EDpuzzle

We were asked to watch three EDpuzzle workshops and write a blog on the three workshops we watched.  The first workshop I watched was about Edmodo.  Edmodo is a secure academic social network to be used by teachers and students to share information and collaborate online.  If you are a teacher, you can create a free account at edmodo.com.
Not only is Edmodo a great place for teachers and students to communicate online, but resources are available for teachers to connect with other educators from all over the world.  A teacher can join a community and ask for ideas or lessons to be shared on specific topics.
Edmodo also has an app that can be downloaded to your phone or smart device so the application can be accessed on the go.  This is helpful when students have questions regarding homework after school hours.  Pre-made badges can be awarded to students and teachers can even make customized badges to use as positive reinforcement.

The second workshop I watched was about blogging.  I have a personal blog that I occasionally update, but I had never thought about using a blog in the classroom.  Using the blog in the classroom allows students to share their writing with a larger audience and be much more creative with their writing.  It also allows students to work collaboratively, even if they are on other sides of the continent!  Blogging is a great way for students to write their journals.  They would be able to share these journals with friends or family and they could get and respond to feedback from outside sources.  Writing book reviews through blogs would be a fun way to share books that students found interesting.  Blogging isn't a one time activity; it should be revisited and updated regularly.  Because blogging allows students to share their work with people other than their teacher, it is motivating and students are more likely to revisit their blogs.  Students can add links and pictures or videos to their blogs to add to the interest of the reader.  This is also a good way to share more information with the reader.  Blogging also allows parents to be involved in their children's work and keeps them informed as to what is going on in the classroom.

I also watched a workshop about LiveBinders.  I have used LiveBinders a little big through Early Childhood, but have never created one and only use the resources that are already loaded.  LiveBinders are a free digital representation of a three ring binder that can be kept online and shared with other people. There are several online tutorials available to make LiveBinders a useful tool for the new user.  There is also an extensive help area available.  Online bookmarks can be stored along with pdf's, word documents, and any other type of digital content.  Different binders an be created and shared with different groups such as students or work groups.  LiveBinders is also a great place to keep a personal portfolio.  Binders can be organized by shelf where you can embed links to websites, uploaded documents, or even other binders.  LiveBinders is also a great place to find lesson plans and ideas.  There are many lessons already created that a teacher can access and use in his or her own classroom.  The teacher can search for a particular lesson and add those binders to his or her own binder.  LiveBinders can even be accessed through phone apps so it can be accessed on the go.  This website is a great tool for teachers, students, and administrators.

The last workshop I watched was on Digital Workflow.  I had never heard of Digital Workflow before this workshop.  In order to use Workflow, students and teachers need to have access to the internet where they are going to work on the assignment.  Also, the teacher needs to be aware of what she wants the students to get out of their lessons; what features are non-negotiable to the teacher. The most important part of Workflow is for teachers to create groups for their students. There are many educational websites available to teachers that help them use Workflow with their students.  The first one is Edmodo.  Edmodo is similar to FaceBook, but it is used for educational purposes.  The teacher is able to create different classrooms for groups.  The teacher can type messages such as discussion prompts, upload videos, documents, or websites, and load assignments with assigned due dates.  The teacher can also create quizzes and polls for students to complete through Edmodo.  Edmodo also offers free and paid apps for students to use.  The next tool is Google for Education, but it is only available if the site purchases a site license.  The teacher can create a new class and add students from the Google Apps account.  Students can also add themselves using a unique class code.  The teacher can create assignments, add files using Google Drive or add websites.  Students can work on assignments through Google Docs and submit them through Google Drive, where they are automatically organized.  The teacher can provide feedback and grades through the Google Classroom.  Another tool available when using Workflow is Evernote.  Evernote is a cross platform and can sync through multiple devices.  This is a way to store documents, type a note, record audio, or capture a photograph.  Evernote has some social features that will help the classroom teacher.  Evernote was designed to take notes.  If your computer, iPad, or whatever tool you are using to access Evernote has access to a microphone, you can dictate notes so you don't have to type them.  It's a good way to store information about students or to get samples of student readings.  The teacher can create her own notebook or students can create notebooks to share with the teacher.  The final Workflow tool discussed in this workshop is Schoology.  Schoology provides social networking services along with a learning management system.  It engages learners because it is similar to the social media sites they already use.  The teacher can post assignments and provide drop boxes to turn in their work.  Quizzes can be created and automatically graded.  Students can also provide feedback on each others' work.  Discussions can be posted for student response which encourages student interaction.  Students can work at their own pace and be given options for completing assignments allowing the teacher to easily differentiate instruction.  Students can log into Schoology when missing classes to find the work they missed and contact the teacher to ask questions.  Overall, there are several tools available to teachers to assist them in Digital Workflow.  These are exciting ways to bring technology to the classroom.