Edmodo vs Schoology

Today I want to talk to you about two types of learning management systems, Schoology and Edmodo.  Learning management systems are software that allow for digital sharing, grading, and documenting of educational courses/groups.  Edmodo and Schoology are two examples of learning management systems.  I am going to begin by pointing out some of the key features of both Edmodo and Schoology.  

All About Edmodo

Photo Credit:  https://www.brandsoftheworld.com/logos/categories/education?page=5

                                                                                                        ↓

→ Click here to access Edmodo.   ←
↑

• Edmodo has the look of Facebook.  

• Edmodo allows educators to share/receive resources using Edmodo Spotlight.  

• Edmodo allows you to organize your resources in your library into folders.  
• Edmodo allows you to easily access files on your Google Drive.  
• Edmodo allows you to create groups.  
• Within a group, Edmodo allows you to . . . 
• have online discussion boards.
• assign, turn in, and grade homework assignments.  
• create, assign, and view results to polls and quizzes.  

• create assessments using a question bank that is standards based using the Snapshot feature.  
• organize information into folders, to make resources easy to find.  

• create small groups within your group.  

• keep parents updated on their child's events and homework.  
• make announcements to the group.  

For more information about Edmodo, watch this video.  

All About Schoology

                                                                           
                                                                                                                 ↓

→ Click here to access Schoology.  ←

                                                                                                                      ↑

• Schoology has an interface similar to Facebook.  

• Schoology provides you with the ability to share and receive resources from other educators using public/private groups.  
• Schoology allows you  to create courses and groups.  
• Schoology works well with Google Drive.  
• Within in a course, Schoology allows you to . . . 
• create discussion board topics.  

• easily organize resources into folders.  
• add on resource apps such as, Khan Academy or Google Drive.  
• create, assign, and grade tests/quizzes.  

• set time limits or allow retakes on tests/quizzes.  
• assign, turn in, and grade homework.  
• post useful resources, such as links and documents for student to use.  

• add requirements to assignments, such as "must complete".  

For more information about Schoology, watch this video.  

Which is better, Edmodo or Schoology?  

Both Edmodo and Schoology have interfaces similar to Facebook.  Edmodo and Schoology have many of the same features but with a different look.  Both Edmodo and Schoology are great learning management systems for creating/posting/grading discussion boards, assignments, and quizzes/tests.  Edmodo has a more user-friendly style.  It takes less time for teachers and students to figure out how navigate Edmodo.  Schoology offers some more advanced features compared to Edmodo.  These include the ability to create/join groups and courses, additional resource apps, and more advanced features on quizzes/tests.  Schoology is not as user-friendly at the start.  When it comes down to deciding between Edmodo vs Schoology, I think it really comes down to what you want.  If you want a learning management system that is easy learn, Edmodo is for you.  If you want a learning managment system that has some more advanced features, Schoology is for you.  

For more information comparing Edmodo to Schoology, watch this video.  

Thanks for reading my blog this week.  Stop by next week, for my blog on Google Forms, Google Drive, and Google Drawings.  

Personal Learning Networks in Education

This week I wanted to discuss Personal Learning Networks, PLNs, in education.

What are PLNs?  

Photo Credit:  https://teacherchallenge.edublogs.org/pln-challenge-1-what-the-heck-is-a-pln/

PLNs are an individualized network of resources that allow you to gain knowledge from others.  In education PLNs are used to share teaching strategies, lesson plans, educational issues, and technology.  PLNs can consist of electronic resources, books, journals, fellow teachers, friends, and others in the community.  

Watch this video for more information on PLNs.  

There are many resources available that help to build your PLN.  I am going to focus this blog on electronic resources.  Specifically, I will be focusing on Diigo and Twitter.  I will also briefly discuss Edutopia, EduBlogs, and Goodreads.  

Diigo

Diigo is a social bookmarkinng site.  Click here to access Diigo.  

Benefits of Diigo

• Bookmarks can be tagged for easy to find organization.  

• Bookmarks can be shared with a group.  

• Diigo allows educators to set up free student accounts making it easy to share resources with a class.  
• Diigo offers tools that allow you to annotate articles/PDFs, highlight information, take screenshots, and place post it notes on bookmarks for later viewing.  

• All bookmarks are web-based so, they can be accessed anywhere you have internet access.  
• Google Chrome offers an extension of Diigo you can add to your toolbar.  

Limitations of Diigo

• The free Diigo account comes with limitations on cloud bookmarks, webpage PDF highlights, image storage, and PDF storage.  
• The free Diigo account comes with ads.  

If you would like to learn more about Diigo, watch this informational video.  

Twitter

Twitter is a social networking site.  Twitter can be used for more than just telling people what you ate for supper.  Used correctly, Twitter can be used to add to your PLN as an educator.  

Here is an informational video on using Twitter to add to your PLN.    

Click here to access Twitter.  

Benefits of Twitter

• Wonderful tool for networking with other professionals in education.   
• Twitter provides access to a large pool of fellow educators.  

• Twitter is a great tool to access educational resources, such as, lesson plans, teaching strategies, and technology ideas.  

