Saturday, March 31, 2012

Exploring Edmodo


Last week, my studies led to an exploration of Google Plus.  Google Plus is a great new social media tool that's still maturing, but after listening to other educators and their experiences with social media in school, I'm left thinking there might be better options currently.  This week we'll continue to review social media in the classroom as we explore Edmodo. 

What is Edmodo?

According to Edmodo own site, their goal is to "provide teachers and students a secure place to connect and collaborate, share content and educational applications, and access homework, grades, class discussions and notifications."  As of this writing, the site boasts connecting more than 6 million teachers and students across the world.  The site got its start in 2008 when its founders, Nic Borg and Jeff O'Hara having worked in educational IT departments, decided to fill a need they saw for a safe, secure social media environment for schools to use. 

How does it work?

On the surface Edmodo looks like Facebook for the classroom.  The interface mimics the layout that has become the standard view for most social media sites with a profile picture and name, a status feed that shows latest postings, and a toolbar across the top of the page that includes navigation options and content controls.  Teachers are able to sign up for access to the site for free but there are also options for district adoptions.  Finally, Edmodo also provides access to the site through smartphone apps for both iPhone and Android devices like many other social media sites. 

Attention... 21st Century learning Ahead

Edmodo pulls out all the stops to create an environment that fosters communication between students and teachers.  This is accomplished by engaging students, connecting various stakeholders, and through content management.  Students are engaged through use of a familiar social media system that mimics those they already frequently use in their personal lives.  This combined with the way the site uses features such as polls, online quizzes, badge awards, status updates and smartphone access ensures students will be interested in what their classmates are doing so it stands to reason they will also want to join in.  Communication also exists between teacher and student in the way the tools aid submission of homework and grading.  In other words, Edmodo gets an A+ in the area of communication which we all know by now is a huge part of 21st Century learning.

Collaboration is another area where Edmodo earns high marks.  The site makes it easy for teachers to join communities.  These communities allow teachers to connect with one another to share resources.  Edmodo also allows for professional development to be delivered through its system and features resources of its own in the realm of collaboration through webinars and its help center.

Don't think Edmodo forgot content.  The Edmodo help center offers suggestions on how the service can be used in all the core subject areas: math, science, social studies and language arts.  One creative suggestion for using Edmodo on their site offers the suggestion of the teacher role-playing as Thomas Jefferson who seeks the aid of students in rewriting the Declaration of Independence in modern terms.  Content ideas like these are a sure hit with students and this should also accomplish the rest of the four Cs... Critical Thinking and Creativity!

Working within this system will also allow students the opportunity to learn information, media and technology skills while at the same time providing a safety net since this is a closed environment controlled by the teacher and students.  There is still risk here and the teacher will need to remain vigilant because as much as administrators will admire you for incorporating 21st Century skills in the classroom, students will need to be taught how to behave properly online.  Further, you will need to check with district policies governing the use of outside resources.

Conclusion

Edmodo has won numerous awards and has garnered much attention from those in education.  Edmodo certainly has the tools to be useful in the classroom and it recently opened its API to 3rd parties so we can expect more content from the site in the future.  This move will likely allow the site to become even better in motivating students to make use of the site assuming educators use it.  This does open some potential questions regarding its future security but since the service is grounded in the understanding that security is a primary concern among educators its likely this won't be a problem.  If you're looking to involve social media in the classroom then Edmodo is certainly worth a look.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Gauging G+

I've been a Google Plus "user" for quite some time but only in name. Sure I had an account but I've not really gone out of my way to use it. G+ has largely been yet another social media site that while I had an account hadn't wormed its way into my daily life, however due to class Google Plus was brought to the forefront of my attention.

History of Google Plus
Google Plus if you didn't happen to know is Google's latest foray into social networking. The service was widely launched to those over the age of 18, in September of 2011 after an invitation only beta testing. The launch of G+ initially captured large amounts of attention but that seems to have cooled a bit in recent months as people are still trying to decide why they should migrate from Facebook, the perceived rival of the service.

What does G+ offer?
Google Plus has three major components. First, is the "Stream." The Stream is simply a newsfeed of all the people you're following. Second, is "hangouts." Hangouts are a video chat service that allows for collaboration between you and 9 other people at once. Finally, there's "Circles." Circles are Google's way of organizing your contacts. Through creating circles, the user can not only organize contacts but also set limits on what to share with certain groups.

