11th confession: changing my classroom with Edmodo

     This semester is almost over and most students are studying for the finals. During the last ten lessons the learners applied digital technologies, such as voice recording, PowerPoint Presentations (PPP), making videos and Edmodo (Virtual Learning Environment), in order to promote learning responsibility and independence. Additionally these activities were planned to encourage students to speak, to listen to themselves, to experiment, and to ask questions.

a profile in Edmodo  

     Some research has shown that social software tools can be effectively integrated into both face-to-face and online environments (McLoughlin, C and Lee, M. 2008). By implementing a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) the students received a collection of integrated devices which helped them enhance their oral skills and provided a system to deliver information, access to resources, track students’ performance, and assess.

     As a matter of fact Edmodo is considered to be a wonderful and user-friendly social network that enables even a non-digital-native teacher to set up and run his lessons (Kongchan, C. 2012). Having said that, this post is going to talk about how Edmodo was applied in my oral English classes at a university in China, the advantages and disadvantages of this implementation and what conclusions are drawn from this experience.

 How was implemented?

     I have to confess that when I started to implement Edmodo I had a basic idea of what it was and how to apply it in my classes. I did not know that it provides a digital space where teachers and learners can reduce the face-to-face contact, carry out online discussions, encourage the reflection in the work done in class, improve access to the information and provide formative quizzes or links to areas where students can ensure that they have a solid background. As a result it developed a unique space where the members of my oral English classes built their own identity and community: a community of learners (VLE).

students commenting about their videos. 

     My students registered in Edmodo the first day of class and joined a group that I had previously created; they had some time to experiment with it and then took a poll to determine their attitude towards digital technologies in the classroom. Additionally the learners received information about the implementation of voice recording, PowerPoint Presentations (PPP), and making videos in their Edmodo class group; they also had access to links or websites that they could use to study grammar and develop exercises accordingly. Finally they wrote some comments about their experiences while making the video.

students took a poll about their feelings when making the video

What were the pitfalls?

     As stated in previous posts Chinese students implemented this approach to enhance their English speaking skills. And as it is well known this country has a strong internet restriction. For instance Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, Google, all Google products, blogs and more are banned in mainland. Nevertheless Edmodo is functioning but not at its best potential since it is considerably slow and it is not possible to use all the Google products that make Edmodo more powerful. With this in mind it is recommended to have students using Edmodo outside the classroom and not as an activity to develop during the classes.

     As mentioned in my second post, most of these oral English lessons were compulsory classes, meaning that some of the students were neither motivated nor interested in learning the language but only to pass the subject or course with the least grade or mark. As a result these learners found it difficult to assimilate the new learning approach and changing their mindset and their roles inside the classroom, their traditional perspective of education persisted during most lessons (Howland and Moore, 2002).

     When applying this Virtual Learning Environment I found that I became more of a guide for students as they became more independent learners. Voice recording, PowerPoint Presentations (PPP), making videos and Edmodo empowered me with an opportunity to reflect on how I was teaching and how I was facilitating my students to learn English. However I was not able to shift the focus of my pedagogical practice away immediately. To illustrate there were a few times where I tended to lecture instead of guide them or provide them resources, I had the tendency to provide the learners with the answers instead of questioning them, when planning lessons I had an inclination to supply content rather than design learning experiences, I perceived myself as a solitary teacher who controlled the teaching environment instead of a member of a learning team who share with the students (Goodyear, 2002). Therefore it is important to place ourselves outside our comfort zone and carefully plan our course with a learner-centred perspective.

      Some research has indicated that introductory activities especially involving online discussions can have a positive impact on active participation in Virtual Learning Environments (Ellis and Llewellyn, 2004). However without the active involvement of the teachers in the process of dialogue, the success of carrying out online discussions is left to chance (Xin, C. 2012). With this in mind, it is important that tutors assume different roles or exert teaching functions that could promote the development of online discussions among the students. In my personal experience, students need motivation from their instructor in order to engage in these online conversations.

What conclusions did I get from this experience?

    Edmodo is not the panacea for achieving truly student-centered learning; it all depends on how the lessons are planned and what roles are assumed by each member of this community of learners. The real challenge is to enable students to self-direct themselves, build knowledge and control their own learning. My pupils did not achieve all these three goals however they began to question themselves, they have discovered that working in groups is a more enriching experience than reciting, memorizing facts and working alone.

     In like manner, I have to confess that I could have guided my students towards a more reflective path by using Edmodo to help each other, for example students could have used this digital place to share their experiences of implementing voice recording, PowerPoint Presentations (PPP), and making videos and receive support from their peers. Additionally the implementation of folders in this digital space could have facilitated the development of the class.   

     My students have used a variety of activities during their oral English classes using four pieces of digital technology but they did not adopt Edmodo properly, they just dabbled around the edges. However my students and I are discovering all the benefits that this digital space has to offer; as an illustration create and distribute badges to increase student motivation, make small groups that can receive unique pieces of information, use folders to distribute multiple resources more quickly, flip the classrooms to maximize the time during the lessons, commit to posting all assignments and resources in order to have students developing the habit of checking Edmodo first, engage with the use of polls regularly to figure out what the students are thinking and have the learners exploring as much as possible all the Edmodo features (Kite, V. 2013).

     In support of these principles, Boettcher (2006) maintains that the key benefit of learner-generated content lies in the processes of creation, knowledge construction, and sharing. And Edmodo is a great digital tool for these digital-native students that are craving for new ways of learning and conceiving education.  

Reference

Boettcher, J. V. (2006). The rise of student performance content. Campus Technology. https://campustechnology.com/Articles/2006/02/The%20Rise%20of%20Student%20Performance%20Content.aspx

Ellis, A &Llewellyn, B (2004) − Social presence, lecturer presence and participation in an asynchronous online discussion forum.

Goodyear, P (2002) − Psychological Foundations for Networked Learning in Networked Learning: Perspectives and Issues Steeples C and Jones C (Eds) Springer−Verlag: London.

Howland, J L and Moore, J L (2002) Student Perceptions as Distance Learners in Internet−Based Courses. Distance Education (2002), Vol 23, No2.

Kite, V. (2013). 10 Tips for Getting Started With Edmodo. Edmodo blog. https://blog.edmodo.com/2013/07/30/10-tips-for-getting-started-with-edmodo/?utm_source=training_page&utm_medium=site&utm_campaign=ntp_resources

Kongchan, C.  (2012). How a Non-Digital-Native Teacher Makes Use of Edmodo. King Mongkut’s University of Technology. International Conference ICT for Language Learning Fifth Edition. Pixel international conference. https://docmia.com/d/343328

McLoughlin, C.  and Lee, M. (2008). Future Learning Landscapes: Transforming Pedagogy through Social Software. Innovate 4 (5). http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=539

Xin, C (2012). A Critique of the Community of Inquiry Framework. Journal of Distance Education, 26, 2.

(n.a.) (2012). What is a VLE? http://tools.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/downloads/vle/what-is-vle.pdf