Sunday, August 11, 2013

Edmodo Vs. Schoology?



I have been blessed with an opportunity to be a digital media teacher at Mentorship Academy in Baton Rouge. School starts tomorrow and I have been franticly searching the Internet for Ideas to incorporate digital media as well as social media to my class. The objective for my class is to be an introduction to digital media through the use of film, video editing, music production, and graphic design. All of these different skill sets go hand in hand when looking to write and direct your own movie. By the end of the school year, students will have learned proper lighting, recording techniques; storyboarding, creative writing sequence; and digital music production and design basics. 
My vision for the way in which I want to teach is to be completely digital. I am going to use websites such as Edmodo, YouTube and Schoology to introduce topics, watch video tutorials and gain class feedback. I have been doing research on both Edmodo as well as Schoology to see which one I would like better. Here is a break down of what each of the educational sites offers. 
Edmodo offers a platform that allows students to interact with the teachers and it also allows teachers to interact and share information among other teachers.  When I first logged on, I noticed that the site does resemble Facebook in that way it is formatted. I think this familiar look makes the students feel more comfortable when engaging in the platform. Edmodo just released an iPhone and iPad app this July. The app comes equipped with a feature that allows teachers to exchange information by “bumping” their phones.
Schoology has all of the same features as Edmodo, however provides students with a place where students can comment on assignments, upload homework and take quizzes and tests that are created, and graded within the platform. Schoology also incorporates the teacher’s calendar, attendance and grading for each student.
I’m sure both of these platforms perform well, I still have to test them both out to see what I would want to use in the future. I think I am leaning more towards Schoology, but I haven’t heard any other teachers really talking about it. I am anxious to find out more so I can share. I already have an Edmodo account and will be making a Schoology account tonight.
Do you think technology integration in schools is a good thing? If not why? If you are familiar with any of these platforms, which one do you prefer?

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