Edmodo Apps

The Edomdo App Store

In a recent blog post I wrote about Edmodo being used to improve student writing skills. Although my focus with Edmodo is on the writing and the collaboration, there are other ways Edmodo can be used to enrich the learning experience.

Edmodo also has an app store where teachers can download third party apps that are embedded into the Edmodo platform. These apps are provided by third party developers and offer a great way to supplement regular classroom instruction. They can be used to review and reinforce concepts as well as learn new material. Apps are convenient too. They can be installed into a class for easy student access.

The app store can be accessed through the Store icon found on the upper right corner of the Edmodo screen. Once in the store you'll notice a variety of categories along the left side. There are free and paid apps within the store. Licensing for each app is determined by the publisher. The Edmodo help files explains the difference between the two types of licenses:

Publishers can license apps in the Edmodo Store in one of two ways.

1. Unlimited: This is a 12 month license that does not include a limit on member seats.

1. Group-based: This is the most common type of app license. The Group-based license includes 30 seats* and is valid for 365 days from the date of purchase. If the number of Group members exceeds the number of seats you have available, you will receive a notification prompting you to purchase add-on seats for those Group members. Additional seats may be purchased at any time before the license ends.

Once the teacher buys and installs the app, students can access them from their account. There are apps to teach fractions, geometry, and pattern blocks in math. Others include figurative language and persuasive writing in language arts. There are even apps for classroom management.

Getting Smart recently posted Edmodo - Making It Personal with 40+ Apps listing a variety of ways you can use Edmodo apps in your classroom and the top 40 apps in the app store. Although I have never used apps within Edmodo, these sound like a great way to enrich student learning.

If you have used any Edmodo apps with your students I'd love to hear about your experience in the comments below.

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In Defense of Wikipedia

I recently got this email from a coworker:

Can we visit about wikipedia?  I hear it's peer reviewed and not able to be edited by just anyone.  What's the truth?  Many teachers won't allow it as a solid reference in research.  What do you think?

This is a sentiment I've heard all too frequently. It's true that Wikipedia is peer reviewed, can be edited by anyone, and has contained erroneous information at times. But I think it's a great resources for finding accurate information on a variety of subjects. I decided to do a little digging to see how trustworthy it can be. All of my information came directly from Wikipedia's own FAQ pages, so I guess that should be taken with a grain of salt.

One of the concerns, as raised in the email above, is that anybody can edit a wiki article. Wikipedia is entirely free - anybody can create an account and edit information on any page. However, I believe that helps ensure the accuracy of wiki pages instead of making them unreliable. Most wiki pages are monitored by many, possibly hundreds, of other contributors. If someone with bad intentions were to add inaccurate or misleading information, the chances are great that someone else would catch the change and be able to edit it for more accuracy. Behind the scenes of each page are discussions and debates between all the contributors that the end user may not be seeing. Every change on a page is also logged in a page history, so anyone can see those changes and who made them. From the FAQ Is Wikipedia accurate and reliable? (emphasis mine):

It is possible for a given Wikipedia article to be biased, outdated, or factually incorrect. This is true of any resource. One should always double-check the accuracy of important facts, regardless of the source. In general, popular Wikipedia articles are more accurate than ones that receive little traffic, because they are read more often and therefore any errors are corrected in a more timely fashion.

The accuracy of any wiki article is dependent on the accuracy of the sources on which it relies. Information within any given Wikipedia article should be derived from authoritative sources. As you read wiki articles you'll notice footnotes that lead to the References section at the bottom of each page. If someone added factual information to an article without citing a source, you may see a "Citation needed" note.

Are the external sources reliable?

If the external sources cited are authoritative, then the overall wiki article should be accurate and reliable. This is also a great place for students to go for more information or additional sources.

Any source students use - newspaper, encyclopedia, book, or media - can have wrong or outdated information. Students need to be taught to look at any source critically and check it for accuracy. I read the local newspaper every day and I know that not everything I read is going to be accurate or contain all of the information I need. If I feel I'm missing something then I'll go online and check other news outlets as well. This fills in any information gaps and gives me a better picture.

We need to teach students the same thing with Wikipedia. It shouldn't be avoided or not allowed to be cited as a source. Instead it should be viewed as a clearinghouse of information, a compilation of many sources into one article. It shouldn't be the only source, but it can be a great starting point for research!

What do you think about Wikipedia? Let me know in the comments below.

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Edmodo is not Facebook!

I have been thinking a lot lately about Edmodo and how it can be used in education. Edmodo has commonly been thought of as Facebook for education. But to me Edmodo is not Facebook! It's a learning platform that happens to look like a social platform. It has so much potential in the classroom! I hope that more teachers at my school will begin to use it in a variety of ways with their students.

The 5th grade classes have been working on opinion pieces (W.5.1). I have decided to write my own opinion piece to explain why Edmodo is not Facebook. 5th graders, leave feedback below if I've not written my essay correctly!

Edmodo is not Facebook!

