I’ve been using Edmodo for a while now and really, really like it. I mean I’ve written about it on more than one occasion and have written a pretty lengthy and comprehensive guide (I’m in the process of updating by the way) which you can find here. It’s been viewed more than 25,000 times which I guess means it’s not too bad.
Anyway, from time to time I get some questions concerning Edmodo and I thought I would like to share a few of them with you the reader and my replies. The emails are real, the questions are real, but I will keep their names out of it to protect the author’s privacy. So read on past the break to read about a common question I get about assignments and how students can turn them in. If you have any questions feel free to ask me at patrickcauley@gmail.com
The question:
Hello – I am using edmodo this year and it is brand new to me! I would like the students to submit a power point to me in edmodo. I tried posting an assignment hoping they could attach it with a reply, but I don’t think there is an attach function to use. How can I get the students to submit a power point. Thank you.
This question is a pretty common one and it is an important part of what makes Edmodo so great. Having students turn in assignments electronically helps cut down on lost assignments (from the student and teacher perspective) and since most Word and PowerPoint documents can opened right from Edmodo it makes grading a lot faster and more efficient.
So I created a guide using Clarify (a handy tool for making step-by-step guides and my review is here) to help explain to her how students can turn in assignments properly. You can find the guide online here or just scroll down.
Step 1 – Create the assignment
Once the assignment is created students will be able to “Turn in”the assignment which is what you want them to do.
Step 2 – Have the students “Turn in” the PowerPoint
In order for all of this to work, the students must click turn in on the assignment. This is what it looks like.
After the click “Turn in”it will take the student to this screen. From here they need to click on “File.”
Then the student will select the file from wherever they saved it on the computer.
The student will have to add a message and you can see that the PowerPoint is already attached. If they do not see the file, they should try attaching it again.
Now the student clicks “Turn in Assignment” and they have successfully turned it in! It may take a few seconds to a few minutes to turn in depending on how big the PowerPoint file is.
After a student has successfully turned in the PowerPoint this is what it should look like. Again you can see that there is a file attached. If that file is not there don’t worry, the student can “Resubmit this Assignment”and reattach the file.
Step 3 – The teacher perspective
In your main page, find the assignment and you should see how many are turned in. Click on that it will take you to a new page.
This new page will have your class list on the left hand side. Just click on the student you want to check.
On the right hand side you will see their submission appear. To preview the PowerPoint (without downloading it) just click on the “Annotate” button. This will give you a preview-note that all animations, sound effects and certain formatting will be lost in the preview. The annotation will allow you to make comments directly on the slides themselves. Pretty handy for giving feedback.
To download the file, just click on the file name.
That’s all there is to it!
I hope this helped you out and if you have further questions don’t hestitate to ask.
Technology in the Classroom 