Edmodo, what it is and how it works

Edmodo is an online learning tool that allows you to transfer part of the educational content from physical classrooms to the Internet, facilitating communication between students and teachers, with the possibility of doing homework, papers and taking exams remotely.

In principle, Edmodo has not been designed for distance education, but to enhance face-to-face classes, and move part of the teaching to the InternetIt does not include a system to teach classes online, although it can be combined with one of the apps to make video calls if it is not possible to attend in person.

We can register on Edmodo with three different profiles: teacher, student or parent/legal guardian. The functionalities are basically the same, but they adapt depending on whether we are the ones who learn or the ones who teach.

Edmodo is a free tool for all users, although it has a paid version that can be contracted by the management of a center, or an educational administration for a group of them.

In practice, teachers and students can enjoy Edmodo for free, without cost or limitations The premium version is more oriented to communities large, with an IT administrator who needs analysis tools and the possibility of integrating the platform into their own systems.

Edmodo's focus is on schools and institutes, not so much on universities, although in the end anyone can use it if they think it suits their needs, even academies or teachers who give private classes.

Edmodo has a version for web browser and apps for Android and iOS, so it can be easily accessed, although it will be more comfortable to use it on a screen of a certain size, be it a computer or tablet.

Virtual classes to organize yourself

Edmodo's organization is based on classes, associated with a specific subject or course. Teachers can create one or more classes, and students can also join several of them, or just one.

This system is suitable both for schools that want to use Edmodo, where the teacher is usually in charge of a single class, and for institutes or universities, where each course has several teachers for different subjects.

Each class has a kind of "board" where the teacher will share information, similar to a social network, and that is accessible through the code of the class. By default, students can add comments, although it is possible to restrict them from writing, and also decide whether or not parents have access to the content.

The publications allow us to include different useful information, whether they are notices of suspended classes, surveys for the date of an exam or instructions to buy school supplies.

It also makes it easier to organize subgroups of students within classes and create a library, with tests (exams or exercises) and other content (text in Word or PDF, videos and other educational material).

The library does not only exist at the level of individual classes. Students have access to all the content of the various classes available, and teachers can upload the materials in their private area, and then share them with the appropriate classes, or even with individual students and parents.

Edmodo not only serves to organize us, but also for learning itself, and that is where the tests and assignments sections come in.

Tests and Assignments

Within a specific class, the teacher can set an assignment, that is, a job to be done or homework. In addition to indicating on Edmodo what students should do, they can upload support material, such as PDF exercises.

The assignment will be sent to the class, with a delivery date, which will appear on the main bulletin board. The students will upload the exercise or work once they do it, which after being reviewed by the teacher will obtain a grade.

The tests are similar to an exam, although they can also be designed as simple exercises for students. Edmodo gives many options: multiple choice questions, true or false, fill in missing words, short answer or link concepts.

It is possible to set a time limit to solve the test, and then the teacher will evaluate them if they include text questions, otherwise otherwise the note is automatic. Of course, when taking an online exam, nothing prevents the student from consulting various sources on the Internet.

Apart from the fact that corrections are greatly accelerated on Edmodo, the platform shows useful information, including the average grade of the class and the evolution of the students, something important to assess progress and if the level of demand is adequate.

Tests and assignments move to a calendar customized for each user, both students and teachers, so it's easy view pending tasks and their status.

In addition, teachers have badges to award to students, for reasons such as asking good questions or participating frequently.

For the lower levels, there are also simple educational games that can be sent to students. Unfortunately, Edmodo caters primarily to the Anglo-Saxon world, and many of these games in English will not work for Spanish-speaking students.

Chats, Office integration, and social features

Another Edmodo utility is a private message system, so teachers, students, and parents can communicate. Email is not always a quick tool, and in elementary school many children may not have an email address.

So the chat is a dynamic tool, where you can create groups, and it has also been designed with privacy and security in mind. School WhatsApp groups cast legal doubts, and Edmodo serves as an alternative.

In addition, Edmodo allows to integrate Microsoft/Office accounts to access cloud storage (only if they are school accounts) and also to Google Drive, making it easy to exchange files.

Many schools have Office 365 for the entire education community because Microsoft offers it at no cost, so the Edmodo integration is helpful.

Finally, Edmodo includes a kind of social network for teachers, where they share experiences, teaching materials and knowledge. It is a way to meet other educators, although chats and groups with members of the center will probably be used more to create a "virtual teacher room".

Complements Edmodo for online classes

The great limitation of Edmodo is that it does not allow subjects to be taught directly, since it does not integrate a videoconference systemHowever, it is possible to compensate for this lack through external apps for 100% online education, and even from Edmodo they see it as advisable.

Some options we have are:

1. Microsoft Teams - While the educational version can completely replace Edmodo, we can also use just the live video features.
2. Zoom: A popular application for video calls and virtual meetings, albeit with security flaws.
3. Skype: A classic of video calls, but it has fallen behind other alternatives.
4. Jitsi Meet: makes it easy to create virtual conferences of up to 200 people.
5. YouTube: Whether they are pre-recorded or direct video, it only works if we don't need to see the students in real time.

All these platforms are valid. Choosing one or the other depends on needs such as the number of attendees, if we want to share the screen, control the users' PC, and the technology knowledge of the students.

Moodle, Teams and other alternatives

We have already explained how to teach online using different tools, which are basically alternatives to Edmodo, each one with its advantages and disadvantages, although all will be valid.

One of the most popular is Moodle, free and open source, which allows schools to adapt it to their needs if necessary. wish. Its operation is similar to Edmodo, although more complete, and in general more used.

There is also Chamilo, an educational platform of the same style, and Google Classroom, which is not very different either, and may interest us.

Perhaps the most complete option is Microsoft Teams for Education, as it includes chat, video calls, cloud storage, access to Office and specific functions for teachers.

Although there is free Teams for everyone, the educational version is much more complete and also has no cost, but the school, institute or university must request it for the entire community.

In conclusion, Edmodo is a good online educational tool, very useful as a complement to face-to-face classes, to organize the course, put homework and exercises. It is also feasible remotely, but in that case it is best to use an additional app to teach classes online.

What do you think about Edmodo? Do you think it is a good educational solution to coordinate students, teachers and parents?