Edmodo: An Incredible Time-Saver!

As a middle school teacher, I was often bogged down with multiple assignments coming in at all different times and having to sort through stacks repeatedly to figure out who hadn’t turned in what. That took up way too much time!  A couple of years ago I discovered Edmodo, and it has been an awesome tool for keeping everything straight and has saved me SO much time!  

“Edmodo is a free social learning platform that provides a safe way for students and teachers to connect and collaborate.”  

Here are some of my favorite features:

• After posting an assignment, I can see with a click who has turned the assignment in.
• Students can link their GoogleDoc/presentation to the assignment turn in, then all I have to do is click on the link to see their work.  Presentations can then be easily projected.
• A handy feature is that the link is live, so if a student modifies the assignment, they do not have to resubmit.
• All of the assignments  show up on the Edmodo calendar automatically.  
• Edmodo has badges and polls built in.
• Edmodo can also be used to build the classroom community as students can post and comment as well.  

Take a look at the following demo:  https://www.edmodo.com/ (Click watch demo)

Edmodo One Pager

20 Ways to Use Edmodo (Teacher)

There is an extensive support page (click HELP at the bottom of the Edmodo page).  They also will answer questions by email.

(Note:  They just changed the format of Edmodo a bit this summer, so I would stick with the tutorials here from the website.  Other YouTube videos may not be up-to-date.)

Enjoy!

What’s on Your Stick?

Post by LPS Director of Curriculum Jeanette Westfall

When Liberty Public Schools Tech Instructional Coach Tracey Kracht asked for volunteers to contribute to our district blog, I admit I was excited and nervous at the same time.  I’m not new to blogging in education.  I maintained a leadership and operational blog for some time now called Ancora Imparo.  My audience was primarily my own high school staff, but it does provide an interesting archive of the journey our high school was taking.  It boils down to 23 foundational activities, tools, or processes that one should absolutely know in this century as a digital learner.  I can tell you honestly that I never hit 23.


When I began my digital learning journey, I will never forget my dear friend, mentor and building instructional coach Sean Nash (Nashworld) sharing insight on so many different tools that teachers could use to integrate technology into a classroom.  The term he initially used was “23 things on a stick” which is a great Google search to learn the history.  

On July 9^th,  Ian Jukes (Fluency 21/Committed Sardine) authored a post of “9 Learning Tools Every 21^stCentury Teacher Should Be Able to Use” that provided a more focused and attainable goal for me as a learner.  It’s a great checklist for anyone building a first digital toolbox, and a great reminder for those who have been working on one for several years.  Check it out.  You will be glad you did.

Images from Google images:  ”Stick” and “CLEAR Stick Atlas“

Get Your Blog On

If you've decided blogging is something you'd like to explore, we want to share three blogging tools worth considering: KidBlog, Blackboard, and Blogger.

Options for Students

KidBlog is a blogging tool designed to be a safe option for students.  It's much more private than many blogging tools and can't be accessed through an RSS reader.  KidBlog's site is very user-friendly and their blog templates make creating an attractive blog easy.  Login with your google account and create a class so students can enroll.  Check out this quick video overview if you are interested in learning more about KidBlog.

If you are a BlackBoard user, there's also a blogging feature available in the Interactive Tools.  Like KidBlog, these can't be accessed through an RSS reader.  In fact, they are only available to your assigned BlackBoard users.  This makes it a great place to start if your students are beginning bloggers or if you just want a more private environment.  BlackBoard does not include templates or design, so it's also a good place to start if you want the students to focus on the writing without focusing on appearance.  Click HERE for a video tutorial.

Options for Teachers and Students

Blogger is available through your school google account and is a great way to reach a wider audience.  This LPS Connects site is an example of Blogger!  A variety of templates are available and the final products are professional and attractive.  Blogger can be accessed through RSS readers, which helps you build a following.

Click HERE for a video to get you started.

If you decide to blog, be sure to share your posts with us at #lpsconnects.  Now get your blog on!

Engage Students (or Peers) in a Blog Study!

Have you ever engaged in a book study where you were unhappy about paying for a book that you may or may not have loved reading?  Now that you have experience with Blogs and subscribing to RSS Feeds, why not invite your colleagues or students to partake in a Blog Study!

