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!

BP6 Comment to Heather

My son Elliot in his famous super hero pose
Photo taken June 2005 by Danielle Miles

So here is a LINK to see my understated comments to Heather.  For anyone reading this and who by some chance knows Heather in person, please hug her for me.  My AR project just became so much more tangible for me.  Edmodo looks like a great tool for any middle school or secondary teacher.  Allows you scheduling, post its, cell phone or email alerts or reminders, a gradebook feature for teachers……. And so much more, please go look if you haven’t already. 

BP3 Web 2.0 Tool- GroupTable

Group Table

This is essentially a great place to have students work together on group assignments or study groups.  You can upload and share documents, collaborate, etc.  Group Table gives you a tab called Binder to organize this portion. As a teacher you can create several different classes and groups and then organize the students’ work all in one place.  This allows students to come together in one place to discuss and collaborate on a given topic or assignment.  The ‘classes’ portion of this tool refers to the school that you write in when you register, so if this is a tool you would be using for your school, you would probably want to register your school so that the students could easily access your classes and/or groups. As a teacher, you can create surveys or tests and quizzes, which you can post to the group.

As with most of these tools, you enter in your profile information, which is shared with your groups and classes.  You then have the ability to track and follow several groups, which you are a part of.  There is also an agenda feature, which allows you to plan together and create a working agenda so that each member can be responsible and accountable.

I can definitely see myself using this, as I will be putting more emphasis on group work and collaboration in the upcoming year and was concerned with how to organize and promote good team-work skills.