Classroom Technology
Created by Sara Miller, Kelsey Johnson,
Andrea Noonan, & Erica Spangelo
Originally presented Fall 2012 for RRVWP
Edited for NDCTE 2013 Conference
Classroom Writing
Technology
Because "technology" is an extremely, broad term,
we started with a group question and then
proceeded to ask individual questions focused
on our comfort level and interests.
Our group question was the following: "What are
best practices for using technology in order to
reach goals?"
Kelsey's Research
Using Edmodo in the secondary classroom
Question and Hypothesis
Group Umbrella Question: What are best practices
for using technology in order to reach goals?
My Question: Will blogging or using social media
like Edmodo help foster a stronger classroom
community?
My Hypothesis: I believe students will be motivated
to use technology like Edmodo to collaborate
and foster a stronger community because it's
approachable technology that students already
use in daily life.
Research/Texts Used
Allison, Paul. "Be A Blogger: Social Networking in the Classroom." Teaching the New
Writing: Technology, Change, and Assessment in the 21st-Century Classroom. Ed.
Anne Herrington, Kevin Hodgson, and Charles Moran. New York: Teachers
College, 2009. 75-91. Print.
- See included annotated bibliography excerpt
Doe, Charles. "Writing Software And Webware In The Age Of Social Computing."
Multimedia & Internet@Schools 14.4 (2007): 17-20. Academic Search Premier. 20
Sept. 2012. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.
- See included annotated bibliography excerpt
http://blog.simplek12.com/social-media/tweeting-with-students-uncharted-territory/
http://www.edutopia.org/how-to-blog
Allison, Paul. "Be A Blogger: Social Networking in the Classroom."
Teaching the New Writing: Technology, Change, and Assessment in
the 21st-Century Classroom. Ed. Anne Herrington, Kevin Hodgson,
and Charles Moran. New York: Teachers College, 2009. 75-91. Print.
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Allison uses this chapter in the book to paint a picture of what blogging
looks like in his classroom. He uses a student, Nichole, as an example and
tells us what she does for a week in his class: free-writes, comments on
others’ blogs, revises, finds Creative Commons images, polishes, links, and,
finally, posts her blog. His classroom is specifically setup for blogging and
“teaching new writing” so he has more freedom and time to incorporate
blogging into his classroom. Allison goes on to state that with blogging
students are able to have a more authentic audience causing students to be
more cognizant and polished publishers. He provides a matrix for students
to navigate on their own in his very student-centered “studio classroom
environment.”
Doe, Charles. "Writing Software And Webware In The Age
Of Social Computing." Multimedia & Internet@Schools 14.4
(2007): 17-20. Academic Search Premier. 20 Sept. 2012. Web.
20 Sept. 2012.
•
In this article, a reader is informed on numerous types of blogs, wikis, and
intervention websites and web 2.0 tools. The author provides a quick
analysis and review of the nine web tools discussed in the article. Besides
giving the reader a list of tools to help student succeed, the author also
discusses the importance of incorporating such technologies of blogs and
wikis. He argues that students are intrinsically motivated to write more
informally because of social networking like Facebook and MySpace. When
students see teachers latching on to the technology they use, they are more
apt to realize the importance of grammar and vocabulary acquisition.
Background Information
- I teach 8th graders, Juniors, and Seniors in a small, rural
school (LaMoure) with about 100 7-12 graders.
- general English classes plus electives
- English 8 is 14 kids (more girls than boys)
- all students have iPads
- English 11 is 22 kids (16 boys, 6 girls)
- Speech is 4 kids (1 boy, 3 girls)
- Creative Writing is 6 girls
- Brit Lit is 11 kids (even split, basically)
- upperclassmen have access to school
laptops and computer labs; cannot use cell
phones or iPods
How It Really Worked
I thought, "Kids love technology. They're on it all the time.
They'll love this."
My research kept telling me, "Kids love technology. They'll
be intrinsically motivated by technology in the
classroom."
My kids had differing opinions.
Method: I had all of my students in all classes create an
Edmodo account and join my classes. The students
were allowed to "play" on it to get used to it (basically, a
dumbed-down version of Facebook).
Edmodo Screen Shots
Edmodo Screen Shots
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This is an example of an
assignment I posted with
a weblink. I asked
students to look at the
webquest thing and then
post directly to the
assignment to create a
dialogue about what
they saw. This was
done as homework so I
could view it before
class and use it to guide
my teaching the
following day.
