3 Digital Naturalization

I decided to do a critique on Edmodo because it is a site that can be used in many different ways. Overall I enjoyed the idea of the site by be able to create pages and spread information that way. However, I really just did not like the design and thought it was tricky to use. For it to be a beneficial site to teachers I feel like it would require a lot of practice and maybe even a class to use it to its full ability. I also do not like the idea of sharing the site so that parents could see what their child is working on. The idea is great but I think it would lead to parents being upset or too involved in what is going on in the classroom. I do love how it can be connected to Google Drive because that is a great way for kids to transfer their work so it does not get lost. I may enjoy the site better if I thought it was clearer and understood all the components better! https://www.edmodo.com/

 

As a teacher I would definitely use an education portal to easily transfer student information about grades and assignments. Also I would use social media as a learning tool because are so many other ways to utilize them then for just social reasons and it would be most beneficial for the kids to learn all the versatility. I do not particularly enjoy wikis or blogs because I feel like if a child should be writing just to write then journaling by hand is the most thought provoking. In a classroom for upper grade school I would use Netsmartz to have the students learn about digital citizenship because it is interactive which for them is not boring and hopefully they can concentrate longer and learn more. I would want them to understand the concepts of netiquette and protecting their personal information. I feel like kids especially mid-teens do not fully understand the consequences of abusing the web.

Personally, the newsletter assignment has been a major struggle for me. I feel like I know how to do everything but I cannot seem to be able to make it look good! There is so many different shapes, borders, font etc. and I feel like everything I do clashes and looks sloppy! Although I have learned some new design skills such as doing the double column through tables and also the mail merge. I think the mail merge is super cool and finally understand how teachers sent out newsletters when I was in grade school.