**Disclaimer: I had previously used Edmodo before investigating the two websites for this blog post. So, if you are wanting true first impressions, my view is skewed.**
What are these two sites exactly? Edmodo and Schoology are examples of learning management systems. Learning Management Systems are software applications that administration, teachers, students, and parents use in the electronic learning process. This is a very broad definition. I purposely made it a broad definition, because they really can do almost anything. Here are some specific examples:
- provide documents to students, parents, or coworkers
- automatic grading and analysis of assignments
- administer assignments (quizes, tests, etc.)
- create polls and surveys
- discussion posts
- create courses and/or groups for members to join
- dropbox for assignments
- share resources/ideas among students or between professionals
Watch this video for an explanation of Schoology. This is from their support page on the website. Yes, it is lengthy, but there are so many facets to this program that it is beneficial to watch it in its entirety if you are wanting to make a decision that is best for you.
Here is an overview of Edodo in the like. This is a teacher explaining how she uses it in her own classroom.
As you can surmise from watching these videos, they both filled a tall order from teaching professionals. Now it is up to you to decide which one fits your needs the most. I am going to talk now from my own point of view and explain which one works best for my world.
I'm sure you recall the disclaimer from the beginning of my post. I had a limited amount of use of Edmodo before digging into these sites on a deeper level. However, I truly think that I would like Edmodo more than Schoology and here is why: it seems more user friendly. I am a teacher in the elementary world. Even though I have the smartest students on the planet, I think Schoology would be challenging to teach them how to use. At the elementary level, I am not just teaching the students how to use it, but parents as well. Can you picture a Kindergartner using Schoology? It is hard enough picturing them using Edmodo. However, between the two, Edmodo seems to be more user friendly for the primary purpose of what I would be using it for-student use and student interaction.
I see myself using it mainly to create folders for students to access their music. I would create audio files and sheet music files. It is also a place for me to communicate any information about performances to students and parents alike. I can also foresee using it as a discussion venue after performances. We discuss as a class, but having a discussion as an entire grade level would be valuable for them. They can see viewpoints from others that they are not used to hearing from.
Ultimately, decide what you like best out of these to fine athletes, and choose what works best for you.
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