Edmodo – missing section:
SURVEY RESULTS:
Year 11 Economics: Edmodo Survey/Questionaire - RESPONSES.
Name (For authenticity purposes) RESPONSES
Twenty Students responded:
Please note that I take your responses seriously and that they are confidential.
The purpose of this Survey/Questionnaire is to assist with research in the use of Social Networks sites (SNS) for educational purposes.
For questions that ask you for a rating 1 means = excellent/stongly agree …. 5 = terrible/ stongly disagree
Q1 Have you logged into Edmodo? (Please circle)
· Yes Reponses = 20
· No Responses = 0
if ‘No’, why not? There were no responses
Q2 How would you rate the ‘Ease of Use’ of Edmodo
Very Simple Simple Neutral Difficult Very Difficult1 2 3 4 5
Responses: 11 9
Additional comments: from students: “I like it a lot”; “it’s very basic, no problems with it what so ever”.
Q3 How do you find the Edmodo interface (its look)?
Very Good Good No Opinion Dislike Strongly Dislike1 2 3 4 5
Responses: 8 6 6
Additional comments: from students: “a bit bland”; “rip off of Facebook”; “is sometimes a bit too cluttered”; “very similar to Facebook”; “really don’t care what it looks like as long as it feeds me the answers”;
Teacher response: The cluttered aspect could be addressed by the use of tags.
Q4 How often would you view the economics class Edmodo site per week? i.e to see what is there.
Once Twice 3 times 4 times 5 times > 5 timesResponses: 2 7 3 5 1 2
Additional comments: from students: “around test time”; “before the test”; “easy to log on and view; “sometimes there is no incentive to log on or nothing to do or to view besides test preparation”
Teacher response: Indicates that there is room for greater use of the site in between tests to enhance learning. Note that this has been done but there is certainly scope for more usage eg better use of links to expand on issues covered in class.
Q5 How often would you Post a ‘comment’ on the economics class Edmodo site per week?
< Once Once Twice 3 times 4 times 5 timesResponses: 2 7 8 2 0 1
Additional comments: from students: “every time I log in”; “as much as I need to”; from a student who said once - “usually the question I am about to post has already been answered”.
Teacher response: More work needs to be done by the teacher to assist students in determining what to ask, and how to structure a comment.
Q6 How often would you Post a ‘question’ or ‘reply’ on the economics class Edmodo site per week?
< Once Once Twice 3 times 4 times 5 timesResponses: 3 6 4 5 1 1
Additional comments: from students: “if I am unsure of an economic concept”
Q7 How often would you Post a ‘Link’ on the economics class Edmodo site per week?
< Once Once Twice 3 times 4 times 5 timesResponses: 6 14 0 0 0 0
Additional comments: from students: “I haven’t yet”; “I never post links”.
Teacher response: Indicates that there is room for greater student use in this area. “Yet” suggests there is the possibility!
Q8 Do you find the questions and answers on the edmodo site assist your understanding of economic concepts covered in class?
1 2 3 4 5Most Definitely Definitely Neutral Not much Not at all
Responses: 14 3 1 1 1
Additional comments: from students: “I normally compile them into a word document”; “definitely, this helps tenfold”; “relevant to upcoming test”; “there are similar questions to what I would ask”; “when we answer your feedback is very useful”
Teacher response: A very positive and enthusiastic response.
Q9 My motivation for accessing the economics class Edmodo site is to enhance my understanding of economic concepts:
1 2 3 4 5Most Definitely Definitely Neutral Not much Not at all
Responses: 11 6 2 1
Additional comments: from students: “to see what everyone has posted”; “particularly for the tests”;”I occasionally find information I need”;
Teacher response: A very positive and enthusiastic response.
Q10 My motivation for accessing the economics class Edmodo site is to get bonus points for the HIT test:
1 2 3 4 5Most Definitely Definitely Neutral Not much Not at all
Responses: 4 3 5 5 3
Additional comments: from students: “It’s a bonus but I haven’t really done it”; “I do it to help before the test, but the bonus points are an advantage”;”not really, mainly to get the initial marks of answering the actual question”; “I would still use it if there was no extra marks, except that it motivates students to access edmodo and post information”; “love bonus points” (sic);
Teacher response: Surprised by the honesty here – less motivation for bonus marks than anticipated.
Q11 What is your favourite feature of the Edmodo site?
Responses from students: “the simplicity; “cool names, Ha Ha”(sic); “its look & interface”; “being able to ask questions to everyone”; “accessibility”; “profile pictures” (sic); “easy communication with the teacher”;” help from the teacher outside of school hours”; “the way you can comment on other peoples’ posts”; “the ability to add links”; “easy to use & helpful interaction”; “ease of use & simplicity”; “class wide posts”; “the format”
Teacher response: Once again, a very positive and enthusiastic response.
Q12 Would you like to see Edmodo put to use in other subjects? If Yes, please specify which subject(s) and why you think Edmodo would suit the subject(s) you nominate.
