Edmodo

Hi readers, 

New day, new tool. Today I would like to share a new teaching site which is edmodo.com. This site is almost similar to a social networking site, Facebook. 

WHAT is edmodo.com?

Edmodo.com is a site which demonstrates virtual classroom for teachers and students which focuses on teaching and learning processes.It is accessible for the particular teacher and students in or outside the class. This site allows users to post something on the 'wall' such as discussion questions or asking for opinions; and the post could be commented or responded by other group members. 

HOW to use with students?

1. The teacher should sign up as 'teacher' and create a group for the respective students
2. Students should also sign up as 'student'
3. After creating the group, the teacher will receive a code that should be given to the students in order to become the members of the group
4. A virtual learning classroom is now ready for discussions, debate and etc.
5. Students would also receive a parent code which allows parents to monitor their children learning progress.
6. There is also tutorial videos on how to use Edmodo available below. Check it out!

 

Edmodo encourage virtual learning environment between teachers and students. It could be a useful teaching site as: 

• Teachers could use this site to make any announcement/ give homework for the students
• Students are free to ask questions if there is any doubt on any topics
• Any of the group members could refer back to the discussions for revision purposes
• Edmodo could be the platform for virtual interactions between teacher and students as it is accessible 24/7 with internet connection

ADVANTAGES

• It is FREE
• It is accessible anytime, anywhere by the group members
• Promotes authenticity and creates meaningful interactions during the discussion
• Any of the group members could refer back to their discussion
• Ideal for discussions/brainstorming activities
• Teacher could use Edmodo to assess students progress/ involvement in discussion
• Encourage parents could also access and monitor the children's learning progress

DISADVANTAGES

• Internet connection is essential 24/7
• Not all students involve in discussion. Some students might just depend on their friends' answer. 
• Students might get distracted with other websites when using Edmodo.

clicknlearn.net

Hi readers, 

New day, new tool. Today I would like to introduce a new teaching site that might help you in simplifying your ways in teaching vocabulary to students. It is called clicknlearn.net.

WHAT is clicknlearn.net?

clicknlearn.net is an interactive website which help users to teach and learn languages in fun and full of excitement ways. This tool is suitable for language teachers (English, Spanish and French), and additionally, it is also suitable for all levels of students. This is because it provides guidance, and exercises which include different levels of language competency for beginner, intermediate and advance students. 

HOW to use it with students?

Firstly, go to clicknlearn.net and select the language.

Next, go to the Menu, and select the activities according to the level of the student, name of the unit, lexical content, grammatical content or functions, text types, and the cultural preferences. In most of the units, students will be exposed to activities which activates their schemata before doing the actual exercises. 

There are also tutorial videos in youtube.com which explain how clicknlearn.net works. One of them is this video :

Apart from that, you could also watch  russellstannard-teachertrainingvideos.com as guide to use this website.

ADVANTAGES

• It is FREE.
• Contains more than one languages i.e. English, Spanish and French
• User-friendly
• Varies teaching methodology.
• Language teachers could be creative and explore more on vocabulary teaching.
• Different ways in integrating teaching with technology.
• Provides feedback for students.
• Students could explore more vocabulary from different level of proficiency.
• Encourage autonomous learning.

DISADVANTAGES

• Internet connection is essential 24/7
• Sound effects might distract users
• Some exercises are too easy for beginners and some activities require learners to have good background knowledge on the topic. 
• Texts are overload
• The activities and exercises are irreversible. Users are unable to go back to previous activities/ exercises in the unit. 
• Some students might deviate while doing the exercises that they are supposed to do. They might want to try new things, and end up doing something beyond their level.