To Change … or not to Change?

What I Know

I know that Edmodo would feel familiar to my students using other social media sites and I like what I’ve seen on it so far but:

  1. I already post all assignments on my Computer Lab Wiki and I can set up discussions on the wiki – though I don’t often use the discussion feature and when I have the students don’t seem to really use it effectively.
  2. Parents can see what’s happening in the lab on the wiki: both the assignments and completed work that gets posted for each grade.
  3. Other teachers can see what we’re doing in the lab and are welcome to use the ideas themselves.
  4. I can have students turn in assignments via Dropbox or the online grading program I use – though I to admit that I haven’t used either of these options this year.
  5. I can contact students through the online grading program and through the wiki. I haven’t done this often and do admit that students don’t always check these when I do send them a message but would they check anything?

What I Wonder

I wonder if my desire to use Edmodo (or maybe I should look into Collaborize Classroom, instead?) is more about me and jumping on a bandwagon and trying a new tool than it is about my students.

  1. Would my students be more likely to participate in discussions if they were in a more private environment rather than a public one like on our wiki?
  2. Would the parents even notice if they couldn’t see all of the assignments anymore? Would it matter to them as long as completed projects were still posted publicly?
  3. Should I use this blog or a different wiki to post lesson plan ideas for other teachers and not worry about the fact that every assignment isn’t publicly available? The bigger question for me is would I maintain something else in addition to what I am using with my students?
  4. Is the turn in process better with something like Edmodo or not? What would my students or I gain?
  5. Would students check messages in Edmodo more than they check messages I currently send?

I am thinking of piloting Edmodo or (maybe Collaborize Classroom or both?) with at least some of the grades I teach next year. I wonder …

  1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of something like Edmodo over a wiki?
  2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Edmodo over Collaborize Classroom?
  3. Would one or both of these tools fit well into a Computer Lab situation?
  4. Would it be better to use this with my older students who are already almost all on the popular social media platforms or would it be better to use it as an introduction to social networks for my tween age students?

Do you have any answers? Comments? Suggestions? I’d love to hear about your experiences with Edmodo and Collaborize Classroom if you have used these with K-8 (5 year old – 14 year old) students.

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