Edmodo Guide

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Teacher’s Guide Tracene Nechamkin @nechamkin www.edmodo.yolasite.com www.campustechnology.org

description

Training Guide created for To the Cloud Conference, 2012.

Transcript of Edmodo Guide

Page 1: Edmodo Guide

Teacher’s Guide

Tracene Nechamkin

@nechamkin

www.edmodo.yolasite.com

www.campustechnology.org

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Table of Contents

Introduction to Edmodo Page 2

Getting Started for Teachers Page 3 – 4

Signing Up, Group Code, Settings

Getting Started for Students Page 5

Group Options for Teachers Page 6 – 7

Settings, Members, Feeds, Public Page

Getting Started for Parents Page 8

Posting on Edmodo Page 9 – 11

Posting Notes, Posting Alerts, Posting Polls, Spotlight,

Filters, Tags, Posting Assignments, Loading Assignments,

Editing Posts

Grading Page 12 - 13

Turned in Assignments, Grading Assignments

Library Page 13

Calendar Page 14

Communities and Connections Page 15

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What is Edmodo? Edmodo is an educational site that uses the ideas of a social network to create a classroom

website. Students can contact teachers and teachers can contact students by sharing ideas, problems,

assignments, videos, and helpful tips. Students can ask the teacher or other students for help. A teacher

can assign and grade work through Edmodo. It is a safe environment. There is no bullying or

inappropriate content, because the teacher can see (and delete) everything that is posted on Edmodo.

Parents can also join a class with limited use; they can send a message to the teacher or to their student

and view calendars.

Edmodo can complement your teaching and allows you to improve methods of communication with

your students outside the classroom. One great feature of Edmodo is the free iPhone/Android app. This

allows students and teachers to receive view assignments, ask questions, or answer questions all

through their phones. When a message is sent, the student/teacher can receive a text message on their

phones, allowing for easy access to Edmodo anytime and anywhere.

Some of the Features of Edmodo

Calendar After Hours Communication

Edmodo iPhone/Android App

Connections Gradebook

Folders Library

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Getting Started for Teachers

Signing up

On the home page, www.wylieisd.edmodo.com, simply click I’m the Teacher. A new dialogue

box will open up. Complete the information and click Sign up.

Group Code

Once you have completed signing up, you can create your groups. Groups are classes for

students to join. To do this, click on Create in the Groups area of Edmodo.

A new window will open prompting you to name the group, assign it a grade level, and define

the subject that is taught. You also have a read-only option, which allows the students to read

what is posted, but does not allow them to post anything. Click Create.

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After you have created the group, Edmodo will post the group code to your Edmodo home page.

This code can be distributed to students so they can sign up, allowing them to join your group

and all the privileges that go with it.

Settings

Click on Settings in the tool bar at the top of the page. Here you can set up your profile picture,

change your password, choose your school, and choose options for receiving messages.

You can change your profile picture by choosing a photo provided or you can upload a

photo from your files.

Select your school.

Select privacy settings.

Select your settings to receive notifications.

Here you have the option to receive e-mail notifications or text messages to your phone.

There are free Android and iPhone apps for Edmodo, so if you choose to have messages

sent to your phones, you can also respond using the app.

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Getting Started for Students

Once you have created your Group, you will need your students to join it. First have the students

go to www.wylieisd.edmodo.com and click on I’m a Student. They will need the Group code you

received when you sign up.

The students will then enter the Group code. Entering an e-mail address is optional. Students

will not receive junk mail or e-mail from Edmodo unless they set-up e-mail notifications (in

which case they will receive only notifications from Edmodo if a message is posted). For user

names, I would recommend a name they will remember and you will be able to identify easily,

such as first name and last initial. To help students remember their passwords, it is helpful for

them to use their student id numbers.

If students have signed up before, they do not need a new account. They can join the group. To

do this they will need to sign into Edmodo. On the left hand side of the page, they will see their

classes they have already joined. Have the students click on Join and type in the Group code.

Under settings, the students have the same options for changing their profile picture as well as

receiving notifications.

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Group Options for Teachers

Settings

The teacher has many options available for the groups created. To get these options, click on

group settings on the top right hand side of the page. You can change the name of the group,

reset your Group code, and change the grade or subject area.

Members

When you click on manage, you will see the student’s full name, their username, a drop down

menu with type of account (student or read-only), and four icons.

1. If a student violates acceptable use, you can change the type of account so that they can

only read information and not be able to post.

2. Parent Code: Allows parents to join the group in a limited capacity.

3. Grade Icon: Shows the grades of that student, if entered.

4. Password Icon: If a student forgets their password, the teacher can reset the password

here. The teacher cannot view a student’s password, only reset it.

5. Remove Student: Will remove the student from the group, along with their posts, files,

and grades. There is no way to retrieve their information if removed.

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Feeds

Clicking on the Subscribe Group to Feed option will allow you to add an RSS (Really Simple

Syndication) feed to your group. For example, you can add a teacher blog by clicking on Add a

Feed to your groups and enter the feed giving your blog. Example shown is from my blog,

www.nechamkin.posterous.com.

Public Page

The Public Page feature allows you to make certain posts (notes, assignments, or polls) available

for anyone to see. There is no need to be a part of the group or even Edmodo to view it. This is a

great feature for those who use Twitter. After posting a note or assignment, click on Public. To

get the link, click on More. You can copy the link provided and post to Twitter, or e-mail the

link, perhaps reminding students and parents of an upcoming test or another important

message.

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Getting Started for Parents

The parent code is a feature found in the members section under Manage. A different code is

created for each student and allows parents to join the group in a limited capacity. To get the

code for a specific student, click on Manage under the Members section. Then, click on the

parent icon, .

