Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a technological application used in the education domain as a collaboration tool between the teachers and students. The main purpose of Google classroom is to simplify the process of sharing information, data, and ideas. I tried the Google Classroom application, and I have found that it closely works together with Google calendar to provide dates and scheduling, YouTube for visual aid, Google drives for creating assignments and distributing them, Gmail to communicate, as well as the Google Docs and Sheets for writing to ensure educational institutions upgrade to a paperless system.

The Google Calendar reminds students of assignment due dates, class presentation dates and the dates for field trips, and so on. Furthermore, learners can be invited to a virtual classroom by the use of a private code that can be added to a student’s user interface. The Google Classroom enhances teacher-student, student-student, and teacher-teacher relationships when administering, submitting, grading, and storing assignments in Google drive. It is the discretion of an instructor to enable file editing once submitted for marking so that individual students can correct their work. The Google Classroom is confidential in that it is not possible for a student to access the work of another, a feature that makes it difficult to cheat. However, the Google Classroom allows learners to see and do class assignments as well as read documents and class materials in one file.

Moreover, the Google Classroom allows instructors to create, review, and mark assignments, as well as grade students. After accomplishing an assignment, a student can save the file and submit it for grading. The Google Classroom tool provides the teacher with various marking scheme versions for marking exams and assignments (Abazi-Bexheti, 2018). During marking, teachers can attach instruction files to an assignment so that students can know the areas they need to improve on. Through the Google Classroom, teachers can create files and be able to monitor the progress of individual students on the assignment.

Furthermore, the Google Classroom tool enhances communication between teachers and students through the assistance of Gmail services. The tool allows the teacher to post announcements to the stream classes where students can give their feedback. Hence, the Google Classroom provides a two-way communication platform between the instructors and students. On the other hand, students can post to the class interface and receive responses from other students and their instructors. Videos from YouTube can be attached to classroom announcements and assignments making the user’s experience more fun and interactive.

The tool helps save time since students can simply join the class through the code given by the teacher (Abazi-Bexheti, 2018). Instructors can share information from one class to another and archive it for future reference. In addition, the ability to share information across classes makes it easy for the teachers to manage multiple classes without much struggle. This way, the Google Classroom application facilitates the teaching and learning process. School librarians can also use the Google Classroom to share information materials with the students, as well as monitor the progress of the students in terms of learning skills such as information literacy. It makes the learning process interactive, bolsters collaborative learning and when implemented appropriately can result in better learning outcomes for the students.

References

Abazi-Bexheti, L., et al. (2018). LMS Solution: Evidence of Google Classroom Usage in Higher Education. Business Systems Research Journal, 9(1), 31-43. Doi: 10.2478/bsrj-2018-0003.

Google Classroom. (2018). Google Class Room. Retrieved August 7, 2018 from https://classroom.google.com

Padlet

Padlet is an educational application which is available as a mobile app, as well as a desktop, web-based tool, designed for collaborative teaching and learning. The application is captioned by the developer as follows; “Create a page. Put anything on it. Invite your friends. Share with the world.” Truly, as I tried it, I discovered that it is a powerful tool which can be used to enhance the learning outcomes for the learners while making the teachers more productive. In this regard, a user is able to make creative boards, web pages or documents on the application, based on their preferences. The boards are interactive and easy to read. They are also easily accessible by other collaborators, which means that users can share information and ideas. Users have the option of selecting from a repository of pre-designed templates or create theirs based on a blank slate. With a template, one can create content, including text, images, video, audio, and multimedia content. Teachers can upload instructional materials, assignments, feedback, comments, and posts to discussion forums on the platform. Similarly, students can express themselves through different formats of content, including video and text. They can share their posts, comments on their peers, and engage in collaborative projects with their classmates and teachers.

A user who has created an account and a template can easily invite collaborators to comment, like, create original content, make edits in real-time and share their ideas. The collaborators can make the content and interactions more lively and fun, by including real-l-time music, videos, and documents. Perhaps more interesting is the fact that users can share the content they and their collaborators create with virtually anyone they like, including friends, classmates, teachers, family, and parents. As a result, Padlet enriches the learning process and allows the teachers a chance to engage their learners in an interesting learning environment.

