Nicole Gaillard: Schoology.com - Winthrop University

Schoology.Com
Your Digital Classroom
Prepared by:
Nicole Gaillard
Gaillardn2@mailbox.winthrop.edu
November 17, 2010
EDUC 651
This white paper was written as an assignment for Dr. Marshall G. Jones’s EDUC 651 class at Winthrop
University, Rock Hill, SC. All rights reserved by the author. Permission is granted to use this white paper
provided the user notifies the author in writing.
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What Is Schoology?
If your students are having difficulty keeping up with assignments or you find it hard to provide
meaningful assignments which help students to refine their collaboration or communication skills, then
Schoology.com might be the solution you need. Schoology is a free, web-based course
management system which incorporates the social networking format into the academic
classroom. Schoology is similar to the familiar sites, WebCT and Blackboard, in it provides
teachers with a website to post important assignments and materials students may need to
access for their courses. Schoology is found online at www.schoology.com. Schoology also
provides administrators, teachers, students, and parents the ability to hold discussions and
collaborate with each other in an easy to use format to enhance school to home, peer to peer,
and student to teacher communication. Just like other social networks, such as Facebook,
Schoology profiles can be made for schools, teachers, and specific groups within the school.
Under this system, teachers can create, share, and edit academic material such as tests,
quizzes, assignments, homework, discussion
boards, projects, and grades that can be
completed directly on the site or printed and
brought to class. Assignments completed on
the website can be turned into a digital drop
box to wait grading from the teacher or
through a computer generated grading
system for matching or multiple choice
formatted assignments.
Not only does Schoology provide a
portal for communication and assignment
management, Schoology also provides
teachers with an online grade book, a way of
tracking and recording attendance records,
and the ability to analyze students’ input on different aspects of the site such as participation in
discussion boards, etc. Administrators also have the ability to look at the analysis of student
input as well as teachers’ grade books. Parents have the option of receiving an access code to
view their child’s online activity and grades. Schoology helps to provide all components of the
school system; teachers, parents, students, and administrators, a part in enhancing students’
learning and success.
How To Get Started
A. Teachers and Administrators
1. A teacher or administrator will access www.schoology.com and click “Teachers &
Administrators Sign up Free!” at the top of the page.
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2. The teacher or administrator will then be able to register by filling out necessary
information such as name, email, and school. Then click “Register.”
3. The site will direct the user to their network profile. *The user will have limited access to
the site until school information is verified.
4. The user will then be able to develop their profile by adding courses, members, and content
such as assignments, website links, important due dates, etc. This is easily done by clicking
the “add content” tab from the homepage. All types of content can then be customized
from this screen or links on this screen. *These materials will show on the teacher’s profile
page.
5. After content is added, students enrolled in these classes or courses will have access to
these items.
B. Students
1. Students will receive an access code from their teacher provided by Schoology.com.
2. At www.schoology.com students click “Students Use Access Code”
3. Students will register using the access code and an email address then clicking “Create Your
Account.”
4. Students can then proceed to customize their profile by clicking “Edit Profile Information”
5. Students can then access assignments the teacher has added by clicking “Courses.”
Note:
All students will be notified when their teacher’s profile has been updated.
Students, teachers, and administrators can edit privacy settings by clicking “Control What
Information You Share” on the home page.
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How This Technology Solves a Problem in Education
In an era in which technology is used in all aspects of many students’ lives, it offers great
benefits to students when schools and the educational system changes with and keeps up with
society by incorporating technology into the classroom. Schoology allows teachers to extend
their students’ learning beyond the classroom into the endless possibilities of the digital world.
In a classroom in which students with various learning styles and abilities rely on their teacher
to meet all their learning needs, Schoology helps teachers to vary instruction as well as
assignments. Schoology does this by allowing teachers to branch into an online setting to
provide opportunities for students to participate in discussions, group projects, and increase
students and teachers’ ability and willingness to communicate and collaborate with each other.
