-The Edmodo Team

Today we’d like to introduce you to some of the Edmodians that work behind the scenes – Dave, Bruno, Jose and Mark.

David Mandelin, Director of Engineering
Dave’s fourth-grade teacher showed him how to write programs to draw pictures, and he’s been programming ever since. He’s done IT apps, web applications, and research on programming tools. Most recently, he was the module owner and manager for SpiderMonkey, the JavaScript engine inside Firefox. His current role at Edmodo is to help make Edmodo great on mobile devices and support the engineering team.

Bruno Caratori, Product Analytics
Always a technology aficionado, Bruno started his career at a software startup in his homeland Brazil. He moved to Silicon Valley to get an MBA from Stanford University. At Edmodo, Bruno will be part of the Product Analytics team and will generate product insights that continue to improve our users’ experience.

Jose Guardado, Director of Recruiting
Jose has a passion for building teams. He entered the recruiting game in 2005 at a boutique firm in SF. After a brief stint selling ads for Yahoo!, he returned to the fast paced world of tech recruiting, helping to build engineering teams for Google, Cisco and most recently, Nebula. At Edmodo, Jose will lead talent acquisition across all areas, and is excited to help realize the company’s mission of reinventing K-12 education.

Mark Costigan, VP of Finance
Mark grew up outside Milwaukee and moved to the bay area in 2000 to join Commerce One. In late 2002 he moved on to Google and spent the next six years contributing to building the company’s core financial infrastructure. At Edmodo, Mark will be charged with continuing to build out financial infrastructure that will scale with the growth of our great company.

We’re hiring! If you’re interested in joining the team, check out our open positions at jobs.edmodo.com

The American Business Awards are the nation’s premier business awards program. All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations and finalists are selected by a panel of more than 140 business professionals.

We are incredibly excited that the Edmodo Support team is among the top finalists for Support Department of the Year. The Gold, Bronze and Silver winners will be announced at the awards banquet on June 17. Cross your fingers for Edmodo Support! 

Details about The American Business Awards and the list of Finalists in all categories are available at www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

UPDATE: Thanks to all who submitted. We received so many great entries, we decided to select two winners. Congratulations to Lynn Woods and Sonia Obregon….you’re going to ISTE!

The Edmodo team is preparing to go to San Antonio for ISTE 2013 and we’re looking for one super passionate Edmodo educator who’d like to join us!

In addition to meeting the Edmodo team (we’re a lot of fun!), this is a great opportunity for professional learning and networking at one of the largest Edtech conferences of the year.

As our guest, you’ll spend half of your day sharing all your awesome Edmodo experiences with educators who visit our booth and the remainder of the day going to sessions and workshops of your choice.

How To Enter

Entering to win is easy – all  you need to do is share your Edmodo success story with us. We are looking for exemplary stories of using Edmodo (especially Edmodo Apps) to create increased learning outcomes and help your students become successful.

Share your story via this form by Wednesday, May 15th. We’ll collect our favorites and select one person to win. Winner will be notified via email by Friday, May 17th. 

What You’ll Win

If selected, Edmodo will pay your airfare, lodging and conference registration. A team member will work with you to arrange your flight and accommodations upon being selected.

Note that meal reimbursements, baggage check fees and airport transportation are not included.

Program Overview

Edmodo Apps Professional Development is designed to help you find new and exciting ways to use high quality digital content as everyday tools in your classroom. Registration is $99 and includes:

• Edmodo Apps instructional video
• $99 in promotional Edmodo Store credit (upon completion of the video and survey)
• Access to an exclusive PLC where you can test drive new apps for free
• Optional Edmodo Apps assignment
• Edmodo Apps badge and certificate

Visit edmodo.com/apps-pd to learn more.

Who Should Register

Currently the program is open to all Edmodo educators who have access to Edmodo Apps. We encourage educators of all grade levels and subject areas to sign up.

PD Reimbursement

If you plan to complete a PD request or reimbursement form from your school or district, additional information is available at www.edmodo.com/apps-pd/overview

Group Registration

Schools and Districts interested in purchasing Edmodo Apps PD for a group of educators may contact institutions@edmodo.com.

Video Preview of Edmodo Apps PD 

Great news - 

The award was voted on by a group of educators, industry leaders, visionaries, entrepreneurs and investors. Edmodo was honored in the Learning Infrastructure category based on the following ROE Award Criteria:

• Dramatically improving learning outcomes
• Providing substantial leverage to learning leaders (teachers, professors, self-learners)
• Significantly increasing access to education; and/or
• Greatly reducing the cost for learners and/or learning institutions

Congrats to the other finalists in the Learning Infrastructure category including Clever, Kaltura, LearnSprout and Toolwire.