The Padlet is beneficial to both teachers and students, as it augments the learning and teaching process. Accordingly, it is highly applicable in the classroom setting. Educators can use the Padlet to create a student-friendly classroom environment that augments the traditional classroom setting. For example, a teacher can use the Padlet as a tool for sharing information materials, such as video links, photos, and documents, which the learners can easily access and share with their classmates online. Also, teachers can engage the students in discussion forums, where the classmates share their views on a topic of study, expressing their feelings and enriching the content. The fact that students can comment on their classmates’ posts means that the Padlet facilitates collaborative learning. Similarly, teachers can give feedback and comments, aimed at helping the students to improve on their learning goals.

Lastly, the Padlet tool is useful in the school library setting, since a school librarian can use its collaboration features to execute library instruction plans marked by sharing and collaborative learning. Here, the school librarian can use the Padlet as a way of availing links and documents to the learners, ensuring that the students have access to relevant information materials in an engaging and interesting environment. The librarian can also collaborate with the teachers to share ideas and concepts, including in developing and implementing instructional plans to enhance the learning outcomes of the students.

Link: https://padlet.com

Quizizz

The collaborative learning application that I selected and tried this week is named Quizizz.  Quizizz is a simple, user-friendly and interesting technological learning tool, whose design was clearly made with the student in mind. It is an interactive learning application, which has increasingly gained popularity because, among other things, it is gamified.  The Quizizz is an interactive learning and teaching tool that is made specifically for assessing the students to know what they know and what they need to improve. This is a powerful and useful for teachers, as it allows them to select from millions of pre-developed quizzes and assign them to their students. The existing quizzes are created by competent teachers, and they can be modified to suit any classroom and level. Alternatively, teachers can quickly design their quizzes, as well as modify already existing ones, depending on the assessment needs of their students. One of the most outstanding benefits of this application for the teacher is that it frees up time that would otherwise be used for developing assessments, marking, and grading. The teacher can use that to teach, create learning material, or answer student questions, among other things. All the teacher needs to do (after assigning the assignment) is to give feedback to each of the students.

Quizizz is also useful in engaging the students in the learning process, as it allows the students to share their work, through the Live Game features. Teachers can make the classroom lively and engaging, by allowing the students to play a live game together, which is also possible for the students as they undertake their quizzes. The Homework Mode further allows for student collaboration, which promotes hands-on learning and can improve learning outcomes. On the same note, students and teachers can use any device and is so easy to use that any student with digital literacy can use it independently.

The fact that Quizizz offers self-paced, interactive assessment environment, and does not require the teacher to do any grading makes it a valuable teaching and learning tool. Perhaps more interesting is that the app allows parents to have an account, and can take part in their children’s learning process, by either seeing what their children are doing, what they know, and where they are going next.

Quizizz is without a doubt a useful learning and teaching application, which can fit in the school library, as well as the classroom setting as a technology to enhance learning. In the school library setting, the educators can rely on the tool as an interactive student-friendly assessment tool, which a school librarian can use to evaluate whether the students have understood the content that was taught, and where they will go next. School librarians working with teachers can also select or design quizzes, and assign them to the students through the app, and then give feedback to the students. A similar process is possible for the ordinary classroom, as the teacher is able to create an interactive and engaging classroom environment, allow the students to play educational games together to augment the learning materials, and give student-specific feedback to guide their students to improve where necessary.

Link: https://quizizz.com

Blackboard Collaborate Learning

Overview

The Backboard Collaborate is an innovative learning solution designed to enable teachers and students to collaborate in a virtual classroom. The tool has interactive collaboration and conferencing tools and features, which is meant to engage the students in a virtual learning environment, making it feel as though they were in a real classroom. The Blackboard Collaborate allows in-app and browser-based collaborations.

