It's all about the learning management Baby!

So, have you ever found yourself sitting at home after a long day of teaching just wishing that you could somehow communicate to your students?  Well, Learning Management Systems (LMS for short) is where it's at.  This week we learned all about two systems in particular, Edomdo and Schoology. The great thing about both systems is that they offer a way for you to communicate all kinds of things to your students.  You can start discussions, post quizzes, or resources.  The great thing is that for both sites students have to be invited by you, using a code.  This of course prohibits any of the crazies from logging on.  There are some pretty distinct differences between the two sites though. 

Lets talk Edmodo!  First, watch this video to get an idea of what Edmodo is all about.

 

Here is a slightly more detailed video of how to use Edmodo.

 

Some of the things that I really enjoyed about Edmodo are...

• It's easy to organize the things you want to post
• Edmodo has been around for a little while so there is a community that you can reach out to for support with Edmodo
• It's super easy to make and join groups
• If you like the Facebook interface you'll probably like Edmodo
• Edmodo also runs fairly smoothly since it's been around for a while

What I didn't like about Edmodo

• I am not a big fan of the facebook interface; so I don't love Edmodo for that reason
• I couldn't figure out how to upload a quiz; I had to type it all in. 

And what about Schoology?

 

Here is a short intro on Schoology video; followed by a slightly longer tutorial.

 

Likes for Schoology

• Love the interface!  It's super easy to organize and it looks clean and organized
• You can do most of the same things you can do in Edmodo

Dislikes for Schoology

• I'm not a fan of how slow it can be to process.  That's probably my biggest issue
• I also don't like that you can't upload quizzes here either

Ultimately there is lots of chatter about the two LSMs; here are a few more resources you can use to help you decide which you should try out.

 

Teach like it's 2999

Top 10 reasons for Schoology over Edmodo

Edmodo vs Schoology

For my money (both programs are free :)) I like Schoology best. 

Hope this was helpful.

Good luck!

Until next week!

Ahhhh... Social Media!!!!

Hello to everyone out there in cyberspace!  This week we discussed social media (for the most part).  We discussed PLNs, Twitter, and social bookmarking. 

Let me start with Twitter.  This can be a great resource for educators! If you are anything like me the thought of Twitter makes you want to cry.  We must move on past our fears if we are going to be able to reach our media aged kiddos.  This is one of those resources that can be overwhelming and confusing but if used correctly could be a great communication tool for our students.  I would like to use this tool to connect students on certain assignments, as well as my classes in general.  That being said I'm going to have to follow my own advice, (I told my nephew this week, who I was trying to teach to dive, that even though it hurt the first time, practice will make it better); I've got to practice.

 



Next, I'd like to discuss PLNs; A.K.A. Personal Learning Networks.  These sites are designed to help you share resources and communicate in like-minded communities.  My favorite site that I found was Edutopia.  This PLN is organized well; it has videos, blogs, and other recourses.  I also like that, unlike other PLNs, you don't have to create a membership in order to participate in the conversation. 

The last thing I want to tell you about today was my favorite for the week; social bookmarking.  So, we all bookmark all the great websites we find right?  Well, I don't know about you but I get frustrated that when I switch browsers or computers I no longer have access to those great bookmarks.  A social bookmarking site solves those problems and has other great benefits!  The two sites I learned about were Delicious, and Diigo. 

So, besides putting all of your bookmarks online and having access to them at all times, you can organize your bookmarks.  You use tags (just words to categorize), which automatically organizes your bookmarks.  You can also put your marks into lists.  Another great thing about Diigo at least is that you can also do sticky notes on websites.  So, if you are reading and find this one thing that is really cool, you can put a sticky note and find your comment again later.  The final awesome thing about social bookmarking is that you can make your bookmarks public.  What this means is that you can share your awesome sites with all of the people out there in cyber space, or in your building. 

Well cyberspace, that's all for now.  I look forward to sharing with you again!

:)

Hello everyone out there in cyberspace!  Today I'll be discussing blogging.  :)  This is the first blog I've ever written.  I'm very nervous about talking to whoever will be reading this each week.  What I'd like to share with you this week is what I learned about blogs.  First of all, blogs exist!  I know this isn't news to most of you but, I've never really been able to differentiate between blogs and other electronic media.  I suppose the difference is that blogs are written by anyone and everyone.  I love the idea of educational blogs (I'm sure I've even read a few).  It's important for professionals to be able to share with each other.  I recently came across a study that showed an increase in student achievement when we do.  (Scruggs, Mastropieri, and McDuffie, 2007) 

Another thing I learned about this week was how to organize my blogs.  I'm using a program called Feely (feedly.com).  I'm super excited to learn and share more about this program.  In it, you are able to keep track of all the blogs you want to follow.  For example, I'm following a blog called, "Ideas and Thoughts."  Currently, I don't have my blogs sorted (mostly because I only have four of them), but you can put your blogs into categories.  There is also an app that you can download on your phone.  Another organization tool I learned about is RSS.  RSS is a tool that can be used to organize all of the digital media you might browse into one place. 

I look forward to venturing into this unknown digital territory and sharing what I've learned each week. 

Until next week,

Kitzke