February 18, 2010
Facebook in the Classroom?
I was on the English Companion Ning the other day and I came across a post that stopped me in my tracks, “Facebook in Classrooms.” My thoughts immediately went back to my days in high school and the fact that even the “roundabout” ways of getting to Facebook were inevitably blocked within days of their discovery. The idea that Facebook could be used as a supplement to classroom activities, not just as a social networking site, shocked me. However, it seems like some teachers out there are using Facebook to do some really awesome things for their classes:
-continuing class discussions
-homework help
-having workshops for seniors about using Facebook appropriately
-using Facebook to extend the discussion of a literary character by creating a profile for them
The posts also led me to a site called edmodo. “If a teacher had designed Twitter it would have looked like edmodo” – Christopher Dawson. After some research, I found that edmodo, like twitter, is a microblogging site. However, when registering, a person can register as a teacher or a student. Teachers then have the ability to create groups for their students that enable them to chat with one another, receive and upload assignments, and access classroom calendars and grades. A benefit to the site is that students do not need an e-mail address, just a code provided by their teachers. The site seems similar to Moodle or Penn State’s ANGEL, but it does also have some different features. It definitely seems like it could be a really great resource in a classroom.
Jason Whitney said,
February 23, 2010 at 10:00 AM
Interesting, but I think you’re right about Facebook being blocked most places. I guess Edmodo is an alternative for microblogging, and thanks for sharing that.
kimcuppett said,
February 26, 2010 at 10:05 AM
I actually came across a link to emodo in one of the other discussions on the EC Ning. It was listed as one of the free tools/resources for teachers. I clicked on it and opened it in a new tab, but I never got around to signing up and checking it out. I’m so glad that you wrote this blog about it, because I probably never would have found again to check it out. I just created an account and started to play around with it. It looks cool so far, and I’m excited to see what all it has to offer! Thanks for the post!
Me and My PLN: A Self-Evaluation « Bri Rafferty's Blog said,
March 31, 2010 at 4:21 PM
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