Edmodo vs. Classroom Weebly Blog

Over on All Things Upper Elementary, I wrote about my first attempts to use Edmodo with my class.  To sum up, it has some great features for my fourth graders, and they were very excited about it.  However, because I have more experience with Weebly as a classroom blog, I feel as though I need to decide for next year: will I use Edmodo, Weebly, or both?  Today I weighed the benefits of each in order to come to a decision.  

Both sites:

• Allow teachers to publish text, photos, documents, and links. It's great to have a "home base" when you want students to go to a new website ("go to our page and click the link" instead of "type in this long address").  It's also great for kids to use at home as a study tool if you post your anchor charts, Educreations videos, or YouTube videos of demonstrations you've shown in class. 
• Allow students to post replies.
• Allow teachers to "moderate" comments (which means they are not published until the teacher approves them) if you wish, as well as turn off moderation (so kids' comments appear immediately) if you wish.
• Any post or comment can be deleted at any time.
• Get kids excited about reading and typing for an authentic purpose. 

Switch to Edmodo:  The pros

• 
  Edmodo appeals to kids because it looks like Facebook. 
• Edmodo is much more "social" as opposed to Weebly, which is more teacher driven.  That is, on Weebly the teacher writes posts, and the kids can click "reply" to respond.  Kids can view each other's comments by clicking "comments."  On the other hand, on Edmodo, kids can see all replies at a glance.  They can write their own posts, not just reply to the teacher's.  They can even upload pictures and links.  All that felt really scary to me at first!  However, as my instructor said, most kids are not going to post inappropriate things right in front of their teacher any more than they are going to stand up in the middle of class and say inappropriate things or display inappropriate photos.  (Of course, if your students are the sort who would, see above regarding how to moderate posts).
• Edmodo has built in online storage.  They can save a document they are working on in class into their Edmodo "backpack," then save it onto their computer at home. 
• Privacy.  The kids and I can post photos on Edmodo.  When I used Weebly the only photos I posted had their faces cropped or digitally covered.  Now they can see their pictures of class parties, showing off projects, and so on. 
• Polls.  This is a niche thing, but for fourth graders to see their votes turn into a bar graph is a great learning experience in and of itself.  Edmodo also makes voting easy, private, and fun.
• Quizzes.  Like Google Docs, it is possible to create a "form" that can be used for online quizzes.  The idea of having it all integrated is nice.
• Teaching communities.  It's not just the kids who benefit from Edmodo.  If you participate in the online communities, you will be surprised what ideas and resources teachers from around the world can offer you in no time!
• Features I haven't mastered yet.  There are alerts, assignments, and a calendar on Edmodo. 

Stick with Weebly:  The pros

• I can keep more control.  I fear that if the kids can post whatever they like, there will be too much junk to weed through to get to the content I want them to see at home.  There are filters on Edmodo, such as "view posts from the teacher," but for fourth grade it seems like one step too many in terms of accessing information. 
• I can keep posts more organized.  Although both sites allow posts to be organized (such as math posts, science posts, and so on), I don't think I have the ability to move a post if the kids (or I) post in the wrong area by mistake.  There are also archives by month in Weebly that I don't see in Edmodo.
• I can schedule posts.  In Edmodo, when you post there is a time stamp and to my knowledge those posts can not be reordered; it's there the moment you click "send."  And if I'm up very late on a school night, I don't like having my students see that reflected in the time I post (it just sets a bad example).  In Weebly, although I can't schedule posts in advance (to my knowledge) I can move posts around.  So if I write 3 posts and I want the math one to appear at the top, I can change the dates to post date the other two. 
• It's not the most profound reason, but as much as the kids like the look of Edmodo, I don't.  My Weebly blog has a lot more "personality" with the background image, custom banner, my choice of fonts, and so on.   
• I can create pages in Weebly.  I like to have important information on separate pages, such as "How to Log in to Study Island" and "News for Parents."  I don't see that on Edmodo.  I feel like those things we talk about at the beginning of the year that I want them to access all year will get lost in the mix.
• No student accounts to worry about.  I had to create a permission slip for my students to check the "my parents agree to the terms of use" box.  Weebly does not require user accounts and they don't require parent permission.  So when there are some parents who do not give permission (I have 3) I feel as though things are not equitable for all my students.  It was bad enough to have a blog when not all my students couldn't get on at home due to lack of internet access.  But to now have a place where some of my students can't go on even during the school day makes me think twice about what I post. 
• No username and password hassle.  On Edmodo, with every child using a different password (and forgetting) it adds an extra management piece that is more of a hassle.
• I'm not sure I need those extra features (alerts, assignments, and a calendar).  I have to admit I don't love kids seeing things on there that I'm not updating; it makes me feel like a slacker!

Limited Time Freebie

Conclusion: 

I think that next year I'm going to do exactly what I did this year.  Start out with the Weebly blog.  It's easier to manage.  Then, as with all good teaching, the time will come for "gradual release of responsibility."  We will switch over to Edmodo when they have seen me model what a good post looks like, (informative, but encourages a response from readers) I feel that their comments are on topic, and I can trust them to represent themselves well online.  It's working for us this year, so I will do the same next year.

