Assessment

3 Ways Social Learning Platforms Can Enhance Your Teaching

If you haven’t been exposed to social LMS’s (Learning Management Systems) like Edmodo and Schoology, it’s time you take a look at what these wildly popular sites can do for your art classroom.

I have been using Edmodo in my classroom for a few years now. Edmodo allows me to set up private class groups that both students and parents join with a signup code. Signing up is free and very easy, and since parents are encouraged to follow along with their students, interactions are shared between school and home. One of the best benefits to using a social learning platform in your classroom is the ease of introducing, sharing and reflecting on class work.
 

Here are 3 ways you can use Edmodo to support activities in the art room.

 
social learning platforms
 

1. Post rubrics to make grading a cinch. 

At the start of a new unit, I post a digital rubric for students to download onto their iPads. Students then “app smash” using Neu Annotate, and assess themselves as they complete the project. I include a spot to add a photo of the finished artwork on the rubric as well. Finished rubrics are then turned back in as an assignment posted in our Edmodo class group. This process is very streamlined for students and myself as I don’t create paper copies, and I can access the completed rubrics from any device.

social 2
 

2. Use it to help students build art room vocabulary.

Once or twice a week, I post a smART card to the group. The smART card is a blank template that students use to add a vocabulary word, the definition and online & drawn examples. We then save them in our Edmodo backpack for future use on quizzes. You can see the smART card template that I use with students below.

smART
 

3. Easily help students share and discuss their work with one another. 

Because Edmodo allows students to post messages, photos and videos directly to the class group wall (like Facebook), social learning platforms are a great way to share work among peers. I have used this feature to have students share video demos with their classmates as well as give feedback to work-in-progress photos.
 
These three ideas are just the tip of the iceberg. I’d love to know how you use social learning platforms to enhance your teaching and your students’ experiences in the art room!
 
 

How do you use social learning platforms in your classroom?

Which platforms have you found are most conducive to the art room setting?

 
 
 
 

Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tracy Hare

Tracy Hare, a middle school art educator, is a former AOEU Writer. She strives to deepen students’ 21st-century skills by encouraging them to practice critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills.

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