This week's Pue'o group website contribution was submitted by Lauren Maeda.  it is Edmodo.com.  You can connect to it by clicking on the following link. http://www.edmodo.com/about/.  Edmodo bills itself as the free and safe social network.  As we know.  Safety is very important when working with students.  This site is reviewed by a high school English teacher in a video.  The teacher states that this tool reduces teacher workload, which in itself is something so beneficial.  However, there is something else that makes the site very appealing.  In the video, this teacher used the word "relevant" many times.  I love this word and think that it is so important when relating to the students.  We want the material that they study to be relevant to them and we need to offer ways to make it relevant.  In the video, the teacher states that using this technology makes the teacher more relevant, because he or she is connecting to their world.  Students are quite technologically adept and they love spending time on their phones or computers.  Having this app on their phones, for instance, they may not even realize that they are doing work.  They may be communicating with their teacher, exploring a link, submitting an assignment, and all the while they are exploring this new and interesting technology.  As their teacher puts it, they think they are playing.  In light of students' attraction to video games, this may not be a bad thing.  The teacher is able to communicate all the time with her students.  She is able to post links or update the class calendar.  The students can submit an assignment from  anywhere they are at or receive updates and announcements.
      In closing, let me echo what this teacher said:  we need to find ways to be relevant to our students and using Edmondo goes a long way in accomplishing this task