This week I explored several digital tools to help teachers save time and get organized. Up to this point in my career, I have used very few of these kinds of digital services. I write out my lesson plans by hand (that's easier when you're working out algebra equations), and I use use a physical calendar for scheduling lessons and meetings. Really the only digital organizational tool I use is Power School, the online service that my district uses for grades and attendance. This week, however, I became familiar with several new online tools for organization.
Google Calendar
Believe it or not, but I had not really used a digital calendar before! Both at work and at home, I still use a a paper calendar to keep track of everything. Using Google Calendar was very easy. I was able to create a classroom calendar and add over 10 events in just a few minutes. This calendar could be shared with parents so that they know what lessons are being covered, when homework is due, when I will be unavailable for tutoring after school, etc. I can also receive reminders for meetings and other appointments.
Despite Google Calender's ease of use and versatility, I will honestly keep using my paper calendars. I am able to keep track of everything without trouble, and for some reason I like being able to look at a physical calendar rather than a digital one. Parents already have access to the homework assignments and due dates through Power School. Call me old-fashioned, but this new tool, while easy to use, is just not for me right now.
Other Tools
I also discovered several new tools that I had never heard of before. Evernote allows one to keep track of notes, sketches, photos, files, and articles and access this content on all devices. Class Dojo lets teachers track student behavior over time and share this information with parents. Volunteer Spot provides a forum for parents to easily sign up for field trips, school events, parties, etc. Remind allows teachers to contact parents and students without exchanging personal phone numbers.
While I did not actually sign up for any of these services this week, all of them sound like they would be very helpful. Class Dojo sounds particularly interesting, since I have always struggled with classroom management, although I have heard some teachers say it is geared toward elementary aged students. Perhaps I can look at it more closely over Thanksgiving break and consider implementing it next semester. I have already told my principal about Remind, and he said he would look into it. Our district developed a new policy last year that teachers cannot text or message students without also contacting parents. Perhaps Remind might help in this regard.
Here is a video explaining the basics of Class Dojo:
Familiar Tool
I have been using Google Drive for several years now. There are several aspects of Drive that I have used extensively and found very helpful professionally and personally. The most obvious feature of Google Drive is that I can save files online and access them from any device with an internet connection. Even better than that, I can edit the files directly in Drive without having to download from the cloud, edit them on my device, and then upload them back to the cloud. This only works because Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides are completely compatible with Microsoft Office, which is another amazing feature.
A further benefit of Google Drive is the ability to share files with others and even allow other users to edit them. I have used this feature many times to collaborate with other teachers. For example, it has made it so much easier for all teachers to document their school improvement plan intervention results. Of course, one of the reasons this is easier is that everyone can access the file, but it is much more than that. Everyone's changes are automatically saved, and the revision history can be viewed to see who updated what at which time. It is all very handy. New Uses
Even though I had used Google Drive quite a bit, I did learn some new things this week. I had never used Google Forms before, and it is an extremely easy way to collect information from students. I was surprised by how easy it was to create many types of questions. I could use this for online assignments or for student surveys. It also conveniently creates a spreadsheet so I could view and sort the results. Here is a video tutorial for creating a Google Form:
I also learned a couple new ways to share files from my Google Drive. Previously, I would send someone the URL via e-mail. That person can then click on the link to access my file. I can set permissions to allow certain people to view or edit the file. One of the disadvantages to this method, is the extremely long and complicated URLs. (For example, https://drive.google.com/open?id=1PBVT5u-9x_rnhfBh8DlqZkkeM4qiqJU3hN0bIl93WU4) The website Tiny URL allows long URLs to be converted to short ones. You can even create your own customized URL. This makes sharing Google Docs a little less daunting for the recipient. I also learned how to share files by attaching them to an e-mail directly from the Google Drive and how to share files directly with another Google Drive user. All of these make the great features of Google Drive even greater. In fact, earlier I took a poll regarding my opinion of Google Drive. I selected "Pretty Cool," but I think I want to change my response to "Amazing!"
This week I explored a couple learning management systems. These online platforms allow teachers to post announcements, assignments, quizzes, and class resources. Students can participate in discussion forums, complete assignments, and access important information and resources. As a student at Baker University, all my online classes have been completed using Moodle. However, this week was the first time that I have explored a learning management system in depth from the teacher side. The two learning management systems I tried out were Edmodo and Schoology.
Edmodo
Based on my experience with Edmodo, I would not recommend it to anyone. I had nothing but problems in trying to use it. The first time I tried to set up an account, the page froze. (My internet connection was working fine, and other websites were performing as normal.) I had to close out the page and try again. That time it worked, but the link in the verification e-mail didn't work. It said that the page I had requested did not exist even though it was the link they sent me! Fortunately, I could access my account without verifying my e-mail, which makes me wonder what the purpose of the e-mail verification is.
Once I got onto my account, everything took forever to load. There were a couple times that I had to close the page out and login again because it seemed to have frozen. (Again, my internet connection was fine and all other website were operating as normal.) I tried to turn in a Word document for an assignment, but it didn't work several times. I then tried to post a comment explaining the difficulty I was having, but it didn't work several times. I was only able to submit the assignment by using a different computer. When adding files to the library from Google Drive, it pulled up all my files from all folders without any organization. When I clicked on the "folder" button, it pulled up all folders and sub-folders without any organization. I couldn't find the file I wanted to upload.
Finally, I was unable to learn how one of Edmodo's services worked. There was a link to "See How Snapshot Works," but it ended up just taking me back to my account homepage. I did a search on Google and found an Edmodo blog post explaining Snapshot (notice that Google navigates the Edmodo site better than Edmodo's own internal links). Snapshot allows students to take short quizzes on specific Common Core standards so the teacher can easily assess mastery. Hmm, that sounds interesting. When I clicked on a link in the blog post to "Create a Snapshot today," it again just took me to my account homepage. The blog post did not explain how to access Snapshot, so I perused the homepage until I found Snapshot in the Apps Launcher. Of course, clicking on the Snapshot app took me back to the homepage. Oh well.
I will never use Edmodo for anything. Any networking benefits that Edmodo provides can be accomplished much easier through other other professional learning networks, such as edWeb. Any classroom tasks that Edmodo facilitates can be accomplished much easier through other learning management services such as Schoology.
Schoology
After the Edmoto disaster, Schoology was like a beacon of warm light. I had absolutely no technical problems with Schoology. Signing up and creating a class was a breeze, and the various features and services were easy to find and use. I was able to create a sample Algebra I class in Schoology, and I posted materials that were related to a lesson on exponential growth and decay. These materials included two discussion forums, an embedded video (see below), a link to a simulator that required students to submit screenshots, and a quiz. If you want to check it out, the access code is VVFMQ-RBF63. The only difficulty I had was sharing resources from my home account to my students in the class. I figured it out by Googling "Schoology share resources." I found a Schoology blog post detailing the process, which was fairly simple.
In additional to ease of use and technical competency, Schoology has other advantages. Teachers can embed media in assignments and quizzes, which is not possible in Edmodo. Schoology also has more detailed abilities to grade students' participation in various assignments and discussion forums. There is also a Schoology app that allows students to submit files from a wide variety of apps directly to their Schoology account. I have not used the app, but if it works it sounds fantastic. This article enumerates 10 benefits of Schoology over Edmodo. I have to agree with the article author: Schoology is the way to go.
P.S. Here is the video promised earlier. It is from Khan Academy, which is a wonderful resource for students to get some extra help in math and science.