Features and Uses

One of the most outstanding features of the digital learning tool is that it offers features for teachers to undertake web conferencing at any time and anywhere and invite their students to follow through. The students can take part in the video conference, by putting in their contribution, asking questions and receiving responses on a real-time basis, and interacting with their fellow students. The Blackboard Collaborate has inbuilt features that make such web conferencing and virtual interactions intuitive and straightforward so that the learner and teacher can focus on collaborating an engaging in the virtual classroom, rather than the technology.

Moreover, educators can perform real-time annotations and text editing, meaning that the teaching process is simplified. The educators can add and delete content on the virtual whiteboard, enhancing the teaching process, and make the learning process engaging. Also, the users can share content, such as article links, text files, tutorials, presentations and photos and others by a simple drag and drop feature. The sharer can make real-time annotations.

As the participants engage in the learning process, they can “raise” their hand, so that the moderator can know they are following and call them out in case they have a question or comment.  The Blackboard Collaborate also allows multiple presenters to engage in a classroom, as well as the participants to engage in an in-session chat, making the virtual classroom session highly interactive. The chat feature can be disabled as may be necessary. Participants can follow the speaker by using the active speaker button and placing it on a top space in the screen during a conference. This enables the participants to know who to ask questions or comment.

Lastly, the participants can create personalized profiles, complete with personalized participant-specific controls, showing one’s in-session role, name, profile pictures, and status. This makes the online collaboration engaging and user-specific, meaning that the educators and students feel engaged and important in the learning session. On this note, the Blackboard Collaborate is built for universal accessibility, implying that any user, including users with disabilities, can easily and fully engage in the virtual learning and teaching experience.

Application in the School Library and Classroom Setting

The Blackboard Collaborate is an authoritative online teaching and learning tool that can fit properly within a classroom and school library setting as a technological aid for education. Educators in the classroom and school library setting can use Blackboard Collaborate to create collaborative and engaging learning sessions for the learners, allowing them to participate in the learning process and improve their learning outcomes. The school librarian can use the tool to download and share pertinent information sources or guidelines with the learners. They can also give a presentation on a real-time basis, allowing the learners to ask questions on the go, as well as share their insights with their classmates in a virtual classroom. The app can also be used to provide universal access for all students, including those that are living with various disabilities. Moreover, the teachers and school librarian can use Blackboard Collaborate to administer quizzes and assessments, grade the assignments and share feedback with their students. The educators can also customize the learning process, by allowing the students to personalize their profiles and controls, thereby making the learning and teaching process exciting and effective.

Link: http://www.blackboard.com/online-collaborative-learning/blackboard-collaborate.html

ClassDojo

ClassDojo is a teaching application that enables teachers to organize their classroom and communicate more effectively. The tool allows teachers to communicate with the students and even parents, thereby creating a friendly and interesting learning environment. Teachers can share the progress of students with the parents, besides giving timely feedback and motivation to the students. For example, a teacher can use the application to promote best learning practices such as teamwork, practice and creative arts.

The fact that a teacher can share photographs and videos about the classroom with the parents means that they can include the parents in the learning experience. The parents get a chance to feel how their children are learning, and in fact track their performance. Teachers can send instant, safe messages to parents to inform them about their children's’ progress and any issues related to their learning and wellbeing. Students, on the other hand, have digital portfolios, where they can easily add their classwork and assignments. This way, the students can showcase their achievements. Perhaps more notable is the fact that the teacher can use the application to organize the class, including maintaining the records of their students and tracking their performance.

The ClassDojo is applicable in the school library and classroom settings because it allows the teachers to save time as they communicate with the students and the parents. This implies that the educator has more time to concentrate on the main process of teaching their students. In addition, the tool can be used for sharing instructional material such as videos and text with the students. As such, the teacher or school librarian can use the tool to share useful links and resources with the students. On that note, the tool can enhance the learning process.

It is also noteworthy that the app makes the classroom an interesting learning environment, which can be a useful motivational tool for the learners. Motivation is one of the most important aspects of the teaching process, as the teacher needs to get the students to relate to their learning environment, hence develop an interest in what they are learning. Educators can use the tool to share motivational messages and content, and see what their students are up to. The students, on the other hand can share their coursework on the app by posting in their portfolios. This promotes reflective learning, which can enhance the learning outcomes.

