ISSN
Global English-Oriented Research Journal (G E O R J) 2454-5511
Critical & Creative Explorations/Practices in IBI FACTOR: 2.9
English Language, Literature, Linguistics & Education and Creative Writing 2015: 2.9
Edmodo and Padlet as a collaborative online tool in Enriching Writing Skills
in Language Learning and Teaching
S. Sangeetha,M.A.,B.Ed.,M.Phil.,SET.,PGDELT.,PGDJMC.,(Ph.D)
AP/English, Department of English
Selvamm Arts and Science College,
Namakkal-3.
Abstract
Language is the means of expression for social interaction. Language occupies an important
place in human life for communication. A human experience is shared through language.
Language learning and teaching in India has shifted its domain primarily from traditional to
online learning. It offers students greater flexibility with respect to time and place as most
courses are offered asynchronously. The usage of it makes every human as a technophile
learner. . It represents a great way to study many fields and it boosts the level of self-
motivation, creates responsibility and self-discipline of the students. This paper focuses on
the use of Padlet and Edmodo- a social networking website as a collaborative ICT tool for
language learning and teaching
Keywords: technophile, Padlet ,Edmodo, asynchronous ,ICT
Introduction
Technology helps average learners to learn effectively, more interactive, with real time
modalities depending on the learning style of the student. A Traditional classroom saying
teach and learn bores smarter students and technology challenges towards self-directed
learning by encouraging them to click and learn. Technology is a helpful tool in Foreign
language classes. It is used in real life situation that incorporates in the language class. It helps
the emergent learner, students with language learning disabilities and advanced child. With
respect to cultural and socio-economic background, teaching effectively to different levels of
ability, background, interests, learning styles is a major challenge. Technology has also been
used in interdisciplinary usage such as linking science and literature.
Education opens minds.
Technology connects them.
Online tools integrates both
Education and technology as one.
Vol. 1 Issue 4 – March 2016 www.researchenglish.com 178
ISSN
Global English-Oriented Research Journal (G E O R J) 2454-5511
Critical & Creative Explorations/Practices in IBI FACTOR: 2.9
English Language, Literature, Linguistics & Education and Creative Writing 2015: 2.9
Social Networking Sites
Social networking sites are growing day by day .Nowadays social media plays a dominant role
in the modern world that can change minds. A social networking service (also social
networking site or SNS) is a platform to build social networks or social relations among people
who share similar interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections. According to the
Oxford Dictionary, a "social network" is a dedicated website or other application that enables
users to communicate with each other by posting information, comments, messages, images,
etc. One of the first social networking Web sites, launched in 1997, was SixDegrees.com. This
site started the trend of enabling users to create personal profiles and make lists of their
friends. People use social networking sites for many reasons. Some want to keep in touch
with family and friends, some may use it for business or job searches. Even still others may
use it for dating or just to find like-minded individuals online.
Padlet
Padlet (formerly Wall wisher) is a free application to create an online bulletin board that you
can use to display information for any topic. The Padlet is a very useful web tool to promote
collaborative learning among our students. It's like a piece of paper, but on the Web. Padlet
is a web app that lets users post notes on a digital wall. The uses for this site in the classroom
are virtually endless.
Padlet is a virtual wall that allows people to express their thoughts on a common topic easily.
It works like an online sheet of paper where people can post any content (e.g. images, videos,
documents, text) anywhere on the page, together with anyone, from any device. This is a
device-agnostic tool, available on the web but also available as both an Android and iOS app.
It Encourages creativity among students in order to create, collect ideas, images, quotes, and
more in an "idea bin”. Padlet is a virtual writer's journal or design notebook to collect ideas,
images, and even video clips. Padlet is a great place for gathering ideas, sharing them and
modifying them later.
Creating Padlet
Go to <www.padlet.com> and create one in no time for your class and enable them to share
their ideas, ask questions, participate in discussions, post messages, video and audio files etc.
pertaining to any lesson taught in the class. Padlet is a better tool than other web tools for
collaboration such as blog, wiki and Google drive.
Vol. 1 Issue 4 – March 2016 www.researchenglish.com 179
ISSN
Global English-Oriented Research Journal (G E O R J) 2454-5511
Critical & Creative Explorations/Practices in IBI FACTOR: 2.9
English Language, Literature, Linguistics & Education and Creative Writing 2015: 2.9
Figure:1 Padlet uses
Ways of using Padlet
Book Reviews:
Padlet offers a great venue for students to share their thoughts while reading it in the
classrooms. Young people can highlight favourite quotes, ask questions and discuss
characters and more. Teachers take the page and present it in class to continue face-to-face
discussion.
Topic Details:
Padlet can help teachers in summarizing a large amount of information and present it in a
visually pleasing way. Educators post in the form of text, photos, graphs and other learning
tools and share the image with students.
"Thank You" Wall:
Padlet is a great tool for sending a group "thank you" note. Each student can post an individual
message, and the platform offers many interesting designs and other tools for personalizing
the card.
Questions:
Students can access a "questions" board 24/7 and anonymously post questions. The teacher
can then read off and answer the questions each day.
