During the next four weeks I will be using a new Web 2.0 tool that I have never used before. These tools may be a little obscure as I drive my students crazy with the number Web 2.0 tools I have already implemented. As I tell my students, I hope to fill my toolbox so I can the right tool for any situation that may arise in my courses.
The first tool I am reviewing, I cheated a little and picked schoology.com. I heard about this tool during this week’s Wimba Archive. The description was intriguing as it was lauded as an alternative to Facebook. However, it is more than that. It has LMS possibilities, even the ability to import your Moodle sites into the platform. You can create online quizzes and assignments along with blogs and discussion boards. Entire schools and even school systems can use it as their basic LMS.
I allowed my students to make accounts and use it in class. They loved the facebook features and didn’t have trouble finding the discussion board I wanted them to participate in for the class period. Many called it a “lame” excuse for Facebook, but most enjoyed the fact the tool met their desires to have social media halfway. Most students placed an avatar picture up without being directed, creating their own personal space. One class completed an online quiz using the platform and did not experience any difficulty. Probably another great benefit is that the students don’t have to have an email account to create an account with the service. This will especially be pleasing to elementary school teachers.
The greatest negative of the tool is managing the multiple types of screens that you can use without confusing the students. It has a gradebook and attendance taking features that can be a great benefit if you are not overly concerned with privacy issues, as I didn’t see any secure connections.
Overall, I was impressed with schoology.com and plan to use it in the future.
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| This is the control panel for teachers. You can see each of the courses you have created and the students. |
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| This is a discussion board through schoology. I was just having my students drop me a "hey" line. |
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| This is an activity board from all of the classes. |
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| This an example of quiz creation page. |
Glenn -
ReplyDeleteThanks for giving us a closer look at Schoology. I would love to hear a follow up about how it works for you over the next few weeks. It's interesting how this tool combines the necessities of managing a classroom environment with the social networking elements.
Your screen shot of the quiz creation page indicates that it builds a quiz based on a question bank. I wonder, does each student receive a unique quiz though a computerized randomization of the questions? Just curious.
Thanks.
~Mitch
Schoology, what a great name. I am encouraged by this platform as another way to bring technology in to the classroom with very little difficulty in transitioning students. Will you continue to use this platform as the school year comes to an end? Did you feel that your students were more engaged with the subject matter being taught?
ReplyDeleteGreat find, I am interested to hear more about how it compares to Moodle.
Mitch, it is possible to randomize the questions. Another great feature is the ability to have a "dropbox" where students can easily upload a file to you and then a "dropback" to send work back to the students.
ReplyDeleteI would also like to hear about the follow up to how this works within the classroom. I am always looking at new things and was intrigued when it was mentioned in the Wimba session. I like all of the possibilities it has to offer.
ReplyDelete