Overall, the ClassDojo is an interesting, user-friendly and interactive technological tool, which enhances the teaching process. Teachers and school librarians may consider integrating the tool in the classroom setting to create an interesting classroom environment, as well as engage the parents in their children’s educational journey.

Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.classdojo.android

Educreations Interactive Whiteboard

This week, the technological teaching and learning tool that I have tried and reviewed is the Educreations Interactive Whiteboard. Educreations is a highly interactive, user-friendly and simple and unique app which is designed to enhance the teaching and learning processes. It is an interactive virtual whiteboard, as well as a screen-casting tool that is fun to use. It has a wide range of unique features designed to enable the teachers to create and share content, and the students to display that they have learned.

With the Educreations tool, a teacher can animate, annotate and narrate various types of content as they are teaching, including images and videos. For example, a teacher can give a demonstration of how the fertilization process proceeds in the fallopian tube. The teacher can make drawings, annotate them, and give visualized narrations to augment the teaching process. This has the power to capture and sustain the attention of the learners, as it makes the learning process fun while simplifying the teacher’s work. The tool also allows the instructor to create and instantly share short videos, further empowering the teacher to create content and teach effectively.

What is more, the Educreations app enables the students to create content in the form of pictures, audio, video, and multimedia, and share them with their fellow students and the teachers. This feature allows the students to share their ideas and expressions, as well as what they have learned. In the process, other students can learn from their peers. The feature can be used for assessment purposes, as it gives the teachers a chance to see whether the students understood the content they have learned. The students can easily access the teacher’s instructions, and conduct their activities such as forum discussions in-app. The teacher, on the other end, is able to give multimedia feedback and monitor what the students are doing and guide them as may be necessary.

It is noteworthy, also, that all the content that the teacher and students create is stored securely in the app, and the users can access the files from anywhere and at any time, as long as they have the required permissions. The files are all backed up in the cloud, meaning that a crashed device does not mean lost content. It is a powerful way of teaching remotely, creating a smart, virtual learning environment that can appeal to the students and promote learning. Teachers can also share the lessons and feedback via multiple channels, including email, content links, instant messages, Facebook, Twitter and by embedding the content the on blogs and websites.

Given the features described above, Educreations can be a powerful tool that can contribute to more effective teaching and learning in classroom and school library settings. The tool can be used to share information sources and library materials for the students. It can also be applied as an assessment tool, seeing as it allows the educator to create quizzes and share them online. The students can complete and submit assignments, and receive feedback via the app. The Educreations tool can also augment learning, as teachers can give additional instructions outside of the conventional classroom setting. On the same note, school librarians and teachers can use the application to free up class time and support hands-on projects and learning, which could enhance the learning outcomes for the learners.

Lastly, the fact that the Educreations tool supports remote/virtual teaching and learning implies that teachers and school librarians can use it to create and share content remotely, and track the activities and performance of their students. Ultimately, the tools can be used to enhance the teaching and learning process. As such, it is applicable in boosting the learning outcomes for the students and increasing satisfaction among the educators.

Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/educreations-interactive-whiteboard/id478617061?mt=8

The Socrative Tool

The Socrative application has various features that can not only enhance the student-teacher relationship but also improve the learning process. Socrative also makes teaching easier, fun, and enjoyable no matter where one is. Some of the key features include activities, quizzes, reporting tools, virtual study rooms, and student experience platforms among others.

Socrative enables the teachers to choose activities that suit their needs, and engage their students. For instance, the educator can ask an instant question for quick student response to see how well the students understood a certain topic that they taught in class.

Using Socrative the platform, the teacher can create their own folders of the quizzes that they have developed on their own as assessments for their students. The quizzes can then be saved in the teacher’s Socrative account and can be used at any time. Different folders can contain different topics or subjects, and this makes the work easier since the teacher does not have to struggle much when they are looking for quizzes.

The reporting feature in the Socrative application enables the teachers to generate learning-based reports. For instance, an educator can generate a report based on the review of Student (s) understanding in class. What is more, the Socrative app enables an educator to store such reports in their accounts and access them easily by downloading and emailing, among other ways.