Do you use either of these online platforms with your class, or have you tried one of the others?

My Other Classroom Blog: For Students!

Earlier this year, my principal told us that we have a new school website, with built in links to teacher pages, so we should each create a website.

While I'm not sure website design is everyone's kettle of fish, I've been blogging in one form or another for about 10 years (I probably wouldn't have met my husband if it wasn't for my blog).  So since it's a hobby I enjoy anyway, I thought why not?

So I began learning the ins and outs of Weebly, since that was the recommended platform.  I prefer Blogger, but I thought it best to keep my commercial account here separate from my school blog, which could evolve into something that showcases students' photos or original work.  I came up with a name (different from the one you'll see below, again, for privacy purposes) got a design I liked, wrote an introduction, uploaded a photo, and I was on my way!

As I was designing, which is the fun part, I was thinking at the same time about what content to include.  I didn't just want a rehash of the school information because that's dull and unnecessary.  I wasn't sure I wanted to commit to updating it weekly with news and homework.  It's great that some teachers do this, but to me, that would be a chore, and I don't want to get called out on lagging behind in it.  The kids should be copying their own assignments in 4th grade, not using the site as a crutch and blaming their teacher for not updating, haha.  No, I wanted my page to have a little more personality than that.

And that's when it hit me.  If this website was going to really be my own, it had to be about the things I'm already doing in class, and the things I'm already doing online: blogging.  I just happened to start taking photos on my phone of lots of anchor charts I made this year.  I could post those.  Then parents could see what we were learning.  Like, the actual content of what we were learning.  And then I realized something even more important.

The KIDS could see the actual content of what we were learning.

Suddenly, the idea of blogging about my classroom took on a whole new level of importance.  Imagine: the kids could be home, doing their homework, notebook open, unable to make sense of their notes in math.  They could go to the website, click on "math," and see the most recent post with a full color photo of the steps involved.  Or a photo of the manipulatives they used to model the equation.  Those kids who have trouble focusing with 17 other kids in the room could go over the exact material they need.  The parents who look at the Math in Focus and throw their hands up in frustration because they learned to multiply a different way can look over their kid's shoulder and read the steps to them.

But I had to make it fun, or they wouldn't care.

So I decided to go out on a limb, and make the blog interactive.  That's right:  I decided to open comments on posts.  Real time comments.  Is this irresponsible for elementary students?  Maybe.  On the other hand, I think it's naive to believe that students aren't texting each other, and in some cases lying about their age on other websites like Facebook, writing comments online already.  At least if I allowed comments on my own site, I could monitor them.  I could teach about audience, and representing yourself well online since it's a worldwide audience.  I could teach about written responses being on topic, something every fourth grader needs to learn for standardized tests.  And it would all be motivating because it's for an authentic purpose. 

I worked for 3 days over Veteran's Day weekend, publishing and post dating the photos I'd taken and wrote short, easy to read posts, post dating them from the beginning of the year to the present.  Then I waited until Friday, the day the kids had computer time, sat them in front of the Smartboard in our media center, and said in a low, conspiratorial voice, "I've been keeping a secret from you."

The reaction from the kids was overwhelming.  They were SO excited, seeing photos of things they'd already experienced, and knowing that they were allowed to comment.  They rushed to the computers once I walked them through the site, and they flooded it with comments.  Half of them were, sure enough, needing deletion as spam.  But it's lead to great discussions and self/peer evaluation during subsequent computer lessons.  And some of the comments have shown me how invested kids are in their school experience.  Some of the kids (and parents!) have commented to thank me in heartfelt ways that they might be too bashful to say in person.  My classroom blog does NOT feel like a chore.  It feels like an online snapshot of the things I want my students to know, and a place that they can safely visit any time for information or entertainment.

Anatomy of my blog:

1. Our school logo brings students to the homepage from any page.
2. Posts appear on the homepage in chronological order.  
3. There are different pages that are not interactive.  The Journeys page links to explicit directions for how to log on to Journeys so they can read their books or print off workbook pages.  The Contact Me page has a form which students can use to Email me privately, and the Email goes to my school account.  I clarified that by "private," my principal can read my Emails if he needs to, just as a way to cover myself.  I also explain on this page that I will not Email the kids back; I will reply in school.  I've only gotten 2 Emails from students so far, and both times it was accidental; they wanted to comment but forgot how, haha.
4.  The categories help students find posts from specific subjects. 
5. Commenting Rules remind students of posting requirements.  They are forewarned about public put downs of other students, and they are not allowed to post under aliases.  They don't know it yet, but if commenting ever goes down a bad road, Weebly has an option that allows me to monitor comments BEFORE they are published.  I will use this feature if I need to, but as long as they are enjoying the feature and being responsible, I'd like them to experience the instant gratification because it encourages more interactivity! 
6. The comment link after each post.  Even weeks later, kids are still commenting.

If you're interested in creating a classroom blog with your students, I've created a freebie to walk you through the planning process, as well as step by step instructions on how to create a website and your first post on a free blogging platform.  Check out How to Create a Classroom Website (Blog) in my TPT Store!