For the last couple of years, classes at Woodend have been using Edmodo as a platform for students communication, planning, collaboration and peer support. Our class has been one of those and we have found it to be an important part of how we manage our classroom. As a teacher, I have been using Edmodo with classes for about six years. It has been a great resource for improving student organisation.

Digital Technologies and the internet are ever changing, and last year Google introduced their online classroom space called ‘Google Classroom’. After some exploring, and much discussion, we have decided that this is going to be a better tool for our class than Edmodo and we will be officially switching over from the beginning of term 2.

The benefits for us include the seamless integration of the other Google Services that we use regularly in our class. These services are built around effective and regular collaboration between students AND between students and teachers. Teachers can easily attach documents to assignments and students can submit work online with the click of a button. An integrated calendar lets students know what work is due and helps them to prioritise tasks. This is individualised for each student and they can see what they have handed in and what is outstanding. Teachers can submit regular feedback throughout this process, and students can easily receive feedback from each other, helping students to produce their best work. Past posts and assignments are organised better in ‘Google Classroom’ saving us time and allowing students to manage their organisation more independently and effectively.

TWENTY TWO of our thirty students have organised their access to Google Classrooms already and the rest need to be organised as soon as possible. There is a short assignment posted for them to complete before the end of this term. This assignment will give an overview of the main features of ‘Google Classroom’ so that students are ready to go for term 2.

This decision has been made in discussion with students who agree that this is the best tool for the job. We know that effective collaboration improves learning. We encourage you to talk to them about how we use this tool and what difference they think it makes to their learning.

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