Edmodo is a social learning platform for schools. It allows teachers and students to connect and collaborate on learning. CCSD has been recognized as one of the stand out districts in the nation for the number of teachers and students who are connecting, sharing resources, and learning. Although Edmodo's look and feel is similar to Facebook, in my opinion there is much more to it. I believe that Edmodo is more than just a communication tool.

Edmodo provides a way for students to improve their writing skills. Two of the writing standards in the CCSS are W.x.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach and W.x.6 With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others. These standards can be met by using Edmodo. Students can post a writing sample as simple as a sentence or as long as an essay. Other students can then post comments to ask questions, clarify meaning, and offer suggestions for improvement. Even second graders are supposed to "use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers." What better way to do this than by using a safe environment like Edmodo? It is so flexible it can be used in a variety of subjects and grade levels and is widely used in schools throughout the country.

Since Edmodo can be used so easily, many teachers in middle and high school use it for their whole class. They can post quizzes, polls, assignments, and even keep a grade book on it. Teachers in any subject can use it to extend learning. Students in the upper elementary grades need to be exposed to Edmodo so that when they enter middle school they are already familiar with it, regardless of the classes in which they enroll. They will be able to use it to collaborate with other students and to complete work assigned by their teachers. If they don't learn how to use it in elementary school, it will be one more thing they have to learn before they can get to the actual classwork. Teachers love to use Edmodo not just for the ease of use and flexibility, but also because they can control who has access to their content.

Edmodo is the perfect social learning platform for schools because it's a safe environment. When using Facebook you have to be careful of your settings so that everything you post cannot be read by just anyone. Posts that students publish on Edmodo can only be read by other members of their class. Not even other members of the school can read them. Strangers or other individuals outside of the class cannot communicate with the students directly or indirectly. Teachers also have the option of moderating posts. This makes is safe for students. They don't have to worry about strangers reading their posts or interacting with them. Parents can also have Edmodo accounts that let them view direct posts from their kids.

Edmodo is not Facebook because there is so much more that it can do. It is a way for students to collaborate with each other, to prepare students for work in middle school, and is a safe way for students to communicate with each other.

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Cool and useful website: Symbaloo

I've been seeing and hearing a lot about a cool and useful website called Symbaloo. From their About page:

Symbaloo is a personal startpage that allows you to easily navigate the web and compile your favorite site all in to one visual interface. Save your bookmarks in the cloud and access them from anywhere with any device.

Basically you create a collection or "mix" of favorite websites on one page. These bookmarks are visually represented by tiles. These Symbaloo mixes can be embedded on a class webpage or set as the home page for your classroom computers. This makes it extremely easy for your students to access the websites they need to complete your activities. This introductory video does a good job of describing what the website does.

How can this site be used in the classroom? If you have your students do any kind of work on the web you can create a mix to make it easy for them. Here are links to a variety of Symabloos to help you start thinking about how you can incorporate this great tool.

Virtual Field Trips
National Geographic Books
eBook Read To Me
Biomes for 2nd Grade
Art in the Classroom

Check out the Symbaloo Gallery for even more ideas. How will you use Symbaloo in your class?

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Cool and useful website: Wonderopolis

I first heard about Wonderopolis from a blog post I read last summer. Ever since, I've been thinking about how it could be used in the classroom.

Wonderopoolis is a site that inspires creativity, thinking, exploration, and, of course, wonder. Each day the site posts a new wonder that kids can explore. Some examples of wonders are: How Many Hot Dogs Can I Eat In 10 minutes? How Rare Is The Rhino? What Is Infinity? Each wonder is accompanied by a short video. Here is the video for the wonder How Do Pets Find Homes?

 

There is also a detailed discussion of the topic which includes vocabulary words. An interactive Wonder Words section helps students extend their understanding of the highlighted vocabulary words in the article.

Other sections of the website allow learners to explore previous wonders, submit ideas for new wonders, and vote on wonders others are thinking about.

How can this site be used in the classroom? The possibilities are endless! Here are just a few quick ideas:

• watch the video and discuss what was learned
• students write in their journal, blog, or on Edmodo about what they learned
• draw and label pictures about the wonder
• have students further research the wonder
• take the Wonder Word Challenge and use the vocabulary words in a story or article about the wonder
• have students select a previous wonder and write, blog, or post on Edmodo about it
• assign the wonder as part of the homework for students to share with their family

What other ideas do you have for using this website in your classroom?

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The nuts and bolts of a student run broadcast

I talked about our school's morning announcements in a previous post. You can view previous broadcasts here. The broadcasts are going extremely well. I love working with these students and am very proud of how quickly they learn and take over. Several people have asked about the equipment I use, so in this post I will list the equipment and describe how the studio is set up.

EQUIPMENT

I am lucky enough to have an office that is big enough to hold my work space as well as fit the entire TBN studio nice and neat. The studio is set up in the back of my office as shown in the bottom picture. Here is a list of most of the equipment used in the studio.