As always, thank you to our educator community for your amazing support!

This is a guest post by Katie Karsh, Program Associate at Common Sense Media. If you are interested in contributing to the Edmodo Blog, please complete this form.

As a former teacher, I know how busy an educator’s life can be. When schools and districts announce new 1-to-1 programs, you may be excited, terrified, or both as you adapt your schedule, lessons, and expectations. Figuring out how to implement a new program effectively and efficiently can be challenging work.

We want to make it easy for you to transition to providing a 1-to-1 program, so we created Common Sense Media’s 1-to-1 Essentials Program. The program provides the necessary training, support, and onboarding tools for administrators, families, and, most importantly, teachers.

Customizable Tools

This program includes interactive and customizable tools so schools can prepare and execute a 1-to-1 rollout that is aligned with their mission, culture, and goals, including:

• Teacher stories - presents teacher perspectives
• Student boot camps - includes objectives, lessons, and activities to prepare students for using devices safely, responsibly, and respectfully in the classroom
• Starter kit of recommended apps - identifies high quality learning apps to boost instruction, are just two of the turnkey resources that can be used to best address students’ and teachers’ needs.

Educator Experts

The content highlights best practices from 1-to-1 educator experts, some of whom helped with its development. Learn from the experiences of Don Orth, director of technology at Hillbrook School in Santa Clara County, California, which is in its third year of 1-to-1 implementation and Edward Chen, director of technology of the Nueva School in Hillsborough, California. Both offer key advice for a 1-to-1 rollout: invite in and collaborate with families, set expectations about using devices, and involve all stakeholders in planning.

Three Steps to Roll Out

The 1-to-1 Essentials Program includes three phases of the roll-out process: envisioning, communicating, and implementing. This phased approach helps schools think through and proactively address the possibilities and the pitfalls of adopting a 1-to-1 program in a customized and incremental way.

On a personal note, I hope you find that the program lets you make the best use of your valuable and limited time without having to worry about tech-related issues. The Common Sense Media team is working hard to find ways to make your professional life easier, because we know just how difficult your job really is – from our own teaching experience and by talking with expert educators!

Check out our 1-to-1 Essentials Program and let us know how we’re doing at schools@commonsense.org.

The program honors tools, trendsetters and leaders in the education and technology sector. A panel of industry influencers and veterans evaluated more than 200 finalists from over 40 categories. Edmodo was honored in the “Cool Tool” award category which recognizes new, emerging and established technology solutions for education.

Thank you to the Edmodo Community for your support and making Edmodo the best product of 2013!

We’re getting ready for EdmodoCon 2013!

EdmodoCon is our free annual online conference. Last year 12,000 educators from all 50 states and 117 countries registered for the event!

Save the Date
Please mark your calendars, this year’s event will be held on Wednesday, August 7, 2013.

Call for Presenters
Submit a proposal and share your Edmodo experience with our global community of educators. We welcome proposals from all educators, including administrators, technologists, media specialists, etc. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, May 1st at 5PM PT.

This year we would love to see a mix of proposals, such as using Edmodo for personalized learning, flipping classrooms, specific lessons for subject areas or case studies where you’ve delivered course material in innovative ways.

If you’re looking for inspiration, read about and watch last year’s EdmodoCon sessions.

What to Know Before You Submit
This year all selected presenters will present live from Edmodo headquarters in San Mateo, CA. Before submitting your proposal, please consider the following will apply if you are selected:

• Camera friendly - We’re live streaming the event and you will present on camera
  
• Travel ready - You will present from Edmodo HQ in San Mateo, CA (both flight and accommodations will be paid for by Edmodo)
  
• Two-days - You will need to be on-site at Edmodo HQ, Tuesday, August 6 – Wednesday, August 7, 2013

We know the community has some great stories to share about pranks and jokes happening in your classrooms or schools…..and we want to hear them!

Leave a comment below telling us about your best April Fools Day story. It can be from this year, or years past. Later this week, we’ll pick our favorite stories and send an Edmodo prize pack to the teachers that shared them.

All winners will be notified via the comments section of the blog. Please check back on Friday, April 5th to see if you’ve won.

If you would like to submit a photo with your story, please send it to ideas@edmodo.com.