Consider posing a question and encourage all members of the group to go out and find blogs (or use ones you provide) to read about current thoughts wrapped around the discussion topic.  Use Today's Meet or a Twitter Hashtag as a one-stop shop for discussing what was learned through reading.

Encourage others to pose additional questions building upon the topic of discussion.  As you expand and have more participants reading a wider variety of blogs, articles, infographics, etc you may just find growth in thinking... 140 characters at a time (talk about a lesson in synthesis!)

Post your "Blog Study" thoughts on #lpsconnects!

Become a Readivore with your New RSS Reader

It's amazing how much information you can quickly consume when it's all in one place, right at your fingertips.  To make RSS feeds truly work for you, you will need to decide on a reader service you'd like to use.  The fancy word for it is an RSS aggregator.  There are many options of RSS readers available; this post is going to feature three RSS readers that we think you'll like.  You will probably want to choose one of the three in order to keep all of your content in one place.

Here's a quick snapshot of the three options - you'll notice they all have a bit of a different look about them.

Feedly

NewsSquares

Symbaloo

Feedly is a great option if you want a reader with more of a linear approach.  Check out this video for a more in-depth look at Feedly and a quick tutorial on getting started.



NewsSquares provides more of a visual look to your reader.  Each feed is represented as a square on your screen.  This NewsSquares video will demo the features of this reader.  Download the NewsSquares app in the Chrome webstore to get started.



While you may already be familiar with Symbaloo, did you know you can use Symbaloo as an RSS reader?  This reader also has the tiled approach of NewSquares, but they are more text heavy.  Symbaloo would be a great option if you want to share blogs with students.  Find several blogs related to your next unit of study, load them into a Symbaloo webmix, and share the webmix with students.  This tutorial will show how to add RSS feeds to a Symbaloo webmix.



Tweet to #lpsconnects and let us know which reader you select, or if you have another reader you prefer.  Tomorrow we will talk about finding great blogs to follow.

Student Blogging

I love teaching writing. It allows me to see students find their voice, grow in their creativity, and learn very practical skills. Last year, however, writing became my favorite thing we do in the classroom. It all began with creating a class blog.

Why blog? It provides students with a platform. (They were now publishing writing to share... much more purposeful than publishing writing to turn in for me - their teacher - to read, assess, and return.) It provides students with a real audience. (Anyone in the world could now read their writing, and we received comments from students all across the United States.) It provides students with an experience. (Students were using a digital tool that allowed them to be "connected" as well as have a creative outlet for new options such as customizing their personal blog page). Another words, why not?

When I was looking into setting up the blog, I discovered many different platforms. I chose Kidblog (http://kidblog.org) and absolutely love it for various reasons. A few of Kidblog's highlights include:

• It's free (and doesn't have ads)
• It's designed for teachers to use with students (yet students don't need an e-mail address)
• It's safe (with teachers having control over accounts, moderating blog posts, and allowing comments)
• It's simple (while using WordPress software)

Students used our class blog to publish writing about school, their learning, or anything that was important to them. Students blogged during writer's workshop, while in the computer lab, and some even blogged from home (including on a SNOW DAY!). We shared our blog by telling others about it, through e-mailing families and friends the web address, and via our class twitter account. (@KidblogDotOrg even retweeted us to help us gain a following.)

Blogging not only allows classrooms to share writing; blogs allow you and your students to share various types of media: pictures, videos, audio. Try it out. Students love it, and you'll probably discover that you do too.

-Matthew Krohne

The Pinterest Phenomenon

Are teachers using Pinterest?  Here is what I found...

We have seen Pinterest examples from elementary to college.  Edudemic has a great blog post (see image to the left) that talks about this fantastic tool!  Will YOU start pinning?  Read More

AND it won't stop at Pinterest....EduClipper, EduCanvas, and Learnist are all taking the ideas of Pinterest and bringing them into the classroom
Read More

After digesting all of these great resources, record your thoughts on #lpsconnects!  Find other resources that should be shared?  Share via our hashtag or Pin to the Connected Educator board!  So many choices...

Even Pinterest can keep secrets!

