INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

In the past few decades, interactive electronic media has grown from

virtual non-existence to one of the primary means for college students.

Students continue to use internet and computer not only for pleasure or one of

their leisure activities but for academic purposes too. Some teachers introduce

technology such as Edmodo as one of their media in teaching.

In this 21st century, the term “technology” has become an important

issue in many fields including education. This is because technology has

become the knowledge transfer highway in most countries. Technology

integration nowadays has gone through innovations and transformed our

societies. Consequently, the same has totally changed the way people think,

work and live (Grabe, 2007). As part of this, schools and other educational

institutions which are supposed to prepare students to live in “a knowledge

society” need to consider ICT integration in their curriculum (Ghavifekr, Afshari

& Amla Salleh, 2012). Integration of Information, Communication, and

Technology (ICT) in education refers to the use of computer based

communication that incorporates into daily classroom instructional process. In

conjunction with preparing students for the current digital era, teachers are
seen as the key players in using ICT in their daily classrooms. This is due to

the capability of ICT in providing dynamic and proactive teaching-learning

environment (Arnseth&Hatlevik, 2012). Whilethe aim of ICT integration is to

improve and increase the quality, accessibility and cost-efficiency of the

delivery of instruction to students, it also refers to benefits from networking the

learning communities to face the challenges of current globalization (Albirini,

2006). The process of adoption of ICT is not a single step, but it is an ongoing

and continuous procedure that fully supports teaching and learning and

information resources (Young, 2003).

Edmodo is an educational website that takes the ideas of social

network and refines them and makes it appropriate for the classroom. Using

Edmodo, students and teachers can reach out to one another and connect by

sharing ideas, problems and helpful tips.The difference however, between

Edmodo and other social network sites is that Edmodo is a social learning

platform designed for collaboration, communication, the sharing of knowledge,

homework and discussion between students, teachers and parents

(Balasubramanian, Jaykumar&Fukey, 2014). It is a free social learning

platform that allows students to access the course content uploaded by their

teachers. The platform allows teachers and students to communicate with

each other via messages, thus providing learners with the chance to

communicate and collaborate in a virtual classroom environment

(Balasubramanian, Jaykumar&Fukey, 2014; Ekmekçi, 2016; Mokhtar, 2016).

 As educational institutions move towards the blending of virtual

classrooms such as Edmodo in the traditional classroom, it is but necessary to

look into the impact of such an arrangement to language acquisition and

learning. In a study which focused on the use of digital multimedia and

language, it was conclude that technology can be used to enhance language

acquisition in the following ways. It enhances access efficiency through digital

multimedia as multimedia presentations (video, images, sound, text) can

create stronger memory links than text alone. In addition, digital technologies

allow instant playbacks, which provide the learner with quick and easy access

to different sections of instructional materials than when they are using a

textbook. It also enhances authenticity using video and the Internet. The

Internet provides learners with access to authentic materials, like news and

literature, while video can offer context-rich linguistic and culturally relevant

materials to learners. Moreover, it enhances comprehensibility through learner

control and multimedia annotations as video materials online can be enhanced

with full captions, key-word captions, and speech slowdown, allowing the

reader to more easily digest the information. Interestingly, digital reading

materials can be hyperlinked to different media, which students can choose to

help their comprehension of the material.Finally, using ICT-enhanced

classroom provides meaningful and authentic communication opportunities. In

such contexts, students can engage in authentic types of communication

through e-mail, chat rooms, and other digital means (Zhao, 2005).
 The Philippines in general and the University of Southern Mindanao in

particular has fallen behind its ASEAN counterparts in terms of the integration

of technology in the country. Consequently, the impact of blended classrooms

i.e. ICT + traditional setting, has become a relatively unexplored area in the

field of research. As such, the researcher decided to look into how blended

classrooms fare among students at the University of Southern Mindanao.

