Do You Edmodo?

I have been hearing more and more about Edmodo.  It came up at NCTIES last month.  I signed myself up for Edmodo, but I haven't started using it yet.  (My group code is 39z8jh.)  It looks a lot like Facebook and I am sure that my students would LOVE it.  You can send messages, but students can't send them directly to each other.  They can only send them to the teacher or the whole class.  You can give assignments on Edmodo and track grades.  You can even give the parents a code and let parents track their student's activities on Edmodo. 

A colleague mentioned at bus duty this afternoon that her first grade classroom may go paperless next year.  She asked me about keeping a Web site to post homework information and other updates for parents in place of paper.  I almost did a cartwheel on the sidewalk!!  I told her that we have many free tools for creating quick Web sites Pbwiki, Weebly, and Blogger.  However, I suggested that she consider Edmodo.  And she had heard of it too!  So I think we will be going on an Edmodo adventure together. 

One of the advantages I see for Edmodo is providing a safe social networking platform for teachers to interact with their students. I can imagine using it as an opportunity to discuss social networking outside the classroom with my students. It is definitely a great 21st century tool!

I am going to be looking for feedback from other teachers (especially K-5) who have used it.  Here's the first one I found, http://blog.web20classroom.org/2012/03/why-you-should-give-edmodo-try.html.

NCTIES 2012

In three short days NC TIES 2012 kicks off!  Educators around the state will gather to share ideas about integrating technology into the classroom.  I look forward to this conference so much!  I know that my mind will be exploding with new ideas and I will be energized by all that I see.  Many of the tech educators that inspire me will be there - Caitlin Meseck, Beckey Reed, Kathy Schrock, and David Warlick.  I hope to see Danita Russell and Bethany Smith too.

Caitlin and I will be presenting "Even Kindergartners Can Use Technology to Learn".  We have been planning our presentation for months, but now is the crunch time to put everything into our presentation and get it ready for showtime.  Our colleagues, Cathy Marlowe and Averi Avent, will be presenting too.  And I can't wait for everyone to see the great work they have done with FLIP cameras.

In reviewing the topics being covered in the concurrent sessions, I see quite a range - iOS devices in the classroom, QR codes, wireless, technology for assessments, 1:1 computing  . . .

Although there are many virtual conferences on educational technology I enjoy being able to see people face-to-face and have the focus of being away from school and home for a couple days to focus on new ideas and catching up with new trends.