My dog ate my homework...

As much as I have heard this line several times in my teaching career  there have been many others that I think top the list for best excuses for in completed work.

• My brother ate it
• My gerbil peed on it
• My dad spilt his beer on it
• My mom cleaned it up on one of her cleaning frenzies
• The wind picked it up and it flew away
• My cat put it into its litter box
• It simply disappeared
• I left it at my soccer tournament
• You didn't get it?  Maybe your lost it!



Regardless of the excuse I don't think there is ever a perfect response but as usual I am ready with a sarcastic remark like:

• Did your brother enjoy it at least!
• Was it that bad that your gerbil had such a nasty reaction?
• Cheers to your dad for reading science in his spare time
• Can you tell me the science behind how your project could fly away like that?
• Magic is an interesting phenomenon can you make your project reappear as fast as it disappeared?
• Science is everywhere and now so is your project

My motto in teaching is "Don't stress about it!"
I have found that no matter what the excuse is, getting angry does not make the assignment 'reappear'.  Students now do much of their work in class and we avoid that step of bothers, dads, mothers, gerbils or natural disasters getting involved with their science masterpieces.

Edmodo Addiction!

I am sure that it does not come as a surprise to most of you that my first post is about Edmodo.  I use Edmodo for everything in my classroom; class communication, discussions, quizzes, sharing ideas and even talking to others on the other side of the world.

I have experienced the most remarkable sightings from my students because of Edmodo.  My students support each others learning, the help each other out and the communicate about school during off school hours.

I have also had many students who go on wonderful trips with their families during the year.  The students always ask for homework while they are away.  I hate to assign it because they need to have time with their family to enjoy the trip and most times it does not get done.  However, with Edmodo students often check in or document their trip while they are away.  I feel this is the best kind of learning a teacher can ask for.

In the last couple of years I have been fortunate to connect with others teacher around the world.  During these connections we have created groups for our students to talk about things from their ecosystems to the water around them.  This year I have been lucky to take part in many mystery skypes.  In some of these cases we have created groups for students to continue to talk now knowing where their new friends are from.

This year my students have almost gone paperless because we post nearly everything on line.  This includes test writing, as Edmodo provides quiz opportunities to post to students.  It is possible to  give multiple choice, true and false, fill in the blank, matching and short answer questions.  Students receive instant feedback.

I have now taught for 12 years and I think one of the largest complaints that I have heard form parents is that they don't know what is for homework or their child does not communicate what they are doing at school.  Edmodo has solved this problem as parents can also create an account and follow what their child is doing and how they are progressing.

I am sure that it is not for everyone but I have yet to meet a teacher that is not interested after spending 5 minutes with me and Edmodo.

Try it your students and parents just might thank you!