TASK 5 - "EdModo"

Hello! I´m María and this week I´m going to show you how I´ve evaluated an online tool.The online tool that I've chosen to evaluate using the different two tools is EdModo, which is a logical and organised format for sharing student ideas, responses and feedback. The two tools that I´ve used are: a rubric for eLearning Tool Evaluation that has been designed for instructors and staff as a formative tool to evaluate eLearning tools in higher education and a Privacy common sense Program, which evaluates privacy policies so that parents and teachers can make smart choices about the learning tools they use with their children and students, and so that schools and districts can participate in improving the technology used in K–12 classrooms.

First of all, it is important to know what an online tool is: eLearning tools are defined as any digital technology, mediated through the use of a computing device, deliberately selected to support student learning.

Edmodo provides a learning network for students, teachers, parents, schools, and districts. Edmodo provides multiple ways for students to interact with one another. The terms state that interactions may occur within classroom spaces, where teachers, parents, and/or school administrators can see interactions that occur between students, messages between students and their teachers, and grades that they receive on assignments.

Let's analyze it according to the rubric for eLearning Tool Evaluation:

Firstly, regarding the functionality, this tool works well as it can be scaled with the flexibility to accommodate any size class. It is also easy to use this tool, particularly with older students, it is almost identical to Facebook; posting your work is just like posting a status and changing your photo is similar to how you would on Facebook as well. A quick low-down may be needed for students who are not familiar with social media, but I would say there would be a limited number of people who have trouble with using it. There is also help availability and technical support. In addition, it generally addresses visual and auditory learning styles. So, as you can see there are no concerns with the functionality of this app.

Taking into account the accessibility, EdModo meets accessibility

guidelines and addresses the needs of diverse users as it allows for all students to access the same pieces of work. If there was a set of questions students were asked to complete, they could easily be accessed by students signing on. Furthermore, a proper use of the tool does not require equipment beyond what is typically available to instructors and students such as computers and internet connection. It’s free to use, but also offers premium services.

Next, I´m going to evaluate the technical part. This tool can be fully integrated into a Learning Management System, and users can effectively utilize the tool with any standard, up-to date operating system, so it works well. Beside this, if you use this tool you don’t need to download any additional extensions, it is enough with downloading the app. So, users can effectively utilize the tool with any standard, up-to-date browser and they do not need to download additional software or browser extensions.

Regarding the mobile design, this app can be accessed, either through the download of an app or via a mobile browser, regardless of the mobile operating system and device. So, it works well on that topic. It also works well in the aspect that there is no difference in functionality between apps designed for different mobile operating systems and it offers an offline mode, which is a core feature of the tool that can be accessed and utilized even when offline, maintaining functionality and content.

According to the Data Protection, Privacy and Rights, the terms of Edmodo state they do not provide any personally-identifying information to advertisers or their advertising partners. In addition, users maintain ownership and copyright of their intellectual property/data and they can archive, save, or import and export content or activity data in a variety of formats. So, it works really well.

Now, I´m going to evaluate the social presence. EdModo works well in the collaboration part, since it has the capacity to support a community of learning through both asynchronous and synchronous opportunities for communication, interactivity, and transfer of meaning between users. Talking about user accountability, instructors cannot control learner anonymity but the tool provides some solution for holding learners accountable for their actions. Learners’ familiarity with the tool is likely mixed, some will lack basic technical competence with its functions, particularly those who are not familiar with social media.

Then, regarding the teaching presence, the tool works well on facilitation as using Edmodo in order to share and collaborate ideas on the current topic will allow students to post drafts and have other students read over them, providing constructive feedback and allowing students to respond to feedback. It also works well on the aspect of customization because it is adaptable to its environment, to suit the classroom context and targeted learning outcomes and instructors can monitor learners’ performance on a variety of responsive measures. So, the learning analytics also work well.

Finally, I´m going to examine the cognitive presence. This tool enhances engagement in targeted cognitive task(s) that were once overly complex or inconceivable through other means, which demonstrate that the tool works well. The same happens with Higher Order Thinking, because the use of the tool easily facilitates learners to exercise its skills (given consideration to design, facilitation, and direction from instructor) and the metacognitive engagement, since through the tool, learners can regularly receive formative feedback on learning.

On the other hand, I'm going to evaluate EdModo through another tool, which is Privacy common sense Program.

According to this tool, the privacy evaluation process is designed to support families and educators as they make informed choices about the media and technology they use with kids at home or in the classroom. So, every product with a privacy rating includes an overall evaluation score. A higher score (up to 100%) means the product provides more transparent and comprehensive privacy policies with better practices to protect user data.

Now, let’s see the scores of this platform:

• DATA COLLECTION 65%: because personally identifiable information (PII) is collected.

• DATA SHARING 85%: because the use of information is limited to the purpose for which it was collected and the contractual limits are placed on third-party data use, but data is shared for analytics and it is unclear whether data are shared for research and/or product improvement.

• DATA SECURITY 55%: because a user's identity is verified with additional personal information.

• DATA RIGHTS 85%: because Opt-in consent is requested from users at the time personal information is collected, they can control their information through privacy settings and they also retain ownership of their data, but users can create or upload content.

• DATA SOLD 40%: because user information can be transferred to a third party.

• DATA SAFETY 55%: because users can interact with trusted users and/or students, but personal information is displayed publicly.

• ADS & TRACKING 55%: because traditional or contextual advertisements are displayed, but behavioral or targeted advertising is not displayed.

• PARENTAL CONSENT 65%: because children's privacy is applicable and parental consent is required.

• SCHOOL PURPOSE 50%: because it is intended for both students and teachers, but personal information or education records are collected from preK-12 students.

These scores allow the platforms to be classified into: "Pass", "Warning" and "Fail". Being EdModo inside "Warning" with a total score of 76%.

To sum up, Edmodo is a private social network that is claimed to provide a secure learning platform for learners and educators. Although Edmodo is a Facebook-like tool, it is not yet prevalent for educational usage. Thus, The results are applied to give guidelines for lecturers to effectively apply Edmodo in their classroom. The results show that instructors should emphasize the benefits of using Edmodo, educate students how to use some unfamiliar Edmodo’s features, encourage online collaboration environments, and treat students with care. Edmodo’s developers should also improve the tool’s features to compete with other general purpose social networks.