Additionally, G+ has the usual social media bells and whistles such as users having a profile page and a way to share photos. The photo album is actually quite nice since it's based on Picasa and it allows the user the ability to edit photos as well as creating albums, adding tags and commenting.

Impact on Education
The big question is what impact does Google Plus hold for education? Will Google's new service be the bridge that finally allows social media a proper way to the classroom?

Certainly, Google Plus has some value and it is easy to see how its ability to facilitate communication and collaboration could be harnessed in the educational setting. The tools best suited to this purpose are "Circles" and "Hangouts."

The circles feature lets the user craft custom groups of users with which to share particular sets of information. Teachers might use this ability in any number of ways. Some ideas include, creating a circle of parents with which to share information that is of interest to the entire group, like a daily homework message or upcoming test announcement. A teacher could use the feature to help organize book clubs, study groups or to manage a group project. Hangouts allow similar features and can even allow students to discuss ideas outside of class, further these same students can keep minutes of discussions using Google Docs since it's integrated. This makes Google+ a grand addition to 21st century learning tools as it greatly enhances both communication and collaboration, two of the 4C's.

Google+ is not without its disadvantages. Students need a Gmail account in order to gain access to G+. This means students need to be 13+ which limits the tool's use to mostly high school students. Also, Google+ is a social media tool and there is a good possibility that it will be blocked by many institutions due to fears of security and privacy.

The Verdict
Google Plus can be a very handy tool which I believe will only get better over time. Google is clearly dedicated to seeing G+ succeed where earlier social networking ventures have not. The desire to uproot Facebook as the number one social media tool, "Chromebooks for Education," and the ascendance of the Android smartphone OS means Google has more motivation to succeed than ever before. There can be no doubt that G+ will continue to be refined and provided social media becomes more accepted in education, Google will be well-positioned to take advantage of the trend. The major hurdle for G+ it appears lies with schools, government and the public determining how we want students learning in the 21st Century.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Presenting Prezi

After reading "The World is Flat," I decided this week's entry had to be something stressing collaboration. According to Friedman, the surplus of fiber optics after the dot-com boom made it easy to send massive amount of information overseas and back. This ability to collaborate worldwide is one of the reasons for the "flattening" of the world since today companies can easily outsource work that once had to be done locally. I've also had the experience this week of collaborating on a presentation using Prezi, so I thought why not use this experience for this week's post.

What is Prezi?

Prezi is an online presentation software that strives to bridge the gap between a whiteboard and PowerPoint. Prezi is unique in that it allows the user to zoom in and out. This ability allows for creation of a slideshow that captivates audiences instead of being just another lifeless set of slides.

Prezi gives the user a blank "canvas" to work with. The tools are minimal with most text being added just by clicking which spawns a text block. Adjusting text is achieved by selecting the text which gives the user a set of controls called a "zebra." This "zebra" control ring allows for rotation and re-sizing of text among other things. Other options such as adding images, links, shapes, themes and colors are done by using a palette located at the top left. In true Web 2.0 style changes are saved automatically.

Ready to get started?

Prezi is a very user friendly site which makes it easy to get started. Users need simply sign up for an account to have access to all the core features of Prezi. If you need other features, there are more advanced accounts available with more storage, more security options and more personalization such as using a custom logo during loading screens. Educators will also be treated to an upgraded account that includes many of the advanced features mentioned above, just for using an EDU email address for registration.

Once you have an account, there are many options available to help learn Prezi. There are a number of tutorials on the site plus a YouTube channel with videos which aid in instruction. PowerPoint users can also upload old presentations and use Prezi's new features to add motion to their old works. Further there are discussion forums, a Prezi blog, Twitter feeds and Prezi U Educational Community to help users learn the best ways to implement Prezi into the classroom.

How Prezi collaborates?

Prezi allows for collaboration in two ways: Prezi Meeting or through starting an online presentation.

Prezi meeting allows multiple users to share the same canvas. Each user has their own avatar and can make changes in real time. Invites are sent by clicking the "Meeting" menu located at the top of the Prezi canvas. If you just want to show off the Prezi but not allow other users to work on the presentation there's also a way to collaborate that way.

Will Prezi prepare students for a global world?

Prezi is one of the better tools available for students for free that allows students a chance to improve upon skills needed to excel in the 21st century. Speaking of 21st Century and Prezi, this is an excellent tool for students to develop competencies in all the major 21st Century student outcomes.