For parents to sign up, they need to go to www.wylieisd.edmodo.com and click on Parent Sign

Up.

Parents will need to enter the code to join the Group. Parents can only view information sent

from the teacher or from their student (which includes grades on assignments, if you use that

feature). Parents cannot send any messages to other students or parents. However, parents can

send messages to the teacher or to their student.

A template for a parent e-mail to introduce Edmodo and give parents their code is available at

http://goo.gl/VCu5i ; the template is also available on Edmodo.

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Posting on Edmodo

Posting Notes

Type your message in the section marked Type your note here…, in the Send to… section you will

choose which group(s) will receive the note. Then, click Send. You can also attach a file, link, or

attach something from the library you have already stored in Edmodo.

Posting Alerts

Alerts are used to send important messages to groups. It is done the same way but will appear

in a larger font and in bold. It will also appear in the Spotlight. To create an Alert, click on Alert

at the top of the Comment Bubble. It is then the same as creating a note.

Posting Polls

You can create multiple choice questions and have groups vote on them. Click on Poll at the top

of the Comment Bubble to get started. Then write the question and different choices. Initially,

you will have two choices, but you can add several more. Choose the group(s) to send it to and

click Send.

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Spotlight

This is a feature to get a quick idea of recent updates. It will tell you if you have any new Direct

Messages, Replies, Turned in Assignments, or Alerts. To view the information, simply click on

what you want to see.

Filters

Once you begin posting, you may notice it will be harder to find previous messages or replies.

You can use the filters to display only certain information. If you want to see only the

assignments, click on the Assignments filter on the pull down screen under Everything. You will

see everything disappear except for the assignments. This applies to all the categories listed.

Tags

Tags acts like filters, but they depend on what you define. For example, you may want to add

video tutorials. If you create a tag labeled Video Tutorials, you can tag all of the videos making it

easy for you or your students to locate. To do this, select Tag once you have posted an item.

Click New Tag. Add the title of the tag. Now the tag can be used to share with others by

Managing the Tags on the right hand side of the page. The tags can be just for you or they can

be shared.

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Posting Assignment

You create an assignment by clicking on Assignment. Fill in the necessary fields: Title, Describe

the assignment, due date, and Send to…, and attach files and links. If you have already added a

file to Edmodo, you can attach it by clicking on Library.

The assignment will also appear in the Calendar section. Note: Assignments can be a document

you have written in Google Docs and loaded here. This allows students that may not have access

to Microsoft Office to still view and complete the assignment. Students can complete the

assignment and turn it in, all through Edmodo.

Loading Assignments

If you have already written an assignment and want to use it again for another class, simply click

on Load Assignment and it will load the assignment. Find the assignment you want to load and

click on it. The description and all files that were attached with the original will be attached to

this one as well. You will only have to select the due date and group(s) to send the assignment.

Editing Posts

You can edit a post by scrolling the mouse over the top right-hand side of the post. Click on the

pencil icon to edit. At this time, you are unable to add or delete any attachments. You can also

delete the post by clicking on the x icon.

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Grading

Turned in Assignments

When you look at the top of the assignment, it will tell you how many students have submitted

it through Edmodo. To see the detailed list, click on Turned In, and it will take you there.

When you click on Not Graded, it will take you to the grading page to enter notes and grades.

In the Default Total, at the top right corner, type in the total possible points and click on Set.

Then click on a student’s name in the list on the left. Their assignment will show up on the right.

Grade their work, then assign the grade and, if desired, post a comment about their grade or

attach a rubric.

When you click Grade, it will immediately show up on the student’s Edmodo as well. If you make

a mistake, you can always click Clear and input a new grade. You can also edit, delete, or

reattach anything you like. The student will be alerted immediately about the comment and the

grade.

If a student has not turned in an assignment, you can send a direct message from the grading

page to remind the student it has not been turned in.

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Grading Assignments

To look at all grades, click on Grades at the top of the page. A drop down menu will appear and

you choose the group you would like to view.

You will be able to see who has turned in the assignment, what grade was assigned, or if it

needs to be graded. To see only one student, click on their name. Grades can also be exported

to a csv file (Excel).

Library

Every file (document, picture, video, hyperlink) that gets uploadedon Edmodo can be found in

the library.

To add something to the library, you can attach it to a post or assignment, or click Add to Library

in the Library window.

On the left hand side you can create Folders that you can add uploaded files to. To create a

folder, click on the Folder with the plus sign. Type a name for the folder and then look and find

the file you wish to add. Then click where it says Add to Folder and select your folder.

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Calendar

Every assignment you post on Edmodo will automatically be added to the calendar and the

student’s calendar.

To add an event, just click on a date, type in the description, and then click on which group(s) or

people you would like to send it to. Upcoming events will show up in the spotlight as well as the

calendar to help you and your students keep up with everything that is going on.

Students can also add events to their own calendar. Only the student will see those events.

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Communities

Communities will allow you to connect to other teachers around the world through Edmodo.

You can share ideas, help other teachers, ask questions, and join relevant discussions from

others. You are automatically joined with the Support Community when you sign up for

Edmodo. If you have any questions or problems, you can post a question in the Support

Community. They usually respond within one day.

To find communities of interest to you, locate Communities at the bottom of the home page.

Click on a community.

You can either follow the community (top right) or request posting rights (top left). This is a

great way to create a personal learning network.

Connections

You can connect with other teachers from your school or by name. On the right hand side of

your home page, there is a section called Suggestions. Some teachers will be displayed if there

are teachers from your campus on Edmodo. You can also search for teachers here. Click on

Search and enter the teacher’s name. Then click on Add Connection.

Once the connection is confirmed, you will be able to communicate directly and share

documents with that teacher.