Yes, you can now have "secret' boards... up to three at a time!  Not only can the boards be secret, but

you get to share them with people only YOU select.  There is an elementary school in LPS that has a secret board so they can share ideas, brainstorm, and discuss as an internal team.  They also find it to be more secure for sharing student work without opening it up to the world.  I really like receiving the emails as reminders to continually go back and check out the new pins being shared.

The image on the left is from a blog that shares how to set up these secret boards and "10 ways to use..." Or consider visiting Pinterest's Help Board for "Secret Board Basics"

How would you use a secret board?  Share your thoughts on #lpsconnects today!

Pinterested?

What is all the buzz about Pinterest?

There are many ways to learn about this digital tool, you could watch a video....

OR check out the numbers and figures on the following infographic:

13 'Pinteresting' Facts About Pinterest Users infographic

THEN head to the source and explore for yourself!  Pinterest

Already Pinterested? Let's start pinning!

Badge focus for the week:  

Your challenge depends on your Pinterest background... so let's get started: Pinterest Playlist 

• If you are a beginner start at the beginning, sign up, explore and pin away!
• If you are an avid pinner skip to the second half of the playlist and begin producing your own photos and web posts.
• If you are an advanced Pinterest producer, what can you teach us?  Please post a comment below.

Post your board to the Connected Educator Spreadsheet and then we will share the LPS Board with you to be able to then share boards and ideas with everyone! 

Quick Notes

A new chrome app!  This note will save to your diigo account and allow you to be able to hold everything in one space.  It isn't meant for dissertation writing, although I bet you could brainstorm as you are waiting for the dentist ... or as my mind is going, I could jot a note (or quick grocery list) to myself and retrieve it anytime anywhere from any of my connected devices.

Read More - Diigo's Blog Post about Quick Note

Before you ask....yes, there are MANY different online note options for you.  This is just alternative and I'm not here to say it is the best, it just is an option.  You will have to try it and decide if you like it. If you don't, well...you might want to check out Google Keep - that is another very interesting option!

Why not weigh in at #lpsconnects and share the note-keeping app/program you like best!

Work Smarter NOT Harder!

Now that you are not going to lose any of your links again, consider using widgets to post your diigo content in a blog, website, etc. through the widget feature.  Remember, when your audience can get everything in a one-stop shop, that makes for a happy customer (and reduces confusion).  For the most part, you will want to isolate the embed code from one of the widgets and then add to your website.

On blogger, we pulled the embed code and then on the right side of the blog inserted an html widget and posted the code there - it appears on the side of the blog and updates as new items are saved.

A few widgets you can use from the diigo Tools site:

Add To Diigo Widget - you can add this to your blog or website and people can click to add your site to their diigo accounts.  This is another way for your visitors to always have a link to your webspace.

Diigo Tag Rolls - add your diigo tags to your website.

Enhanced Linkrolls - add your annotated titles/links to your website!

Calling a Guest Blogger - Did you know that diigo can also be blog posts?  I haven't tried this yet, but would love to have someone explore this option and blog about it for the group!  Any takers?  It will earn you a Guest Blogger Badge!

Send to Blog
Auto Blog Post

Making a Connection....

Yes, once you make the connection, each time you hit "favorite" on a Tweet - it will be added to diigo! So say I'm on TweetDeck and I want to save this great tweet as an idea to use for the start of school:

I click on the star to favorite in Twitter and it will remain in favorites.  BUT I can also see it in my diigo bookmarks under the tags:  lpsconnects (because it has a hashtag in the Tweet) AND as tweet (because I set that tag up when making the connection):

Don't expect the save to happen immediately.  I have found what I favorite today, always shows up in my diigo account by tomorrow.

Are you ready to try it out?

If you prefer Written Instructions, you can the link from diigo Tools.  If you prefer Video Instructions, I have screencasted instructions on how to make the connection.

Is there a downside to connecting?  Not that I have found, but keep in mind, if you have a FREE account, you can only save about 20 tweets a day ... but then again, who favorites over 20 a day?  Sometimes you just have to let a few things go.

diigo ... it's not just for your computer!

Diigo can be used across most any platform that is connected to the Internet.

Today's goal - connect your other devices to your diigo account and start working smarter and not harder!

