Tool #7

EDMODO: The Face(book) of Education

So the sixth grade language arts team worked together to create an online Edmodo "book club". (Thanks to Michelle and Kathi for chatting with me about their experiences first!)

Here's how it came together:

We wanted to give kids a forum -- Edmodo -- to communicate with other students in other classes about the books they read -- to create a real academic book talk. This was put together during the first six weeks with our "dog book" clubs (students chose from a selection of dog-themed books...Where the Red Fern Grows was too much sad for some kids!)

I set up an Edmodo account with groups for all the books. The other teachers joined the groups and I set them up as "cooperating teachers" so they could grade their own students without needing extra permissions from me. We posted polls, questions, and comments, and so did the students. 

The only glitches seemed to be students who couldn't use academic language -- there was some know-it-all-ness and snarky comments and bizarre little shout-outs to each other, but we addressed them individually. Overall, I think the students liked it and more kids who are reluctant to speak out in class were given a voice online.