Go Edmodo: Plattformgestützte Lektüre des Romans A Long Way Down

Abstract

Using social networks in teaching foreign languages offers several advantages. It creates an environment for collaborative learning and provides opportunities for a differentiated approach. In addition, it creates a space in which all materials can be stored and made available to all participants in the project. Since there are some problems involved in using networks such as Facebook, mainly with regard to privacy issues, a network like Edmodo appears to be more suitable. The authors describe the advantages of using Edmodo in an English literature project aimed at an upper secondary school class in Germany, where Nick Hornby’s novel A Long Way Down is read and discussed on Edmodo. One of the main advantages of Edmodo is that it provides a secure learning environment and that privacy issues are respected. The interface resembles social networks like Facebook, with which students tend to be familiar, so very little teaching time is needed to familiarize students with technical issues.

The authors describe the various topics that are addressed in a “blended learning scenario” (suicide, media in the UK, media ethics, diversity and handicap, religion, social class, conflicts in partnership and family, tolerance). The Edmodo network offers possibilities for presenting work carried out by various groups in the class, for providing (peer) feedback and for discussing various aspects of the novel.