Go to THIS diigo Tools page, scroll down to "Mobile and Desktop Apps" locate your device(s) and follow their directions to connect.

I found the iDevices took me a couple of attempts as I wasn't reading the instructions close enough, so be sure to take your time.  Once you are connected, it works great!!!

Post any resources/tutorials you might find that helps others connect their devices at #lpsconnects!

diigo Lists - Who Knew!

I have to be honest in saying diigo lists are relatively new for me in my diigo use (gasp says those who

are tech savvy) ... BUT remember, this is NOT a race to check off all of the cool web 2.0 tools you have tried, but to find those tools that serve the purpose you need at the time.

For this class, I have been learning more about diigo and lists were high on my agenda to check out.  I like this short video (4:34) called "Diigo make, sort, & share lists" by Devon Adams.  Watch the video and/or find an article/resource about diigo lists and then add it to the Connected Educator group!  It is also a great idea to post your thoughts to #lpsconnects!

Have I mentioned how much I enjoy Twitter for learning in short snippits?  I hope you are enjoying this as well!

Diigo 101

Today is about you and social bookmarking with diigo!  Don't forget you can learn more by clicking on the diigo page in our blog navigation (on the right side of the blog)

After training district administrators this year, one principal put diigo in really great terms, "You mean diigo is like the bag of printed articles I keep walking around hoping that I will read and never get to?  I can now just keep them online instead of printing?  Now that is cool!"

If you are new to diigo and want a little more guidance, please check out their 'getting started' videos.

We need to make sure everyone has understands:

Group - a collaborative space where multiple users can share online resources with each other.

Lists - will organize your tags.  You can put items in a group and a list if you would like.

Tags - should be used to help organize your items according to 'topic'

• I was at a PD session with @HeidiHayesJacob and she recommends teaching students tagging as a 21st Century Skill!  Here are two resources for better tagging.

Many new (and veteran) diigo users get confused between lists and tags.  I liked this help entry to keep my mind organized with the difference:

Our browser recommendation to you...CHROME.  Bookmarking in diigo is done using THIS

extension which you can add in the Chrome Store without any tech support.  This extension is super easy to set up - just logon with your diigo account and start highlighting and annotating most any online resource.  Sorry - no annotation option on a .pdf file.  You can tag and save - hopefully they will do something about pdfs soon!

Once you have set up your account, practice highlighting and annotating to your diigo doc.  Do you notice the "Share this Page" option where you can connect to Twitter?  Try it - and add to #lpsconnects

*Information Overload Checkpoint*
You may decide you want to stop here and practice highlighting and annotating for the day and pick back up here tomorrow!  Remember, this blog will be archived and you can come back as often as you might want.

When you are ready for a Badge Challenge... Diigo

We have created a shared diigo group called LPS Develops Connected Educators

1. Click on the link above and add yourself to the group
2. Find an online resource that relates to diigo
3. Annotate and/or add a sticky note
4. Add the resource to the group.  
5. Don't forget to tag the article so everyone can find it quickly - tags that are already used in the group will automatically show and you can pick those or add new.
6. Advanced Option - once you have added it to the group - it might be Tweet worthy - you can click on the diigo extension and "Share this page" / click on Twitter (sign-in if needed) and voila - you have posted to both the Connected Educator group AND tweeted to your followers!  

NICE WORK!

Everyone Learns as Connected Educators

Happy Independence Day to all of you!  We hope that this time finds you relaxing with family and friends!  Tara and I were collaborating today about what types of learning opportunities we wanted to provide over the next three weeks.  We have asked you to step out of your comfort zone and connect with others in different ways.  We have also asked you to take a leap of faith and tell everyone a goal you wanted to achieve.  That got me thinking... What do I want to learn as a result of this class?

I was reading through the Twitter conversation when I saw Wendy's post again ... and I agree 100%!  I read interesting tidbits of information each day and keep thinking I will test that out later and then struggle to find a time to get back to it.  Well, later has finally come...and quite frankly I'm having a blast with this class trying out things that have been recommended by my own PLN - which includes each and everyone of you! So thank you for making my summer fun!