Schoology makes learning more meaningful to students by incorporating social networking into
social learning and classroom management. Most students are already familiar with the social
networking sites and therefore Schoology connects their prior knowledge to a new experience
making it more meaningful and more
engaging to students.
Schoology also works to solve the
problem of school to home communication.
Each teacher is provided with a profile in
which students and parents can post
comments or questions on the teacher’s
page or through direct, private messaging.
In this format, teachers can relay important
messages immediately to individual parents
or all parents of students in the class.
Parents can then reply to these, discuss, or
ask questions about these messages.
Because this system is web-based,
messages and profiles can be accessed
from anywhere with internet connection
and at any time. Also, assessable from the website are grades, announcements, and school and
classroom events, available for parents, teachers,
and students to see.
Lastly, in the core subjects that I will be
teaching; math, science, language arts, and social
studies, students are not traditionally encouraged to
collaborate and offer assistance to peers when
needed. According to ISTE (2007), it is important for
students to exhibit a positive attitude toward using
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technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity. Schoology fosters this by
providing many outlets for peer tutoring, helping, and collaboration. Each student is provided
with a profile in which classmates can post questions they may have or answers to questions
their peers may have. Also, teachers have the option of attaching a discussion board to any
assignment to allow students to ask questions and receive help on that assignment. All
discussions can be accessed and monitored by the teacher. Schoology fosters a safe learning
community that gives digital natives the ability to connect their home and social life to their
school learning environment.
NETS Standards (ISTE, 2007)
Standard Relations to Schoology.com
1. Creativity and Innovation
A. Students demonstrate creative thinking,
construct knowledge, and develop
innovative products and processes using
technology. Students apply existing
knowledge to generate new ideas,
products, or processes.
5. Digital Citizenship
A. Students understand human, cultural, and
societal issues related to technology and practice
legal and ethical behavior. Students advocate and
practice safe, legal, and responsible use of
information and technology.
5. Digital Citizenship
B. Students understand human, cultural, and
societal issues related to technology and practice
legal and ethical behavior. Students exhibit a
positive attitude toward using technology that
supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
6. Technology Operations and Concepts
B. Students demonstrate a sound
understanding of technology concepts, systems,
and operations. Students select and use
applications effectively and productively
With Schoology.com, students will apply what they
know about online social networking to social
learning that Schoology fosters. Students can use
this site to express ideas about class assignments,
collaborate on projects, and as an alternative form
of assessment.
One of the important features of Schoology.com is
the ability to set privacy settings. These settings
can be set school wide or on an individual basis.
This offers schools and teachers the opportunity to
teach students about safe online behavior and
sharing information with people online
Schoology.com provides opportunities for peer
tutoring, helping, and collaboration through
discussion boards and open student profiles for
communication.
Schoology.com gives students multiple
opportunities to use various applications such as
discussions boards, messaging, and online
collaborations. After learning how to use these
applications, teachers can allow students many
opportunities to learn how to use these tools more
effectively by using them to reach a planned goal,
learning more about an assignment or lesson,
working on a group project, etc.
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Cost
The basic Schoology.com program is free to get you started. This includes access to
academic, social, management, and administrative features. These features include school and
course profile pages, the ability to create assignments, the ability to manage grades and
attendance, and access to data analysis. Teachers, schools, and districts have the option of
adding additional features to their profile which are available at various costs. These add-ons
include custom branding with the school information and colors, support packages, training and
professional developments, integration of other school operating systems, and additional
storage space on the site. To learn the specific cost of each add-on, at www.Schoology.com one
would select the add-on they are interested in from a list on the site to request a quote from a
representative at Schoology.com.
A closer look:
Online quizzes
As a feature on Schoology.com, teachers can create assignments, tests, and quizzes to
be completed by students directly on the site. Students can complete these assignments and
have them sent to an online drop box which teachers can access. A second option is for
teachers to have quizzes and tests that are in a multiple choice or matching format to be
computerize graded similar to the option available on WebCT.
