That day I learned about Edmodo. It was a student-friendly web site that I could create, invite my students to participate under a safe environment, and give students assignments electronically so that I could track who had seen the assigned videos and who hadn't. More capabilities were there to create quizzes, polls, and other teacher tools that I could integrate later. So, I dove in.
By the time I got my class on board with creating their accounts and communicating with parents of what we were doing, we were nearly finished with new lessons of the math book, the subject I started flipping in my class. I did three flipped lessons, and they were, for the most part, successful.
The school year ended. I learned I will be switching grade levels to teach 6th grade, instead of 5th. I've had a few weeks to read, research, and reflect about my approach towards next year. Was Edmodo the best choice? It was my first choice, but I hadn't chosen carefully. I just went for it. What other choices were out there to manage a flipped classroom under a Learning Management System (LMS)? District Administration recommends 12 possible LMS sites to choose from, excluding Edmodo. That's a lot to consider.
After researching it for a few weeks now, I think I have it down to two LMS sites that will work best for my students: staying with Edmodo or using Schoology. Below, I've embedded a video I created to compare the two systems:
I think I like the way Schoology presents itself to students better. It looks like I'll be using that LMS with my 6th grade class for next year. Stay posted as I will let you know how it goes!
As always, if you have any specific questions, please contact me at nsemrberry@gmail.com.
Thanks!
- Rick.
