TESL-EJ20.1,May2016 Edmodo/Simon 1

TheElectronicJournalforEnglishasaSecondLanguageEdmodo:TheFacebookofLearningPlatformsMay2016–Volume20,Number1

Title Edmodo Developer Edmodo, Inc. Contact Information

https://www.edmodo.com/contact

Type of Product

Web-based social networking learning platform

Platform Web-based online platform Mobile applications available for iOS (8.0 and later), Android (2.3 and later) and Windows Phone (Windows 8 and later)

Price The website and mobile applications are free to use without limitations. Some third-party applications within the platform offer premium or subscription options after an initial trial period.

Help Center https://support.edmodo.com/hc/en-us

IntroductionConsidering the large number of research articles and how-to papers on the topic,integratingtechnologyintoinstructionandcreatinge-learningcontentseemtobetopicsofinteresttomanyeducatorstoday.However,thesheernumberoftoolsavailablecanbeoverwhelming,especiallywhentakingintoaccounttheadditionallearningcurveofthe“digitalimmigrant”generations(Prensky,2001).Therefore,itisimportanttolookattheoptionsavailabletoteacherswiththesepointsinmind.Edmodois a free, online e-learning platform that allows teachers to create and sharecontent with students and to track learning.Edmodo offers accounts for teachers,students,andparents,anditsfamiliarlookinginterfaceandrelativesimplicitymakeitastrong candidate for teachers looking to take advantage of the learningopportunitiesaffordedbythistypeoftool.Inadditiontoitsbasicfunctions,usershavepointedoutthatEdmodoisusefulasatoolforback-channelcommunication(Stevens,2012,p.5),ablogorwiki(Son,2011,p.3),asocial learning platform (Dowling, 2011, p. 7), and a microblogging platform(Newgarden, 2009, p. 13; Stevens, 2009, p. 13; Dowling, 2013, p. 2). This illustrateshowEdmodocanbeunderstooddifferentlydependingonthefeaturestheuserchoosestofocuson.Inthepresentreview,Edmodowillbeexaminedasasocialnetworklearningplatform, and in the following sections, the workings and limitations of the site areaddressed.

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GeneralDescription

Registering forEdmodois fast and requires submitting only basic information (seeFigure1).

Afterregisteringforateacheraccount,instructorscancreateandmanageonlineclassesand document student learning. Teachers can invite students to join their classesthroughauniquelygeneratedgroupcode toensure thatonlyappropriatepeoplehaveaccesstothecourse(seeFigure1).Uponregistering,studentsreceiveacodethattheirparentscanusetoseecourseprogress;however,theyneedtoverifytheirrelationshiptothestudentduringregistration.ThereisalsotheoptiontolinktheEdmodoaccountwithaMicrosoftOffice365account.

Figure1.StudentandparentaccountregistrationprocessonEdmodo

The basic mission ofEdmodois to provide instructors and learners with a learningmanagement system (LMS) that utilizes the users’ familiarity with social networkslikeFacebooktohelpestablisha learningcommunity.ThesimilaritieswithestablishedsocialnetworkslikeFacebookareimmediatelyvisibleinthefamiliarblueheaderandthelayoutof themain sections (seeFigure2).This is an important feature fromadesignstandpointasithelpstominimizethelearningcurveexperiencedbylearnersnewtoe-learning.Figure2showstheteacherinterfaceofEdmodo,whichhasthemostfeaturesofthethreepossibleaccount types (teacher, student, andparent). It canbedivided into tenmajorsections. The left side of the header (1) covers the home, class progress and librarymenus, themiddle (2) is occupiedby the searchengineof the site,whileon the right(7)Spotlight(an option to upload, publish and sharematerials), notifications and theuserprofilecanbefound.Ontheleftofthescreenthereareoptionstodisplayateacherprofile (3) and manage groups and communities (4). The middle of the screen isreservedforclassworkoptions(5),includingnotes,assignments,quizzes,polls,andtheability to send alerts about what should be done. Below, the newsfeed of the

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communities the user has joined will appear (6), which in this case is illustrated byLanguageArts.Finally,ontherightsideofthescreen,onecaninvitecolleagues(8)andcontact the help center (9). The last section on the right margin consists of theapplication store, the application manager and launcher, the calendar in the formofEdmodoPlanner,andanoptiontolinkMicrosoftOfficeOnlinewithclasses(10).

Figure2.TheteacherinterfaceofEdmodoFeatures

Edmodois a versatile learning platform that can be used for a number of learningpurposes.Onesimplepossibilityistosetupalibraryofdifferentfolderscontainingfilesand links for students to access viaEdmodo. Both students and teacher can link theirlibraries with theirGoogleDriveorOneNoteaccounts. Another commonly used featureofEdmodois to deliver and collect assignments andquizzes. Assignments andquizzescan be scheduled to appear at a preset time, and relevant files can be added tothem.Edmodoalsoofferstheabilitytosetuppolls,whichcanserveasatooltodiscoveranddiscussstudents’positionsonissues.

PerhapsthemostusefulfeatureofEdmodoisitsquizcreationtool(seeFigure3).Iftheuserclicksonthequizoptioninthemiddleofthescreen(seepoint5inFigure2),fivepossiblequestiontypesappeartochoosefrom:multiplechoice,trueorfalse,fill intheblanks,matching,andshortanswer.

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Figure3.QuizcreationonEdmodo

Withtheexceptionoftheshortansweroption,thequizzescanbeautomaticallygradedusinganswerspresetbytheteacher.Thismeansthatstudentscangetinstantfeedbackon theirperformance (seeFigure4).The short answerquestion type allows formorecomplex items;while thisoptionrequiresmanualcorrection, italsogives teachers theabilitytowritecommentsonthestudents’answersandgivepartialscoresaswell.