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Teacher Profiles
Schoology.com offers teacher profiles in which one can post class assignments, class materials,
and upcoming due dates.
Benefits
Social learning networks open the door for students’ learning while expanding
educator’s knowledge that there is more than one way to learn. Schoology and other social
learning websites help to foster the acquisition of skills essential to being successful in the 21 st
century such as communication, collaboration, online safety, and technological skills (Deubel,
2009). Social learning connects what students are doing in their home lives and what they are
doing in school to make their education more meaningful and purposeful to them.
On Schoology.com students are given opportunities to express themselves in a non
threatening environment while also seeing the opinions and thoughts of other students. This
teaches students how to communicate appropriately and respectfully, as well as how to value
and respect the opinions and ideas of others. By offering discussion groups which students can
add to at home or in their spare time, it saves time in the classroom, but still teaches this
important skill. Because students and teachers using Schoology.com can connect to other
schools, it brings different types of people and cultures together for the same purpose of
learning and educational expansion. This aspect is important because America is a large melting
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pot of cultures and children need to develop, at an early age, an acceptance for all types of
people.
Another great benefit of Schoology.com is that this one educational tool meets many of
the National Educational Technology Standards for students such as computer literacy,
collaborative skills, and safe use of technology. Teachers can also adapt their personal pages
and activities to meet their state’s curriculum standards. With all the benefits Schoology.com
provides it is still a safe online extension to the classroom in which all activity can be monitored.
Drawbacks
Although Schoology.com can be a very beneficial program to use in the classroom,
educators must be familiar with the drawbacks it may have. One drawback it can have is
Schoology’s time consumption. It takes time to teach students about the different features of
the site and how to use and access each feature needed to be successful. If a teacher plans to
allow students to work on the social learning site during class, it would also take time to get all
students logged on to their page and working on the assignment.
Along with doing any activity with children online, teachers, parents, and administrators
must be concerned about online safety. Because this is a type of social network, students can
have access to people outside the school network and others can access their profile. Teachers,
administrators, and parents must teach students online safety tips and set boundaries for
students’ online activity. To protect students, Schoology does incorporate privacy settings
which can be adjusted by districts, teachers, parents, or students.
Lastly, students come to school with different levels of technological skills and
experience with technology which may make it difficult for teachers when working with
Schoology.com. Schoology requires the user to be able to access many different features such
as the discussion board, assignments, and the digital assignment drop box. For Schoology to be
a success and not become a stressful addition to the classroom, teachers must be willing to
increase their understanding of technology to be able to navigate through the site and use this
tool to its highest capabilities in education. Students will also need to possess some technical
knowledge to easily access these educational tools. Students who do not possess these
technology skills or do not have teachers willing to teach these skills may not be able to fully
benefit from the educational capabilities Schoology offers.
Environmental Factors
If an educator or school district plans to implement Schoology.com in the classroom
there are a few factors they must consider to predict the effectiveness of the social learning
network. One factor that must be considered is the socio-economic status of students in the
class or school district. This is important because Schoology.com requires computer access,
many times outside of class, and this could become an issue for students with a low socio-
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economic status. This web-based learning tool can also become a hindrance for students whose
family has limited computer availability at home or whose parents limit internet access. If a
majority of students do not have computer access, Schoology.com will not have the educational
impact it has the potential to become.
An educator should also consider the ability level of his or her students. Many of the
tools on Schoology.com are designed for individual students or groups to work independently
without the physical supervision of the classroom teacher. The teacher must analyze the class’
ability to work independently and if they are responsible enough to complete assignments
outside of class. It is important for educators to assess their students’ abilities to decide how
and if the social learning network, Schoology, can reach its greatest educational potential for
their students.
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Resources
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S c h o o l o g y , I n c . ( 2 0 1 0 ) . S c h o o l o g y : y o u r d i g i t a l c l a s s r o o m . R e t r i e v e d f r o m
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