Moreover, the Socrative app enables one to create rooms that facilitate virtual communication between the students and the teachers. Interestingly, those rooms enable the students and the teacher (s) to engage wherever they are. This means that either the student or the teacher can be located remotely yet, participate in any learning activity that the educator has chosen. Joining these rooms requires the teacher to give their students the unique code.

Given the preceding, Socrative can be a resourceful tool for teaching and learning. It can be used in a school library setting to enable the students to find what they want to read easily. For instance, a virtual room can be created and the students can ask the librarian where a certain book can be found. This will minimize the time the students take to search for a certain information resource in the library. Moreover, the Socrative app can save various books, readings, journals, and articles so that the students can access them online. As such, students will only have to go to the library’s computer and log in to Socrative and search the books they want to read.

Lastly, teachers can use the Socrative app in the classroom to promote students’ engagement and understanding. For instance, teachers can share various images with each student in the classroom through Socrative instead of showing just one on the blackboard. This will ensure that every student is engaged in the learning process. Apart from facilitating the students’ understanding, Socrative reduces boredom when each student has a chance to participate in a certain activity at the same time without moving from one place to another.

Link: https://www.socrative.com/

PowerSchool Learning

The digital learning resource that I’m focusing on this week is PowerSchool Learning. PowerSchool Learning is a powerful teaching and learning tool that offers teachers and learners a collaborative, web-based and cloud-based solution for making the most of the learning process.  The tool allows teachers to develop and implement interactive and engaging lessons. With this tool, teachers can create visual and meaningful instructions supported by multimedia content. This can be powerful for motivating the learners and engaging them in an inclusive learning environment.

Moreover, PowerSchool Learning allows teachers to create and share learning content with their students and even parents. Teachers can easily upload full-text materials and web links to the cloud-based tool. The students, on the other hand, can easily access those materials. Perhaps more notably, the teacher can create discussion forums and engage the learners in their learning process. Here, the learners have a chance to create and share content with their peers, as well as manage their homework by accessing materials and consulting their peers and educators.  The tool, therefore, promotes self-directed learning and participation, shifting from the traditional approach where educators disseminated information in a unidirectional manner to the students.

Additionally, the PowerSchool Learning allows collaboration among teachers, where educators and administrators can use the collaborative and sharing features to co-teach and interact with each other, thereby promoting professional development and teaching efficiency. These features imply that the teachers can learn from each other, and apply their shared ideas in the classroom to enhance the learning process. Also, the PowerSchool Learning empowers the teachers to assess the progress of their students by conducting varied formative, summative and authentic assessments. Teachers are able to gauge the students’ achievement of desired learning goals and track the learning trends of the students based on the smart analytics which are powered by the PowerSchool Learning. The educators can use this information to make informed decisions regarding what changes are necessary and what to do going forward.

In addition, the PSL solution supports paperless K-12 classrooms, because it provides a multitude of digital tools for the teachers and students, enabling them to complete virtually all learning and teaching processes using the cloud-based tool. For example, teachers can create and share learning materials and assignments, and the students can use the tool to complete the assignments, as well as submit their output. Grading is done on the platform, and the feedback can be shared with the students using the cloud-based solution. Aside from saving time, these features create an interesting learning environment which can be appealing to the learners and increase engagement and interest. Besides, it gives the students a voice as they can interact with their peers and express their ideas in unique ways. It also goes a long way in enhancing the creativity and critical thinking of the learners as they learn from their peers and share their ideas, as well as navigate the digital space offered by the tool.

The PowerSchool Learning can be a resourceful learning tool in the classroom and school library settings because it promotes collaborative and participative learning while offering the learners a chance to engage in the learning process. The students are involved in creating and sharing knowledge. It also entails the application of the digital literacy skills, which align with the principles of digital citizenship. Given the underlying goals of education, namely to prepare the students for the future, the PowerSchool Learning promotes creativity among the students. It also cultivates essential skills such as communication, critical thinking, and netiquette which the students need as they use the digital platform to learn and share information. The fact that the tool simplifies the educator’s work is also worth noting, as it saves time and allows the teacher more time to teach, as the platform does the management and organization of learning resources and tools. 

