Edmodo Schoology Google Oh My!

This week was all about learning how to organize online classrooms and resources to enhance our teaching and collaborate with students and teachers.

I experimented with setting up Edmodo and Schoology to compare their similarities and differences.
My preference for collaboration with other art teachers is Schoology.  I have used this online learning platform previously for some professional development classes provided by www.theartofed.com.  At that time, I thought the format was easy to maneuver and resources were organized into logical folders I could easily access.

SCHOOLOGY
When I set up my Schoology account as a teacher, I thought the organization of groups and courses was very easy to create.  I decided the most useful format for collaborating with art teachers was to design our group titled, Elementary Art Teachers.  Then the course is titled: Elementary Art Curriculum for Pre-K-5th Grade.

Within the course, I decided it would make the most sense to create a folder in the Group Shared Resources section for each grade level.  The goal of this design is for art teachers across the district to share lesson plans, links to websites, and images of art projects to teach.  Many times teachers get stuck in a rut without knowing where to turn for new ideas.  The beauty of this site is the shared, age-appropriate curriculum organized into useable formats for teachers to use directly with students, or in the planning stages of curriculum organization.

Follow this blog from Schoology to hear of innovative uses, schools who have benefited, and everything you didn't know about this resource.  You can even learn about flipped classrooms and how to do it for yourself.

https://www.schoology.com/blog

Need to know about rubrics in Schoology? Check out this site for all the latest on rubrics.
https://www.schoology.com/blog/5-great-uses-for-rubrics-youll-wish-youd-thought-of-first


EDMODO

My teenage sons use Edmodo on a daily basis in middle and high-school classes.  The design and ease of use seems very streamlined for their purposes also.  As a parent, I appreciate the grade updates that link directly to the computer-graded quizzes, complete with incorrect answers and correct answers displayed.  This helps me understand the misconceptions and how to best help my boys in areas they need help.

Here's a link to an excellent resource for diving deeper into Edmodo.

Advanced Edmodo

Tutorial for Teachers to begin using Edmodo:

Tutorial for Students to get started:

Whichever platform you choose, they each have their place.  My favorite aspect is the ability to link from either Edmodo or Schoology directly to GoogleDrive.  This simplifies processes of having to copy files from one platform to another.

Do you know what we need as teachers, as we learn about all the new technology?
GRIT!