Opinions:
Educators can post a particular topic or issue, and students can post their opinions on the
subject. This is a great building block for teaching students how to write opinion pieces or
persuasive essays.
Uses
• Classroom discussions
• To Post assignments
Vol. 1 Issue 4 – March 2016 www.researchenglish.com 180
ISSN
Global English-Oriented Research Journal (G E O R J) 2454-5511
Critical & Creative Explorations/Practices in IBI FACTOR: 2.9
English Language, Literature, Linguistics & Education and Creative Writing 2015: 2.9
• tracking Grade book of their own
• For sharing and uploading Files
Features:
Parents can track their students’ details
To upload Classroom activity
Student progress tracker
Educational resource library
Professional learning networks
Edmodo
Edmodo makes a teacher’s daily life easier by providing a safe and easy way for teachers and
students to engage and collaborate for free, anytime, anywhere. It is also one of the best
means of teacher-student communication.
Edmodo, also known as “Face book for school,” is the premier social media and learning
platform for teachers and students.
Edmodo is a global education network that helps connect all learners with the people and
resources needed to reach their full potential. It allows students and teachers to stay
connected via sending notes, replying to posts and checking messages and upcoming events
while away from the classroom. It is used as a community building platform for our class
where teachers and students share resources and interact with each others.
Edmodo is a learning platform that is more and more popular among teachers and educators.
It is really amazing the regard Edmodo gained within a very short time .With over 40 million
users, Edmodo is the largest, fastest growing social platform for education. Awarded the 2013
EdTech Digest Award for Best Product, Edmodo makes the idea of a paperless classroom a
reality.
Vol. 1 Issue 4 – March 2016 www.researchenglish.com 181
Edmodo is essentially an education-focused social media platform used to share messages, post
documents, and form groups to collaborate. Founded in 2008 is now available in six languages,
including Spanish, German and Greek.
Figure:2 Edmodo Homepage
Figure: 3 Edmodo Posts
Uses
Teachers bring the classroom online by giving assignments, quizzes etc to students, Edmodo
users can manage their classes and consolidate all of their activities in one place. Users have
unlimited options in terms of sharing digital content. Communities allow teachers to browse
subjects in order to find and share information within a broad stream of content and
conversations related to that topic.
Students are benefitted by getting extra help from peers, instructors, and work for teacher
reviews and get instant feedback, including teacher annotations and learn how to interact
safely on online.
Parents get the option to log in either as their children or themselves. They can review the
child’s work, grades and more. They also can receive updates from their child’s teachers
regarding missed assignments and school happenings.
Global English-Oriented Research Journal (G E O R J) ISSN
Critical & Creative Explorations/Practices in 2454-5511
IBI FACTOR : 2.9
English Language, Literature, Linguistics & Education and Creative Writing
With over 40 million users, Edmodo is the largest, fastest growing social platform for education.
Awarded the 2013 EdTech Digest Award for Best Product, Edmodo makes the idea of a paperless
classroom a reality.
Ways of using Edmodo
Role Playing
Help students in re-enacting them through role playing activities. Create student profiles for relevant
figures and integrate knowledge in action. Inject life into old curriculum and helps students develop
the skills of initiative, communication, problem-solving, self-awareness, and working cooperatively
in teams.
Language Practice
Encourages students to practice their Foreign language skills through real life conversations. Create
a co-classroom with other students from across the globe to help students learn from each other.
Grammar and Punctuation
Helps students in improving their grammar and punctuation by enforcing proper usage on Edmodo.
Require students to post in complete words and sentence (i.e. “you” not “u”, “I” not “i”). Teach
students proper use of social media tools to help prepare them for our connected world.
Connect with Parents
Helps in Sending message to students and parents in class each week to keep them updated on all of
the events and achievements of your class. Provides a way for parents to reach one-on-one
discussions. Keep parents up-to-date on classroom activities during the semester through parent
accounts on Edmodo.
Conclusion
Edmodo and Padlet helps in giving students an enriching writing experience through. Help
students tap into individualism, build self-esteem and measure how far they’ve come during the
school year with excellence. Edmodo and Padlet provide students a platform for sharing their
writing with teachers, peers and family. Edmodo and Padlet helps in educating students, teachers
Vol. 1 Issue 4 – March 2016 www.researchenglish.com 183
Global English-Oriented Research Journal (G E O R J) ISSN
Critical & Creative Explorations/Practices in 2454-5511
IBI FACTOR : 2.9
English Language, Literature, Linguistics & Education and Creative Writing
and parents about the digital literacy skills that all 21st-century community need. The Web 2.0
technology should never be used in the language classes just for the sake of novelty. It should be
used to develop purposeful interaction in the language classroom.
References
http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/social_networking_sites.asp
http://www.teachersfirst.com/single.cfm?id=10007
http://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/techinclass/
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/using-padlet-in-the-classroom.shtml
https://www.iste.org/handlers/ProductAttachment.ashx?ProductID=3579&Type=excerpts
http://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/technology/20-better-ways-to-use-edmodo-
in-the-classroom/
http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/05/21-ways-to-use-edmodo-in-your-
classroom.html#uds-search-results
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/how-educators-can-use-edmodo.shtml
https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/edmodo/id378352300?mt=8
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