The Perceptions of Student Teachers About Using an Online Learning Environment ‘Edmodo’ in a ‘Flipped Classroom’

Abstract

Educational technology has a significant role in language learning; therefore, strengthening student teacher’s digital literacy has recently become one of the main requirements in teacher education programs. This study aims to explore student teachers’ experience about using ‘Edmodo’ and a flipped classroom model. The course, Teaching English to Young Learners, which is one of the compulsory courses of the English Language Teaching (ELT) program, was flipped for ten weeks in a class of 31 student teachers at a state university in Turkey. A reflection questionnaire with close- and open-ended questions was given to the student teachers to understand their perceptions of Edmodo and flipped classroom. The findings showed that Edmodo and flipped classroom are good at training student teachers to increase their digital literacy, working collaboratively and controlling their own learning process. The paper also highlighted that student teachers intended to use them as a teacher in the future though this was the first experience for most of them. In the light of the findings, teacher educators might be suggested to enhance student teachers’ digital literacy first by allowing them to experience multimedia tools in teacher education programs.