Figure 4.Example of the instantaneous feedbackEdmodoprovides for gap-filling itemtypesQuizzesrequiretheteachertosetatimelimitandprovideashortdescription.Afterthis,there are threemore options available: previewing the quiz tomake sure everythingappearsasitshould,theoptiontorandomizequestions,andanoptiontoprintthequizfor in-class use. By applying multimedia possibilities and linking audio files in thedescription,itisalsopossibletocreatelisteningtaskswithinthequizfunction.Overall,item creation is quite intuitive and happens through an easily navigable menu. Inadditiontotheresultsaccessiblebyviewingindividualstudents’answers,Edmodoalsoprovidesahighlyuseful feature for itemvalidationpurposes in the formofpie chartsdepictingstudents’performance(seeFigure5).This informationmakes itpossible forteacherstoimprovetheirquestionswhereneededforfurtherimplementation.

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Figure5.SamplefromEdmodo’spiechartandscorestatistics

Keeping track of student performance is a key feature of any LMS.Edmodocreates aprogress table for every course (see point 1 on Figure 2) where students’ scores onquizzesandassignmentsaretrackedandanoverallpercentagescoreiscalculated(seeFigure6).Teacherscanseethescoresoftheclassasawholeorofindividualstudents,andtheprogressgradebookcanbeexportedasanExcelfileforfurtheranalysis.

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Figure6.AsamplefromtheprogresstableontheteacherinterfaceonEdmodo

There are several other options for course customization usingEdmodo. First, as apossibility for increasing studentmotivationandengagement, teachers canopt toaddbadges, which students receive after attaining certain achievements.Edmodohas anumber of standard badges that are available in all courses, and it is also possible tocreate,assign,andsharenewonesacrosscourses.

Second,anumberofapplicationsareavailablefromthesite’sappstorethatenablethedelivery of more personalized course content (see point 10 on Figure 2). These aresorted into thedifferentsubjectareas thatareavailableonEdmodoand,dependingontheapplicationareeitherfree,orhaveatrialperiodandthenapremium(pay)option.Makinguseofthemenablesuserstoovercomesomeofthelimitationsofthesite.

LimitationsWhileEdmodoisaveryuseful tool inmanyways, itdoeshavesome limitations. Ifoneconsiders someof theMOOCplatforms likeCoursera,edX, orUdacity, one limitation isimmediately apparent:Edmodolacks the video lesson feature. AlthoughEdmododoesnotclaimtocompetewiththoseplatforms,norisitaimedatinstructinglargenumbersof studentssimultaneously,offeringsucha featurecould further the interactivenessofthelearningexperience,whichisperhapsofparticularimportancetolanguageteachers.Similarly, there is no possibility to stream lessons as can be done usingWizIQ. Thelimited means of interaction on the site also keepEdmodofrom being a fullyconstructivistWeb2.0tool.

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OverallEvaluation

The limitationsofEdmodomean that, dependingon the teachers’ aimsand the courserequirements,thebasicsitemaynotbesufficientforsomeandapossibleexpansionoffeatures using additional tools ormaybenecessary. For example, conference sessionscanonlybeheldwithadditionalsolutionslikeSkype.However,Edmodohasanumberoffeatures that make it a versatile tool for incorporating e-learning strategies intotraditionalsettings,foraugmentingface-to-facelessons,andtoaffordopportunitiesforcollaborativeandcooperativelearninginsmallgroups.

Conclusion

Edmodoisahighlyusefuland intuitiveLMSthatcan functionas themainplatformformanytypesofe-learningprojects.Itmakesitpossibletocreatecourseswithanumberof features, supporting both face-to-face and online initiatives. The educationalpossibilitiesofitsfeaturesoutweighitslimitations,manyofwhichcanbemitigatedwithadditionaltoolsorsoftware.Theuser interface’ssimilaritywiththatofFacebookmakesit intuitiveforstudentstousewithout interferingwiththeirprivatesocialnetworking.Various subject areas are supported by active online communities of teachers, whichmakeitpossibleforeducatorstonetworkandshareexperiences.AthoughEdmodomaynotbeperfectforeveryone,itisarguablythebestfreesocialnetworklearningplatformcurrentlyavailable.

ReferencesDowling, S. (2011). Web-based learning: Moving from learning islands to learningenvironments.TESL-EJ,15(2),1-27.

Dowling,S.(2013).Usingblogstosharelearner-generatedcontent.TESL-EJ,17(2),1-22.Newgarden, K. (2009). Annotated bibliography – Twitter, social networking, andcommunitiesofpractice.TESL-EJ,13(2),1-20.Prensky,M.(2001).Digitalnatives,digitalimmigrants,part1.OntheHorizon,9(5),1-6.

Son,J.-B.(2011).Onlinetoolsforlanguageteaching.TESL-EJ,15(1),1-12.

Stevens,V.(2009).Modelingsocialmediaingroups,communities,andnetworks.TESL-EJ,13(3),1-16.

Stevens,V.(2012).Learner-centereddo-it-yourselflearningmanagementsystems.TESL-EJ,15(4),1-14.

AbouttheReviewerKrisztiánSimon<skrisztian88@gmail.com>isathirdyearPh.D.studentinthedoctoralprogrammeinEnglishAppliedLinguisticsandTEFL/TESOLattheUniversityofPécsinHungary.Hismainresearchareasaree-learningandcontentdevelopment.

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