• Video Furnace - this device (#7 in the picture) was provided by the district. It captures the video and audio feeds, sending them down to the district run PBS station where they are encoded and sent back to the school through the Cable in the Classroom program.
• Sima SFX-11 Digital Video Mixer (#1)- I picked this mainly for the price. It's one of the cheapest video mixers out there at less than $500 and does an excellent job for my purposes. It has 4 inputs (two RCA and two S-Video). All of my video sources (two cameras and one laptop) are connected to it. It has several outputs so I can connect a monitor to it to see what I'm capturing. The main video out connects directly to the Video Furnace device. My crew is able to select the different video sources at the push of a button.
• Behringer XENYX X1204USB 12-Channel Mixer (#8)- The video mixer can handle basic audio mixing, but I decided to go with this audio mixer because it can handle more inputs and different types of inputs. I have two microphones for the anchors, one microphone for the weatherperson/interviews, a laptop playing videos, and another laptop providing background music. The main audio out on this goes directly to the Video Furnace device.
• Teleprompter software - I currently use a free program called Microscript Pro. It's got a few quirks to it. I'm interested in trying out something different like AquaPrompt or PromptDog. I have it installed on two computers, one for the anchors and another for the weather/interview person.
• Computers - I use three laptops in our studio. One runs the teleprompter software for the anchors (#2), another runs videos (opening sequence, closing credits, and any other special videos) (#3), and the third (#11) runs the teleprompter software for the weather/interview person as well as playing background music (Radio Disney).
  
• Video cameras - I have one camera setup on the anchors (#4). A second camera (#10) is setup for the weather and is moved for interviews since they take place in the same space.
• Lighting kit - the first year I set up the studio the Student Council was all excited about it so they donated funds for more equipment. I decided to purchase a light kit similar to this one. It helps brighten up the whole studio so it appears better on screen.
• Monitors - in order for my crew to see everything that is going on I have several computer monitors. One is to display the teleprompter script for the anchors (#5), another displays the teleprompter script for the weather/interview person (#9), and the third is hooked up to the video mixer so we can monitor what is actually viewed in the classrooms (#6).
• Cables and dongles - of course there are all kinds of cables running all around and dongles connecting the computers to the monitors and mixers. I included headphones for all of the crew so they can hear the broadcast just like the school would hear it.

In the picture below you can see how the studio is set up. The anchor desk for two anchors is set up to the left, and the weather wall is set up to the right. I have a primary grade weather kit hanging on the wall. The chairs in that area are setup for any interviews we do.

The TBN studio

PROCEDURE

The whole broadcast is run entirely by 4th and 5th grade students. I have a crew of 9 that arrives each morning at 8:40. They turn on the equipment, load up the scripts, and practice the day's script. During the practice we have a static image (the school logo) displayed on the screen and Radio Disney playing. This gives teachers the chance to turn on their classroom equipment and make sure they are receiving the broadcast.

A few minutes before the broadcast begins the audio mixer shouts "Going live!" and turns on all the microphones. At that point everyone becomes completely silent. At the first bell the broadcast begins with an opening segment and from that point forward the broadcast is live - bloopers and all!

The person running the video mixer is pretty much in charge. They queue the anchors and weather person for their parts and switch between the cameras and video. The audio mixer brings the microphones in and out and monitors the audio level for the videos and background music.

The crew were selected from students who filled out an application expressing interest in being part of the crew. The students rotate through the jobs every two weeks so that everyone gets a chance to try each job. Everybody wants to be the anchors and be on air, but they also enjoy the behind the scenes job as well. Some jobs are very complex and hard to do (video mixer), while others are simple and don't require a lot of effort (camera person).

The best part about this? I stand back and do nothing. The students run all the equipment and I just stay out of the way!

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Saving YouTube Videos

It seems like everyone has a lesson, how-to, demonstration, or other exciting video that they've posted on YouTube. These come in handy when you are teaching a concept and need a little additional information to enhance that lesson. Unfortunately in my district YouTube is blocked. But with the help of the Internet you can download that cool video at home and still show it during your lesson.

Ideally, to get through the district filter the YouTube video should be tagged for educational use. You can usually contact the author of the video and ask them to add that tag. You can also submit the video through YouTube EDU's submission form.

If you are unable to do that, or need it quicker than the email back and forth, you can use a site like http://www.keepvid.com to convert and download the video. Best of all-the site is free! You will need to follow these steps at home, since you still need to access the YouTube video.

To start you need to navigate to the YouTube video you want. Copy the URL for that video from the address bar.

Go to http://www.keepvid.com and paste in that URL in their search bar. It should look something like this.

Then click the Download button to the right of the search bar. Don't click any Download buttons below the search bar - those are ads and you'll end up downloading some junky software.

After click Download you may need to accept a security warning about Java. It's okay to Trust it - I've done this hundreds of times without any problems.

After the Java applet runs you'll be presented with a choice of file formats. Always go with the mp4 file format. The 480p is in the 4:3 aspect ratio and a smaller file size. This is usually good enough for my needs. 720p is in the 16:9 aspect ration and a much higher quality (and file size).

Click the link for the file format you want and it will download the video to your computer. Transfer that video to a flash drive and take it to school!

Keep in mind that the video is not yours to keep. I only offer this tip as a way of getting around the district filter for content you know is acceptable and useful in your class. Once you've shown the video be sure to delete it and also give proper credit to the author!

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