Recently a colleague, Emily, introduced our students (we share, I teach them math, science, and social studies, she teaches them important things like how to read) to Edmodo. She had asked me about it but with grad school I didn't even have time to get back to her. Well, our students love it. What is Edmodo? It's similar to Blackboard but much friendlier to use. The layout makes it look like Facebook so it is important to talk to your students about the importance of academic discussions only when on Edmodo. Students do not have the ability to chat with each other on Edmodo so that alleviates one issue.
We have both been using it in different ways. Emily uses it as a place for students to have discussions about the books they are reading. I have decided to use it with science. As a trial run I have been posting a video each week about the science topic we are learning about. Students are expected to watch it and respond with scientific inquiry. The students who do not have access to the internet at home are able to look at it in class throughout the week when they have free time.
While Edmodo is not the answer to getting kids to do their homework it sure is a great incentive. The kids are excited and can't wait to see what video I post and they love to read each others comments and share their own thoughts. A rare day when students are excited to do their homework!
Great idea to post a video to get your students interested in their science lessons! I was introduced to Edmodo at one of the conferences I attended this past year. It seems like a great tool. It is not blocked at my county, but use is not exactly encouraged either. One of my summer projects is going to be to play around with it some.
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