Prezi is the perfect tool for teachers who prefer a constructivist approach and want students to showcase their learning. This is really the heart of 21st Century learning in general but to be specific:

  • Communication: Prezi is a great platform to communicate ideas to others and the animated movement can help to make that communication more effective.
  • Creativity: The blank canvas nature of Prezi with limited themes also encourages creativity which is something other presentation software sometimes fails at.
  • Collaboration: Prezi provides a number of ways to collaborate whether in groups, or just to share information with others.
  • Critical Thinking: Prezi has very few limits on choice so critical thinking is key in creating effective presentations.
  • Core subjects: Prezi provides a vehicle for ideas to be shared but content is up to the user. This means presentations can be created for any subject including any of the 21st century core areas.
  • Life and Career Skills: The ability of students to be effective communicators and to present their ideas to bosses will pay dividends for advancement in future careers regardless of the career path.

Final Thoughts

If students are bored with traditional presentation methods such as PowerPoint or just plain old paper, inject a little life into the classroom with Prezi. Registration is quick and the learning curve is simple enough that students familiar with other presentation programs shouldn't have trouble getting started. So take the motion sickness pills, sit back and prepare yourself for a wild ride with Prezi!

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Importance of Critical Thinking in a Social Media Obsessed World

Earlier this week while looking through Facebook postings, I ran across a link entitled "Obama to cut medical benefits for active, retired military, not union workers." Due to the number of hits this had received, I wanted to check it out. Turns out the true story was more along the lines of the Department of Defense is being required to cut the budget due to regulations enacted by Congress and this is the alternative rather than cutting jobs. What struck me about this exchange was how quickly people just accepted the writings of the original article with no fact checking of their own. This event led me to reflect on the importance of 21st century skills, especially critical thinking and information literacy.

What is Critical Thinking?

One of the key components of critical thinking is the ability to make judgements. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills framework calls for students to develop the following skills:
  • Effectively analyze and evaluate evidence, arguments, claims and beliefs
  • Analyze and evaluate major alternative points of view
  • Synthesize and make connections between information and arguments
  • Interpret information and draw conclusions based on the best analysis
  • Reflect critically on learning experiences and processes
The world students are growing up in today is full of information. Social media is one of the places where students can easily be led astray if they don't possess critical thinking skills. This isn't a slight to the students, according to psychologists humans in general tend to accept
information that agrees with their beliefs, regardless of its reliability and they also tend to reject information that conflicts with their views. According to an article in the Boston Globe, providing facts can even have the effect of strengthening a person's belief the facts are wrong.

Can technology help solve this problem?

To this end, I began searching for tools to help teach students think critically and found an astonishing amount of resources for this purpose. Here are a couple:

The Annenberg Public Policy Center and Annenberg Classroom
The Annenberg Public Policy Center has been around since 1993 and is part of the University of Pennsylvania. The Annenberg Project provides resources that help shed light on major issues facing the US today. Educators will be interested in this site because of its lesson plans that demonstrate the critical thinking process. The center boils critical thinking down to five simple steps:
  1. Keep an open mind.
  2. Ask the right questions.
  3. Cross-check.
  4. Consider the source.
  5. Weigh the evidence.
ProCon.org
Another useful tool would be ProCon.org, an independent, nonpartisan nonprofit public charity whose website offers viewpoints on both sides of 42 controversial issues facing America today. The site does a good job of introducing various debate topics and providing a start for researching those topics. This would be a good site to generate debate ideas when trying to further student use of their critical thinking skills.

Ok, so about that technology you mentioned....
Now that you have some idea of where to get started teaching critical thinking concepts to students how can you use technology to allow the students to show off those new skills?

Diigo: Students can use this tool to help gather research information. Diigo is a bookmarking tool that allows you to highlight, take notes from webpages and bookmark sights of interest on the web.

Blogging: Students can blog to reflect on their discoveries and write summaries of their views on their very own blog. A number of blogging sites exist for this purpose including Edublogs, Wordpress and Blogger.

Public Service Annoucements: Students can craft PSAs using video cameras and simple editing software like Windows Movie Maker. They could even upload these to YouTube and let their voices be heard.

Final Thoughts
I hope my experience on Facebook this week has provided you with as much food for thought as it has me. Social media is dangerous territory and being armed with critical thinking skills will make it less of a landmine for your students.