• You can follow certain hashtags that interest you.  

• Twitter can be used as a tool to share information with students and/or parents about events in the classroom.  

Limitations of Twitter

• Tweets are not always in chronological order.  
• Tweets are limited to 140 characters.  

Lastly, I wanted to provide you with a short description of three other resources that could be used to add to you PLN.  

Edutopia

Edutopia offers a wide variety of article and videos related to education.  You can easily search for articles and videos by selecting the topic you are interested in.   If you select favorite topics, Edutopia will send you notifications when new resources are posted.  You can comment on articles/videos and have discussions with fellow educators.  You can also share your own resources.  Click here to access Edutopia.  

EduBlogs

EduBlogs offers a vast amount of blogs by fellow educators.  It offers the capability for educators to make their own blog.  The blog could be created to share information with other educators or it could be created as a tool in the classroom.  It also has capabilities to manage students.  You can invite or create student accounts and you can manage the posts/comments students add to the blog.  Click here to access EduBlogs.  

Goodreads  

Goodreads allows you to add friends to see what books your friends have read or are reading.  After reading a book you can write a review of the book.  Using Goodreads you have access to other user’s reviews on books.  When you see books that you would like to read, you can keep track of these books by clicking want to read.  If you want to read a book it will show you if you can download it from Amazon or show you stores where it can be purchased.  Goodreads will give recommendations on future books based off books you have read and genres you enjoy.  Goodreads allows you to have group discussions.  You can join groups or you can create groups.  Click here to access Goodreads.  

Thanks for reading this week's blog on PLNs.  Join me next week for blog post on Edmodo and schoology.  Have a wonderful week.  

Educational Blogs, RSS Feeds, & So Much More!

For this week's blog, I am going to be sharing information with you about educational blogs, RSS Feeds and Adobe Spark.  

EDUCATIONAL BLOGS

Photo Credit:  http://edu214unlv.pbworks.com/w/page/88471148/Educational%20Blogs

What are educational blogs?  

• Created for the purpose of educational use
• Created to help support student and teacher learning
• Created to share information and tips with students, parents, and/or teachers

How can educational blogs be used in the classroom?  

• Educational blogs can be used indirectly in the classroom as a resource.  Educational blogs can provide teachers with lesson plan ideas, instructional strategies, or educational policy.  
• Educational blogs can be used directly in the classroom as a tool for students and teachers to interact.  Teachers could use the blog to share information with students.
• Educational blogs can be used directly in the classroom as a tool to engage students in higher-order thinking.  The teacher could post topics on the blog and require students to share their thoughts possibly through a discussion board.  

Where can you find educational blogs?  

• Complete a Google search for educational blogs

• Here are a couple of useful sites for finding educational blogs.  
• 52 Educational Blogs You Should Know
• EduBlog Awards 
•  Alltop Educational Blogs

How do you organize and stay updated on your favorite educational blogs?  

This is where the RSS Feeds come in to play.  

RSS Feeds

What is an RSS Feed?  

• RSS Feeds, Rich Site Summary, are a way of delivering regularly updated web content, such as blogs.  Sites that offer RSS Feeds allow you to stay updated without signing up for a newsletter or needing to regularly check the website for updated content.   

What do you need to do to take advantage of RSS Feeds?  

• Find a Feed Reader.  Types of Feed Readers include Feedly, Bloglines, or My Yahoo.  I would suggest using Feedly.  Click here to access Feedly. 

How to use your Feed Reader?  

Below are the steps to get started using Feedly.  

1. Log in to Feedly.  You can do this by creating a Feedly account, connecting with a Google account, or connecting with a Facebook account.  
2. Select add content.  
3. At this point, you can search a given blog by title, URL, or topic.  
4. Click FOLLOW on the appropriate blog.  
5. Now you can create collections to help categorize your blogs.  
6. By clicking on All on the left-hand side of the screen, you will be able to see the most recent activity on the blogs you are following.  
7. For more information on Feedly, watch this video.  

Last but not least . . . 

ADOBE SPARK

Adobe Spark is a free graphic design tool that allows you to create images, websites, and videos.  

Steps for using Adobe Spark:  

1. Access Adobe Spark by clicking here.  
2. Log-in to Adobe Spark by creating a new account or connecting through Google or Facebook.  
3. Next, you can create a Post, a Page, or a Video on Adobe Spark.  
1. Post- can be used to create graphics such as memes or inspirational quotes
2. Page- can be used to create photo journals, event recaps, or portfolios
3. Video- can be used for presentations, lessons, or pitches
4. For more information on how to create a Post, a Page, or a Video watch this video.  

Ideas for Using Adobe Spark in the Classroom:  

• Have students create vocabulary posters using the Post option on Adobe Spark.
• Have students create a Web story on a given topic, such as World War 1, using the Page option on Adobe Spark.  

Here is an inspirational quote graphic that I created using the Post option on Adobe Spark.  

I hope you enjoyed my blog this week and learned something new.  Stop by next week for my blog on PLNs, Diigo, and Twitter.