Web link: https://www.powerschool.com/solutions/lms/

Schoology Application

This week I downloaded and tried an interesting teaching application, namely Schoology. First of all, the app gives the user three options for logging in; you can log in as a teacher, student, or parent. I did not try logging in as a parent, as I only created the student and teacher accounts. However, I find it interesting that an app designed to augment learning has a platform for parents. I think this is a good thing, as it acknowledges the importance of a parent in a child’s academic journey.

The app has six main functional features which the users can use to teach and learn effectively. First, there is a “Recent Activity” button, where the user clicks to see what one has been doing recently, as well as what other users have been doing. For a teacher, if they posted assignments or grades, they would be able to see it. The student platform also shows recent activities. The next feature is “Courses” where the courses which a teacher has added would be listed. The teacher can add courses using this button. The students can join a course by adding a unique access code to participate in a course. Thirdly, there is a “Groups” tab, where students can join groups created by their teachers. These groups provide interactive platforms where participants can post and share their ideas and resources with others. Moreover, there is a “Resources” button, which is where class resources such as books are located. The teacher can upload learning materials there and allow access by their students. The fact that Schoology is cloud-based means that the teachers can upload and share as many resources as possible, and the students can have access to limitless learning and developmental resources.

 Moreover, teachers can post grades, which the students can review and see from their platforms, using the “Grades” button. This enhances the communication and feedback system in the learning process, which goes a long way to enhance the learning outcomes. Lastly, there is a “Calendar” tool, which allows the user to mark dates and add events. This is an especially useful feature as it allows the users to create upcoming events and be able to review what is upcoming when they log into the application and click the “Recent Activity” button.

Users can upload multimedia content, including videos, photos, and text files among others. The app has a simple, interactive user interface, which means that the user can complete actions with only a few steps. Looking at the various features of the Schoology app, it is not hard to see how it would contribute to the teaching and learning process. It is a simple tool for integrating technology in the classroom, and could indeed be a reliable assistive technology for students. In a school library setting, the app could be useful as a tool for saving library materials that have been identified to be read. The school librarians can post links to relevant resources, where the students can in turn access and read them, as well as share with their groups. In the classroom, the teacher is able to post assignments, grades, and feedback to students, while the learners are in turn able to post their completed work so the teacher can access and grade it. Lastly, the participants can share reading materials, including full articles and web links. The app also creates a tech-based approach, which can be appealing to the students who are increasingly tech-savvy. All of these aspects make Schoology a potentially useful teaching technology tool in the school library and classroom settings.

Reference

Schoology. (2018). About Schoology. Retrieved from https://www.schoology.com/about

The Pocket App

The pocket is an application that allows users to create reading lists of articles that are sourced from the internet. Students can download and install it on their smartphones, and they get to save relevant articles by searching from the app and clicking a “Save” button that shows up when an article is opened. The app allows the students to create a local library of readings from anywhere, and by simply tapping “My Lists” the user can view a list of all the titles they have saved. One benefit of the app, from my own experience, is that students can actually identify and bookmark sources even during an active instruction session. For example, when an instructor mentions a certain resource which learners should consider reading after class, a student can check it online through the app, retrieve and save it, and read it later. This can be a powerful learning tech tool because it implies that the user will not miss a resource. Besides, the app allows a user to read the article on the app, without necessarily going to the websites.

I tried the app on the smartphone, as well as the web-based version, where it comes as a browser extension of the Chrome Browser. The benefit is that it is not limited to the smartphones alone. PC users can access their reading lists easily. Another helpful feature that I found with the Pocket is that it allows the user to view articles offline. Besides, there is a “Listen” feature, which reads out an article, making it a resourceful aid for users who may not be able to read clearly (impaired vision). Moreover, there is a feature entitled “Discover,” which shows suggested topics. I discovered that the suggested articles are on random topics, but they could be useful for general reading. These topics include some top trending news and technology topics.  Once you open an article, you can share with friends using instant messaging services such as WhatsApp, as well as email and other social sharing tools. You can also mark an article as a favorite, as well as add tags. All of these features add up to an engaging experience, which can go a long way in boosting the earning process. This is so especially considering that the app is highly user-friendly and easy to navigate.