With that in mind, I decided to get back into Storify and really play with it and think about the implications it could have for students and teachers alike.  It is an online platform that gives what you do on social media another voice.

Take what we are doing for instance...we are developing as Connected Educators in an online professional development opportunity.  So I started wondering...are we on the right track?  Are the participants enjoying this online format?  I went back through the Twitter conversation and now ask you...what trends are you seeing in this story?  Feel free to post a comment or join our conversation at #lpsconnects!

Read the full story HERE.

NOTE:  I tried to embed, but it was long and interfered with the blog.  I will work with the HTML at a later date.  An image and a link is my quick fix.

Badges - Signup and Get Started!

Badges are an interesting way to show mastery that is very much the rage in the gaming world.  If this is the first time you have heard of badges, check out our Connected Educator diigo site and click on the tag 'badges' or you can click HERE to read a few articles! (Spoiler Alert - you will learn more about diigo next week)

Read something Tweet-worthy about badges?  Make sure to tweet it with #lpsconnects.

Insider Notes

• Like an author's point of view?  Check to see if they are on Twitter!  Increase who you are following while you are learning.
• Read something that isn't on the diigo site that should be shared?  Tweet the link!
• You can 'mention' the author by using the @ sign.  For instance... if you like what I have said in this post, you might tweet something like:
  
  Thanks @lpstechmentors for the information on badges - definitely something I will want to explore for students this year! #lpsconnects  

There are many sites that use badge systems, one interesting social media site for students is Edmodo.  We highly recommend you check out this site as an option for your social web presence with students!  We have used it in a pilot this summer and it worked out great, let me know if you want any additional information about Edmodo as it is beyond the scope of this month's session.

Getting Down to Business

We will be using an online badge system to help organize our records and we have chosen "ClassBadges" http://classbadges.com/ as the site to use.  I have uploaded the class roster and have used your @student.liberty.k12.mo.us as the email so you will appear as students.  If you want to use this site with your own students, you would want to create a teacher account.  If for some reason this interferes with that process, I can delete your student accounts at the end of the month.

Please keep in mind, this is a work in progress so we will be using your session as the trial to ensure this system works well.  With every new adventure comes some challenges...so please bear with us!

To get started:

1. Go to http://classbadges.com/ and use your student gmail to logon.
2. You should have received an email to your student gmail account with the logon information.  The user names are strange, so use your student email as your logon name and the given password.  You should have an option to change your password once you are in the site.
3. Use Class Badges as a way to monitor your progress toward the four badges needed in order to receive credit and payment for completion of this professional development opportunity!

What badges can be earned this week?

You can earn one or two Twitter badges this month - it depends on how much time you want to use exploring and learning with Twitter!  

Become a "Twitter Consumer"

Level 1: Create an account, add your photo, develop your bio, familiarize yourself with Twitter
Level 2: Find people to follow, develop an understanding of Twitter Language (#, @), explore who others are following
Level 3: Tweet, search,  create a Tweetdeck, and join our conversation at #lpsconnects 

Become a "Twitter Producer"

Level 1: Create an account, add your photo, develop your bio, familiarize yourself with Twitter
Level 2: Find people to follow, develop an understanding of Twitter Language (#, @), explore who others are following
Level 3: Tweet, search,  create a Tweetdeck, and join our conversation at #lpsconnects 
Level 4: Create a magazine or collages of your tweets - see the last two rows in our Symbaloo webmix for some ideas you might want to explore.  

Find something new and exciting to share with the group?  Don't keep it to yourself!  Tweet it #lpsconnects and we will add to Symbaloo for future Connected Educator classes!!! 

Google + Community Discussion

Want to have a quick discussion with others in this group?

LPS already uses Google for students and staff and as a staff member, you can move into the Google + world!  (I moved some time ago and I don't recall the exact steps - if someone has them, please add a comment and share with others!)

Here are some videos to get you started once you have a Google + account!

Getting Started
Set up your profile
Share something with the community
Try a "Hangout"

Your Challenge (regardless of experience level).  Use the Google + YouTube playlist to learn something new you didn't know about Google +.

Add your findings to our Twitter conversation at #lpsconnects

Our Connected Educator's Community can be found HERE.  Add yourself to this community to share directly with other members of this class.