No Responses: 7 “it might not work for all subjects because there is not always direct questions to be asked”
Yes Responses: 13
Subjects nominated: / Suitability:English x4 / Quotes for essays, general discussion, day’s writing,
Accounting x3 / Same use as economics, theory Q & A,
Science x 6 / Notes from the day, Q & A, same as for economics
Politics x1
Maths Methods x3 / Availability of notes, so other students could help each other with questions
Italian x2 / Share links of Italian websites & resources
Geography x1 / All suitable links
Visual Communication x1 / Homework
Physical Education x1 / notes
Teacher response: One student made the following comment: “it will only work if the designated teacher accesses it. Those who don’t bother to use studywiz won’t bother to use edmodo, rendering it useless”.I suspect some, just some, of the subjects nominated are partly to do with the perceived ICT “savvy” of the teacher and the teachers’ current or past use of ICT in their subject area. A staff audit would verify my hunch here. Eg I know that the science faculty make good use of ICT to enhance student learning.
Q13 Does Edmodo have similar features to any other Social Networking Sites (SNS) that you use/are familiar with? Please specify
Student Responses: 12 students said the site was similar to Facebook, “but used differently”.
One student also mentioned MySpace, and one student mentioned the use of profile pictures and “postings”.
“It looks exactly like Facebook which is very easy to use for most teenagers”.
Q14 Would you like to see more use of other features on Edmodo? – please circle & justify
· Alerts / 2 students said yes – so they didn’t forget to do things!· Assignments / “Check Homework”;” In case School Portal is ‘down’”.
· Feeds
· Files / “In case School Portal is ‘down’”;” easier file sharing”; “saves emailing big files”
· Links / “Useful information”;” Links to helpful websites”.
· Polls / “They are cool”; “they are fun”; “what class thinks of current economic issues”; “gets everyone involved”.
· Other? / “iPhone application!”; “ Chat”.
Q15 Would you like to see Edmodo used in Year 12?
No: Responses: 2 “rather use normal school site”
Yes: Responses: 14
Maybe: Responses: 1
Didn’t Care: Responses: 1
Q16 Whish system do you prefer – Edmodo or Studywiz? (Please circle)
Prefer Edmodo: Responses: 19
Please outline the reason(s) for your response.
Student Responses: In regards Edmodo:
“easier to use and it is interactive so other students can help you with your work”
“edmodo is more user friendly and much simpler”;
“able to get other peoples’ perspective & people talking to one another & it’s all about one topic”;
“is easy to use”; “Edmodo allows for asking questions but I think Studywiz organises its files better”;
“edmodo is reliable as Studywiz relies on the (school) Portal which is extremely unreliable”;
“get answers straight away & answers can be from more people , not just one”;
“Edmodo is easy to use and it is easier to find things you are actually looking for”;
“much more familiar and easy to navigate”;
“ If I have to choose one, it allows for easier class discussion and everything is much easier to find’; “edmodo is easier to use, contains all the information in one place”;
“greater communication with teacher than Studywiz. You’re able to engage with students’ answers and queries”
Comments against Studywiz:
“studywiz is too hard to use”;
“the majority of students are not fond of studywiz, while on the other hand edmodo is a lot more convenient and easier to use”;
“can’t ask questions without the teacher posting something to the class”;
“Studywiz not as user friendly”
“Studywiz is annoying and so hard to use whilst edmodo is easy to use”;
Thank you very much for your responses to this survey/questionaire, it is greatly appreciated.
Paul Angus (Economics Teacher). May 2010.
PROFESSIONAL REFLECTIONS:
At the outset the first comment to make is that it has been fun using edmodo to contact the students out of hours. At times you see the far lighter and humorous side of the students as they sit at home and ponder your subject matter.
Edmodo was extremely user friendly and from the outset students were always respectful in their posts to the sight – no doubt because their teacher was the monitor, but they also took pride and pleasure in ensuring that what they contributed was of an acceptable standard. The students took their posts seriously and there was humour and there was plenty of sound economic discussion and opinion. By taking their work sensibly and genuinely, the students unwittingly set a standard for the site. Over the duration of this assignment I only removed one post – not because it was rude or offensive, but rather it was just silly and leaving it on the site may have embarrassed the student.
There was an extra time commitment for the teacher to monitor the posts from students and mostly this was over the weekend when the students prepared themselves for the test at the start of each week. The extra ‘work’ was time well spent – it was enjoyable and professionally rewarding from a number of perspectives. I found myself expanding on notes I had previously given students (I then copied some of these notes for future use). You could see a student’s understanding develop as the posts built up until the student was comfortable with what was previously a concept they had had difficulty understanding. Edmodo also whetted one’s appetite to build on the use of SNS by making greater use of some of the other functions on the site, for example, with the effective use of ‘tags’ a rich collection of revision notes can be established for later in the year.
The use of edmodo is really in its infancy. The use of other functions needs to be investigated further to help/encourage greater student engagement.
The use of Edmodo certainly motivated some of the students inquiry – some of their links indicated that they were keen to investigate current economic issues eg the Greece Sovereign Debt problem.
As already mentioned, there is certainly a sense of ownership by the students of “their site” and this can only be built upon by making greater use of a number of other functions eg regular links for providing information on current economic news. This avenue could encourage students to add further links to enhance our comprehension of the news items.
Now that the students have a taste for the use of edmodo they will insist on its use – and that is fine by me.
It has been and continues to be a rewarding, enlightening, invigorating and thoroughly enjoyable addition to my teaching strategies.
My final reflection is that edmodo has proven to be a valuable and effective tool that many of the students made considerable use of and will continue to make use of well after this assignment is presented.