EdCrowd is a social networking website that educators can use to obtain peer feedback on questions they have about teaching and learning. Instructors can post questions and other educators will respond. Users rate the responses and the highest rated responses are seen first. The site encourages participation by awarding users points for various types of participation.
The site is free. Registered users can vote on questions and responses posted by others. A YouTube tutorial is available on the site.
Type of Material:
EdCrowd is a social networking website. Participants can create profiles or participate anonymously.
Recommended Uses:
EdCrowd can be used by teacher-educators to introduce the topic of digital professional development. Students can be asked to post a question or answer on EdCrowd and reflect on their experience interacting with other educators.
Teachers of all levels will find helpful information posted on the site.
Technical Requirements:
Users will need a current Internet browser and access to the Web.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
The learning goals of EdCrowd are determined by an instructor using this site as part of a course activity.
Target Student Population:
This site may be useful for students in teacher education programs or for educators in professional development programs.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
Users should have a basic understanding of how to navigate on the web. It may also be helpful to have students read an article on digital citizenship or netiquette to help prepare them for possible issues they may encounter on a social networking site.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
The content of EdCrowd is determined by those who participate. The content on this social networking site is constantly being changed by the users so it is difficult to assess the quality. However, users of the site are able to rate the quality of other user's content.
Concerns:
Students will need to understand that the most popular answer is not always the correct answer. While it is unlikely that someone would deliberately mislead others on this site, there is no way of knowing for certain the expertise of any of the participants.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
EdCrowd can be used by teacher-educators in a variety of courses to help learners understand the importance of building a personal learning network for ongoing professional development. For example, a professor teaching an instructional strategies course could have students ask questions on EdCrowd about different research-based teaching strategies, and then have students reflect on how the responses from actual teachers compare with the research literature.
The site is a repository for teachers seeking simple solutions to their questions and concerns.
Concerns:
Students may not receive timely feedback to their questions. Instructors need to be prepared for possible issues when using dynamically generated content. For example, students may receive inappropriate feedback or comments on their posts.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
EdCrowd is an easy-to-use website with clear instructions on how to participate. The homepage includes a Welcome video that provides an excellent overview of the site in five minutes. The site uses tabs to help users quickly navigate to different parts of the site.
Concerns:
None.
Creative Commons:
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