Objectives of the Study

This study aims to determine the writing competency of students before

and after being exposed to traditional teaching method and Edmodo at the

University of Southern Mindanao. Specifically, this study aims to:

1. Determine the writing competency of the respondents before using

Edmodo;

2. Determine the writing competency of the respondents after using

Edmodo;

3. Determine the writing competency of the respondents before

traditional classroom instruction;

4. Determine the writing competency of the respondents after

traditional classroom instruction;

 5. Determine the significant difference in the writing competency of the

respondents after they have been taught using the traditional

method and Edmodo.

Significance of the Study

Considering the fact on exposure of the adolescents, children and

students to Edmodo, the researcher is eager to find out if Edmodo can

improve skills especially in writing proficiency.

This study would provide significant information about the writing skills

of the college students who are exposed in Edmodo. Outcomes of the study

may form the basis for future intervention programs which aim at improving

writing students’ writing proficiency that will eventually improve their

performance outcomes. This gives knowledge to English Teachers about the

help of Edmodo to the writing competency of the students, as well as for the

teachers who are interested in improving the writing proficiency of the

students. The result of the study would serve as the baseline data for the

future.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

 This study is limited to determining the writing competency of the

students before and after being exposed to Edmodo. The study will only

includecollege students who use Edmodo in the classroom from the University

of Southern Mindanao and delimited to University of Southern Mindanao

Bachelor of Secondary Education and to the materials posted on Edmodo.

Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored on Computer Assisted Language Learning

(CALL). Computer-assisted Language Learning (CALL) is briefly defined in

a seminal work by Levy (1997) as "the search for and study of applications of

the computer in language teaching and learning".CALL embraces a wide

range of information and communications technology applications and

approaches to teaching and learning foreign languages, from the "traditional"

drill-and-practice programs that characterized CALL in the 1960s and 1970s to

more recent manifestations of CALL, e.g. as used in a virtual learning

environment and Web-based distance learning. It also extends to the use

of corpora and concordances, interactive whiteboards,Computer-mediated

communication (CMC), language learning in virtual worlds, and mobile-

assisted language learning (MALL).

 CALL’s younger sister Technology-Enhanced Language Learning

(TELL)deals with the impact of technology such as laptops as well as mobile

devices on teaching and learning a second language (L2). Technology-

enhanced language learning refers to the use of the digital technology as a

technological innovation to display multimedia as a means of complementing

teaching method language teachers. It is important to note is that TELL is not

a teaching method but rather an approach that can be used alongside a

teaching method to help teach.

TELL is very supportive of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC).

CMC has been researched and supported as being very useful to helping

students speak and write in a foreign language which is important to teaching

process using TELL."The process can be described as effectively bridging the

gap between written and oral expression for the linguistically limited student

whose oral skills are not adequate to allow for full expression of ideas in the

target language. By slowing down theprocess of communication and allowing

the students to reflect and compose a message (similar to an "utterance"),

electronic interaction in the classroom encourages student use of the target

language?" (Bush and Terry 1997, 167)

Sha (2001) also proposed that student users are affected by the

internet and this impact is determined by the type of internet usage. They are

positively affected by the informative use of internet on them. Oskouei (2010)

proposed that internet is advantageous to both students and teacher if used

as a tool of knowledge and dissemination. The effect of social networking sites

(SNS) will depend on the type of SNS the student is using, if the student uses

the internet for the purpose of leisure activity that interferes with academic, it

will affect the student academic performance negatively.

Operational Definition of Terms

There are terminologies which are in need of defining conceptually for

the purpose of clarifying their use in this study, among of which are the

following:

College Students refer to the respondents of the study who are

enrolled in the University of Southern Mindanao.

Edmodo refers to the application used as a vehicle to enhance the

writing competency of the respondents

Exposure refers to the condition of being exposed to Edmodo among

college students.

Writing Competency refers to the ability to express ideas effectively in

written English in terms of organization, vocabulary, grammar and

content.