Edmodo Screen Shots
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These are a few
different types of posts I
did to Brit Lit:
o Bold posts are called
“Alerts” and (most)
students have
Edmodo linked to
their smartphone or
text messages so
they immediately get
these
o Regular typeface are
“Notes” – just a
regular post. Notice
that I can link word
documents (and all
sorts of file types)
Edmodo Screen Shots
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You can store items in the
“library” to retrieve later. Or,
they stay there for the next
time you teach the class.
Then, you don’t have to
reupload them. NEW*
Edmodo now connects to
your Google Drive (Google
Docs) to make it even
handier!
Edmodo Screen Shots
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You can create
assignment due dates
and reminders for
students.
o Mine are color
coded by class
o Students can also
upload their
assignments
directly to
Edmodo* (more next)
I believe students can
also keep their own
planner within
Edmodo, but I’m not
positive.
Edmodo Screen Shots
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This is what an
uploaded
assignment would
look like.
Edmodo makes it
easy to see who’s
turned in and who
hasn’t.
You can even grade
right in Edmodo and
make comments on
their files!
Those blue bars don’t really show
up. For privacy reasons, I had to
block out my students’ names!
Comments from students
From informal questionnaires passed about our class' use of Edmodo (which
happened in September). Some responses were about the use of Edmodo
in our school (many teachers use it) and technology as a whole.
"[Edmodo was helpful] because if
we need something (like study
guides) you can post it."
"[Silent Debate] was good but we
weren't all on at the same time so
that took the debate sense out of
it." "
"We have 24/7 access to teacher
or classmates if needed." (This
was a positive and negative.)
"Just use it IN class more."
"It's glitchy."
"It's great for reminders."
(common point)
"It's hard to
type" (from
my iPad
users with no
keyboards)
"It keeps record [of our "silent
debate"] to study later for our
essays."
"I usually don't
remember whats due
for class, and it's
helpful to have that
posted so I know
what to do."
"I liked [silent debates] because it
was different and interesting to do
something new."
"I would like it
if we didn't use
it at all."
"I feel more shy on Edmodo
because what I say is
permanent, where if I say things
out loud it's not."
"In other classes, I've been
assigned homework over the
weekends that they didn't talk
about in class... which is lame.."
Lessons Learned
- Kids will use technology if they are given proper guidance in how to use it. Many will not
"problem solve" or "figure it out" like we often assume with this generation.
- Hypothesis: It's for school, not for fun.
- Kids feel like school is being extended beyond the 3:25 bell. Weekends should be for
winding down, not more work.
- Many students felt Edmodo allowed 24/7 access between teachers and students.
- If Edmodo is used in the class during class time, students were more susceptible to using it
willingly with a positive attitude.
- Many students enjoyed our "silent debates" in English 8 and Brit Lit. Students can
access these any time in order to study material for assessments.
- As for my specific hypothesis of making us a stronger classroom community - I'm still up in
the air. It feels better in English 8, Brit Lit, and CW than last year, but there are too many
variables to say "Edmodo did it."
- Changes in the future: more direct instruction/expectations for "debates," have something
(like a bonus point question) posted every few days to encourage kids to use it more often.
8th graders use it more often because it's in their palms because of iPads.
Suggestions for Use
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Silent debating
Uploading homework assignments
Keeping an online lesson planner for students to see
Bell ringer work where kids could get a question or
problem and respond to it as class is beginning
Sharing resources
o In English 8 and Brit Lit, we would share websites we
thought would be helpful for others during their
research if we stumbled upon something.
Keeping in contact with parents (they can “join” the class
with a specific log-in code)
Your ideas? Does anyone use Edmodo currently?
Conclusion
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Throughout the 2012-13 school year, I’ve really liked using Edmodo. I don’t
use all of the features, but it’s nice for reminders for students.
o I mostly use Google Docs for homework being turned in and
commenting that way.
I believe students are more apt to ask questions with Edmodo. I would see
8th graders, Brit Lit, and Creative Writers really using Edmodo the most
(they are my more driven groups of kids) to get clarification on assignments
or directly ask me a question outside of school.
o I saw less “I didn’t know the assignment” or “I forgot” from my students
that embraced the technology.