LMS- Schoology -noun 1.) the study of making school accessible

So I just want to start this post by saying two things; if this decision that I am faced with was based solely on what I want out of an LMS, this application would win hands down, and as far as my administration goes, I think there are a few features that may just help to sell this one over as well, but I will explain in just a minute.

So in terms of sign up and start, Schoology has a quick and direct process.  Much like Edmodo, when you initially sign-up to use Schoology you are then prompted to create a profile and have the access to the basic layout of the appllication.  You are able to add a photograph of yourself and adjust your privacy settings.  In terms of security and privacy I am quite impressed with their commitment to the issues.  When you set up your account you are then asked what district you work for and in order to verify your account, Schoology sends an email to your school email address, which you then have to respond to.  In order for your students to join your courses, similar to Edmodo, you as the teacher need to provide them with an access code.  

Although these features are wonderful for the end result of using this tool in the classroom, it did make it a bit difficult for me to full experiment and review this tool as I do not yet have access to my district email.  Other features however that I do truly like about Schoology is that they provide the ability for the teacher and student to create and keep current separate calendars for the school, course, group and individual.  For me this is important, as my goal is to promote independence and acquisition of self-help and self-assessment in terms of organization and study skills. 

So once I am verified I will be able to create courses, invite students, upload files and links.  Another major benefit of this tool over others is the blog space.  As I intend to encourage my students to use blogging to express their ideas, concerns, confusions, thoughts and such about the subjects we will be exploring, with the other application I was going to have to link in to another application to allow this.  Here I am able to do this right on the spot. 

 

All in all, although I was a bit frustrated with the security issue, I do appreciate it and think that my administration will as well.  I also like that Schoology has already thought of a way to allow parents access to their children’s course work and that they go beyond just the simple grading feature which I discussed in my last post.  After you have graded students’ work, Schoology provides analytic breakdown of the data.  Again this is another feature that I think administration will come to truly appreciate.  

I have found in the past that whenever you can support your work with visual representations, the work becomes that much more meaningful.  So as much as I would like to say 100% that this is the app. I am going with, without full access I can dive in wholeheartedly.  I feel like this will be best for my students, myself, administration and parents.  But I am still up in the air.  So please weigh in, if you have experience, thoughts or feedback, now would be the time to throw in your two cents!

BP1 Google Reader

So everybody has something to say, but it is also our job to listen.  I am putting together a few RSS feeds that I find interesting and/or valuable to an educator or to anyone who is in the field so that we can continue to listen to what those have to say around us. 

Image retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com on Aug. 4, 2010.

The first Rss feed that I would like to share is the New York Times Education section.  I know, I know you are probably rolling your eyes at this point and the thinking who has the time for the Times, however, it is a great resource for all that is going on locally, nationally and globally in the field of education.  Although it in my opinion has an air of sophistication that does not always come off as inviting or user-friendly, it is certainly a large reputable source for information.  We are all hopefully compelled to stay up to date on topics that will directly influence our lives and our careers and this is definitely a good starting place.  If only for a quick perusal of the headlines, this is a great place to stay up to date with what is happening. http://www.nytimes.com/pages/education/index.html?partner=rss

Image retrieved from http://www.npr.org/ on Aug. 4, 2010. 

As I urge all of you to do, I am an avid listener of NPR.  I don’t know if it is that I talk all day and share my information about such set dictated topics, I find it so refreshing to listen to ever changing, challenging and interesting topics that NPR shares.  NPR provides me with endless topics of conversation and I truly attribute my sense of together-ness to the station.  I feel like no matter how thinly I have spread myself here I get a true sense of what is going on politically, religiously, scientifically, musically, in the sports world, in the celebrity world, and on and on and on.  As teachers, we need to be able to share more than the textbooks with our kids, and how could we possibly tap into them or encourage them to connect with the world around them if we ourselves are not doing the same.  For me the prime time news shows on TV are far too negative and nowhere near intellectual enough for me to waste my time on.  I know this is starting to sound like a commercial, but NPR has enough variety to spark my interest and enough depth to hold it. http://www.npr.org/

Image retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/ on Aug 4, 2010.

Another feed that I found is for Tech and Learning. http://www.techlearning.com/ This site provides continual up-to-date information on what is out there in terms of educational technology.  There are blogs, resources, tips, advice, etc.  It is an excellent way to keep up with what people are saying about the implications of incorporating technology in the educational world, and ways to do it effectively.

Image retrieved from
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/ on Aug 4, 2010.

I also found this blog http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/ .  Vicki, the blog author has been blogging since 1995 and speaks about a variety of topics.  She seems very tech savvy or tech aware and from what I can read is a forward thinking, open and educated individual.  As I was thinking about which feeds would be meaningful to not only myself but also to share I really felt that variety was key.  Nobody wants to bombard themselves with information from similar sources or about the same exact topic.  I feel that listening to my colleagues who have more experience in the field but have what appears to be at least the same amount of drive and passion if not more for their career, is not only important in terms of teaching me but also inspiring.  So, the three links above are on a more grand scale, but this one brings it all back home again.

Image retrieved from
http://www.freetech$teachers.com/ on Aug 4, 2010.

Here is another one that brings it home. http://www.freetech4teachers.com/  Richard Byrne has been blogging and supporting the learning world with suggestions, opinions, how-to’s, etc. since 2007.  I don’t know why it is important to me to share with you how long these people have been blogging, except perhaps because I feel like the whole professional and educated world has been doing it for so long, and I feel guilty that it has taken me so long to get on the bandwagon.  Anyhow, this is really a great place to hear on a very approachable and accessible level, what is working, why it’s working, how to get it, and so on.  He has archived hundreds of blogs and so when you have time, and I am sure that wont be any time soon, there are countless of pages of information worth diving into.

Well there you have it, a few feeds that I am following and that perhaps you may find interesting.  I am finding myself completely overwhelmed at the moment with the indescribable amounts of information out there, and with a few of the new tools that I am working with, I hope to be able to breath soon and begin digging through a small portion of it.