Safety (Best Practices)

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Worried about using an online tool in your classroom? You can ensure safe and secure usage of Edmodo in your classroom by following these best practices with your Edmodo groups:
Note: If any misuse should arise, please contact us at support@edmodo.com with subject line “Misuse.”

 

• Do not post group codes publicly 
  • It’s a good idea to distribute the group code to your students in class. Distributing the code via a blog, Twitter or any other public forum creates opportunities for unwanted persons to join your group. If you want to post the “join” information on your personal website to encourage teachers or students to join, please use the “Join Group URL” (found directly under the group code). Note: As the teacher, you have the ability to remove any members who join your group. 
• Lock group codes after all students have joined 
  • Once your students have joined your Edmodo group, be sure to lock the group code! This prevents other users from joining your group (until you unlock the group). You can lock the group code by selecting the drop-down arrow next to the group code and selecting the “Lock” option. All members currently in the group will remain in the group.  Note: You can easily unlock your group code to generate a new group code and allow new members to join.
• Monitor student posts 
  • As a group owner, you have complete control over your groups. Here are a few ways to help you manage student posts:
  • Set up notifications
    • Notifications alert you of new activity in your groups and connections.  We recommend setting up text or email alerts to help you monitor students’ posts within your groups. To turn on alerts, visit your “Settings” page.
  • Delete/Edit posts
    • As the group owner, you can delete or edit any student post in the group’s communication stream by clicking on the small blue arrow in the top right-hand corner of the post. Note: you must hover your mouse over the post to see the blue arrow.
  • Post Moderation
    • Post moderation requires the group owner to approve all posts and replies before they appear in the group’s communication stream. Post moderation can be turned on/off by accessing “Group Settings” located to the right of the group’s communication stream.  Select “Advanced Options” in the pop-up box that appears and check the box for post moderation.
• Use “read-only” status when needed
  • “Read-only” status provides a valuable bridge for students who are in the process of building appropriate digital citizenship skills. Read-only status can be managed by the teacher and allows a student to view classroom messages, submit assignments and communicate directly to his/her teacher, but does not allow the student to post to the group or reply to notes sent to that group.
• Select unique student passwords 
  • Students should create unique student passwords. Using generic passwords (such as “password”, “Name”123 or birthdates) makes it easy for students to guess each others’ passwords. Note: Passwords are case sensitive.
• Set expectations
  • It’s important to set expectations with students about the content that is appropriate for your Edmodo class group. At the beginning of the year, you may want to implement guidelines for posting behavior and etiquette. You can find sample guidelines and a sample code of conduct on our Teacher Rollout Resources page. You may also want to use an Edmodo Posting Rubric (this example was shared by Mr. Hamin in the Language Arts Community).
• Set up a school or district subdomain 
  • Having a subdomain allows all communication within your school or district to be viewed by administrators, providing full disclosure for teachers and students. It also enables better communication between schools in your district.  Encourage your district administrator to sign up for a school or district subdomain. If you are a district administrator, claim your subdomain today.