One downside that I found is that Pocket does not seem to allow users to interact with other users, such as students engaging in discussions with fellow learners and teachers. There is a feature where users can find friends to follow and see what they are posting. Nonetheless, I think Pocket is a resourceful app, which simplifies the process of creating reading lists, and therefore augments the learning processes while creating that tech environment that many students can identify with these days.

The Edmodo Learning App

The app that I selected and tried is called “Edmodo” on https://www.edmodo.com/. I downloaded it from the App store and installed it on my smartphone. From my experience, it is a highly interactive app, which has a messaging tool that works like an instant messaging tool. Once one installs the application, they have to create an account either as a teacher, or student. I created the teacher account for the demonstration. With the teacher account, I am able to create learning communities with students and other tutors. I can identify and search for learning resources such as books, articles, photos among others, and share them with my students and/or fellow teachers in the learning community. All of this is possible under the “Stream” feature. The other feature is the “Classes,” which allows the teacher to engage with their students, sharing and communicating with the students. I can create several classes, and manage them using the app to track the learning process, upload class materials such as tutorials, and update them as the need may be. This features lets the teacher to manage assignments, learning materials uploaded, and the discussions.

There is also a “Messages” feature, which lets the instructor create and send messages to students in the various classes they manage, as well as other teachers that may be involved in a particular class or forum. The students are able to communicate with the teachers via messages, and the teacher can manage those messages using this feature. The messaging service is instant, so it saves time and enhances connectivity. What is more, the app offers a ”Notifications” features, which enables the teachers to stay up to date with all the alerts, class activities and any requests that may be received from students, other classes, and learning groups. So, the teacher can keep up with class anywhere, as long as they have they smartphone that has the app installed.

A teacher can also create and manage groups, and maintain a library where they can add links to resources, files, folders and photo resources. The user can easily access the library and read or share these library resources with their students and other participants in groups/classes. I also found the “What’s Due” tab highly resourceful, because it allows the teacher to create and manage assignments, including tracking the submissions on the go, without the limitation of location.

As I tried the Edmodo app, it is obvious that it would be a resourceful technology in a school library setting. As we have learned this week, the idea of integrating the relevant technologies is to streamline the teaching process, make learning fun and engaging, and ultimately enhance the learning outcomes of the learners (McGrath et al., 2011). For example, as I described the features that the app offers, it is evident that a teacher can use the app to create a collaborative learning experience, where teachers and students can participate in learning groups. Here, students and teachers can share learning resources such as websites and articles. This can be quite resourceful in terms of enriching discussions on a topic. Librarians and teachers can use this tool to identify and upload the relevant library resources that are needed in teaching a certain class. This can go a long way in enhancing the learning process.

Also, since the learners can also create accounts and join learning groups, the app can be used to enhance student engagements through discussion forums and sharing of ideas and learning resources. If a student finds a resource that is relevant to a topic, they can share it with the classmates, thereby boosting the learning process in an online classroom setting. The fact that a teacher can create, manage and track assignments and submission also provides an opportunity to enhance the learning and teaching process. It would enable the tutor to save time and experience more convenience in managing the assignment and giving feedback. This can be applied to both the online and offline classroom settings since all a user needs is a smartphone to access materials and participate in a discussion. As a result, overall the Edmodo app can simplify the teaching experience for teachers and allow them to plan and delivery educational content more efficiently. On the other hand, the learners benefit from an engaging and interesting learning process, which could potentially lead to better learning outcomes.

Reference

McGrath, J., Karabas, G., & Willis. J. (2011). From TPACK concept to TPACK practice: An analysis of the suitability and usefulness of the concept as a guide in the real world of teacher development. International Journal of Technology in Teaching and Learning, 7(1), 1-23.

LIS 568: Computer Applications in the School Library Media Center

Welcome to my blog! Each week I will select a technology tool or app and try it. In my blog post, I will reflect on its usefulness in a school library setting and possible implications for use by teachers in the classroom.