Our Virtual Classroom on Edmodo
Have you ever considered the benefits of setting up a Virtual Learning Environment?
According to BBC Active, “a VLE, or learning platform, is an online system that allows teachers to share educational materials with their pupils via the web. Examples include Moodle, WebCT and Blackboard.”
Setting up a virtual classroom does not only simplify the interaction between educators and students. It also increases the productivity and the creative impetus on both sides, and it facilitates a richer teaching/learning experience. Most of all, it enables educators to create a customised paperless classroom, thus ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns in education by “doing more and better with less”, which is one of the goals for sustainable development promoted by the United Nations.
Ever since the start of the Industrial Revolution, paper consumption has gradually become one of the main factors that contribute towards the increase of the negative impact our modern societies have on the environment. Moreover, education seems to be playing a significant part in this process, since it is one of the largest paper consuming industries in the world. However, the ongoing Digital Revolution can offer both solutions and remedies for this problem. Research has confirmed that with more and more technological breakthroughs, there have been many positive ecological impacts.
“Raising awareness on the most pressing environmental issues of our time is more important than ever.” – Leonardo DiCaprio
From a Paper-based to a Paperless Classroom
I remember, it wasn’t such a long time ago, when I used to enter the classroom with a pile of dictionaries in my hand, a teacher’s book, a student course book and workbook, some extra handouts, a couple of posters, and a set of flesh cards – all nicely stocked in an extra-large box, that I’d just picked up from the nearby junk store, feeling like a packed up bookstall, trying to figure out the right angle to get into the classroom without rolling on the floor like a spinning plunger toy, literally “spreading all the knowledge on my students’ heads”. Although a bit nostalgic for the good old paper dictionaries and the rustling of pages under my fingertips, I must say that I’m happy those days are over!
At Pegasus ELS, we have gradually been introducing technology in our teaching practice since the time when the Internet became a commodity impossible to deny. It all started with teachers bringing their laptops to class to present videos to students, the next step being a portable video projector to be used by teachers in turns with PowerPoint presentations, and evolving into what we have today – a video projector and a laptop per classroom, with a set of digital tools to be used in class, and students bringing their own devices (a one-computer and BYOD classroom setting). With this approach, we have significantly reduced paper consumption in our school, introducing our own resources that teachers have developed for the requirements of each of the level groups they teach. We have continuously been upgrading our school’s database of resources, from Word Document files, PowerPoint presentations to various educational software applications and online digital tools, promoting blended learning opportunities for our students.
Going Paperless with Edmodo
I have personally grown very fond of Edmodo as an online learning platform that has enabled me to flip my classroom and go completely paperless in my teaching practice. The platform is user-friendly, and offers a set of learning tools intended for a wide range of educators to share their digital resources with students and parents. The following video highlights some of the aspects that make Edmodo a highly useful tool for educators in their teaching practice.
Edmodo has helped me organise my teaching resources for each level I teach, as well as digitalise a whole range of activities, such as written assignments, grammar and vocabulary revision quizzes, listening tasks, and much more. It has enabled me to keep my students focused by increasing their motivation and commitment in the learning process.
‘Digital Meets Heritage’ on Edmodo
The very first thing I did with my students who joined the Digital Meets Heritage program was to set up their Edmodo accounts, and have them join my Digital Meets Heritage group on Edmodo.
In this way, I introduce my students with the contents of the program on weekly basis, and encourage them to turn in assignments related to the texts they prepare for their blogs, in order to correct their mistakes and edit their blog posts before publishing.
For each week during the course students will be transferred to a smaller group, where they will be given specific instructions how to complete their tasks related to various topics covered by the Digital Meets Heritage program, from various sites and locations they will explore, to historical figures and artists they will discover, as well as virtual tours to museums they will describe in their blog posts.
It takes a bit of time and proper guidance to get students accustomed to this platform, but once they get used to it, there is an amazing flow of content production and a much easier communication that will make the whole process a pleasurable learning adventure.
As an Edmodo Certified Trainer, I would warmly recommend Edmodo to all educators willing to implement this program within their educational settings, although there are many other online learning platforms that many teachers already use, such as G-Suit for Education, or Google Classroom. Moreover, there are many new emerging online learning platform such as EasyClass, or Belouga.
I have made myself at home with Edmodo, not only because it is a user-friendly platform used by millions of teachers around the world, but also because it is popular among students, particularly its mobile version.
Try it out and see for yourself! I promise there is a whole treasure chest of goodies waiting for you in there!
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about Edmodo, or how to implement it with this program. As an Edmodo Certified Trainer I am willing to offer all my skills and expertise to help you set up your virtual learning environment with Edmodo.
If you are already an Edmodo user, you are more than welcome to share your experiences with us in the comment section bellow.
Enjoy your VLE, go paperless, and make this world a better place!
Thank you.
