up for or my different classes codes. Easy. When students set up there profile they could choose to to get my updates by E-mail or by a text on their phone. This was probably a horrifying thought for some of my students that I would be texting class updates to their phones. Like most CMS products, it also has a calendar which let me add items to my calendar (color-coded by class). The quiz/poll feature is slick too. I can get immediate feedback from students as they enter the classroom or give a pop-quiz. Probably the feature I like the most is the fact that it did look like Facebook and have that social media feel. Students can message each other (or me) and ask questions from within Edmodo. You can also give parents an code to view their child's account. Of course you can post assignments, links, and upload files.

 Having a most of my materials already online with my Website, I am not used to using a CMS, but enjoyed my time using Edmodo. It has a pretty cool app for the iPhone, iPad, or for Android. Overall, I have to give Edmodo two thumbs up

Moodle, Moodle, Moodle: CMS Products Part 1

Moodle, Moodle, Moodle. It is just fun to say. Try it.

What we are talking about, of course, is Moodle, a free Course Management System (CMS). What is a CMS you say? Well, they are a place to help organize your classes online. You can upload, store, and link materials. You can give online quizzes and tests. Have a discussion board for class members to discuss ideas and assignments. You can post grades if your school doesn't already have an electronic grade book. This is the first in a four part series on different CMS products. First up is Moodle. Here is a quick video on Moodle and some of the features:



Here is my history with Moodle. I started using it last year in my Programming class. I already had a Website, but was looking for a way to give some online tests and quizzes. Our intermediate school district hosts Moodle for member school districts, so I signed up for a user account and created my classes. Moodle was easy to use and my students were able to sign in without a problem. The test feature is very good. I can give practice tests, tests, and retests. My daughter's chemistry teacher also uses Moodle for his classes and has it set up so students must complete a reteaching loop before taking a retest. Pretty nice. My one complaint with Moodle (and it is a small one) is that is is not very nice looking. The interface is pretty utilitarian. But, what does one want for free? Here is another video that I though was good. A take-off on Lee Lefever's videos.



I think that having your classroom materials will be standard in the next few years. I have had mine up for a several years now, but I teach computers. More and more schools are moving to one to one computing with students having laptops or tablets. It is the way education is moving. If you are thinking about using Moodle, here are some helpful links. More videos can be found here. If you are interested in moving your class online or simply looking for a convenient storage place that offers some organization, you may want to look into Moodle

Good luck!

Course Management Systems: What are they and what is best?

Most of us have run into classroom (or course) mamanagement system along the way in our education. I am old and even I have run into a class or two from graduate school that used Blackboard. A CMS is usually defined as "a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, and reporting of training programs, classroom and online events, e-learning programs, and training content." Thank you Wikipedia. Common CMS products also include the use of calendars, testing options, message boards, and the ability to send alerts to students. Many of us have managed the work-flow in our classrooms in a variety of ways in the past twenty years. My story is below.

I have been teaching computers to high school students since I left Ottawa Hills High School (and electronic typewriters) behind in the late eighties and I have seen a lot of changes. In college I took a class that showed my how to made overheads and run a ditto machine. Ahh, the good old days. I have moved from running my classes with paper handouts and textbooks to sharing documents over the school network on a shared directory to having my own Website where all my documents and materials, such as screencast movies are stored for students to access from home or school. I am still moving stuff from my school's network to the cloud. It seems I have seen it all. But not yet.

After having a class Website since I could code HTML back in the nineties, I am thinking that I might be working too hard. Classroom Managements Systems (CMS) such as Moodle, Edmodo, Schoology, and My Big Campus have become so robust and user-friendly of late, that I can't ignore them any more. Did I mention that they are free also?

I have used Moodle as a platform for my Programming class for the last two years with mixed success. After visiting Zeeland East High School last week to checkout their iPad program, I was blown away by the number of teachers using Edmodo to manage their classes. I found the same thing when I visited Kent City High School two weeks ago. Many of their teachers are using Moodle or My Big Campus to help with their tablet program. Other schools are using a similar product called Schoology.

I will be looking at each of these classroom management systems in coming posts. I plan on test-driving Edmodo in a few of my courses this spring. Please check back in the coming weeks for an overview and tips on the CMS products listed.

Thanks!

Moodle, Moodle, Moodle

Admit it, it is fun to say. It rhymes with poodle (which I have a deep hatred for) and I still like it. But, what is Moodle and what is it all about. Lets take a quick at a video to explain the finer points and then I will fill you in on my experiences.



I have heard about Moodle for several years. A couple of the teachers at my high school use it as the online platform for their classes. Some of you may have used similar programs such as Blackboard or Web CT for Online courses at college. I had always resisted using it because I already had a Web Site and didn't want to try anything new. But, I finally tried Moodle (through my ISD) last year with a Computer Programming class I was teaching. It wasn't bad. Turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks. Some of the things that I liked were the fact that it was "locked down." If I had materials or information that I didn't want floating around on the Internet, I could make my class password protected and not allow visitors. I also liked the testing feature that allowed you to create and give exams over the Internet. Convenient. The class forum feature allows students to collaborate or post their thoughts on videos, readings, or assignments. Other students or the instructor can also comment on each post. Finally, the big thing I liked about Moodle was that I could use multiple means of instruction. Links are easily created to YouTube videos, sound files, screen-casts, PDFs, images, Office files, etc. This really helps students that learn in different ways. Think back to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) that I have posted on earlier.

As classroom instruction changes, wireless connections increase, and where a person learns expands, Moodle might be an option for your classroom in the future. Ask your tech director for more information. Thanks for visiting!