Design Experiment 2: Learning Management Systems

A look at Learning Management Systems

Experiencing Edmodo

While this week’s tech tool is not new to me, the way we were asked to evaluate it provided a new learning experience for me.  I have used Edmodo before in my classroom, but not necessarily as a course management system.  Edmodo does afford opportunities in online interaction, which I discussed in my post this week as having both the benefit of anonymity and familiarity considering that our young learners are so digitally advanced.  Some might argue that anonymity doesn’t exist when using this tool in the physical classroom, and I might have joined in on this criticism as well if I had not experienced this first hand.  I found that even though students interact online through Edmodo, yet know each other personally due to their physical presence in a classroom together day in and day out, the online nature and environment provides a sense of comfort and allows them to engage in conversation in ways they wouldn’t in the traditional classroom.  I discovered that students who were often quiet in classroom discussion had quite hefty, elaborate opinions when placed in online discussion environments.  They were able to become more vulnerable as they hid behind the computer screen even though their classmates knew them personally.  In a way, Edmodo and other collaborative tools level the playing field a little by forcing the vocal students to listen to the ideas of others and the more timid students to participate in the conversation.  A few more affordances Edmodo offers in accordance with online collaboration is the feature of adding or attaching links, videos, and images to posts as well as a way for the instructor to stay connected and up-to-date with the discussion. 

On another note, in evaluating Edmodo as a tool that offers more than peer interaction opportunities, I decided to compare it to Google Classroom that we explored last week.  None of the classes I teach are exclusively online, and thus my experience with Edmodo doesn’t demonstrate such.  I wanted to compare Edmodo to a similar tool for a better understanding of how it functioned as a course management system.

Edmodo vs. Google Classroom

At first glance, these products seem to fall in the same category serving as avenue for online instruction delivery, interaction with other learners, and a one-stop-shop for instructors to assign and monitor progress.  However, the features that exist within these tools actually separate the purposes they both serve.  I found that Google Classroom as mentioned in another comparison (“Google Classroom,” 2017) enriches the learning experiences of the physical classroom, while Edmodo can deliver a complete course.  After researching the similarities and differences as outlined in the chart below, I still couldn’t decide which I would rather use in my classroom as an online learning management system.  I think selecting media based on the context and intended purpose would need to be evaluate before selecting either one.  However, I do find that Google Classroom seems to be a tad bit more involved and might require more of an “all-in” attitude rather than using it as a tool for one project or assignment.  On the other hand, I have easily integrated Edmodo as  tool for a selected project or lesson without having to make a long term commitment to it.

Schoology vs Edmodo vs Google Classroom - Education LMS Roundup. (2017, February 01). Retrieved June 18, 2017, from https://myelearningworld.com/schoology-vs-edmodo-vs-google-classroom-3-education-lms-comparison/

Google Classroom vs. Edmodo: Key Features and Services Comparison. (2017, April 17). Retrieved June 18, 2017, from https://www.betterbuys.com/lms/google-classroom-vs-edmodo/