Why I Chose Schoology Over All the Rest

With so many Learning Management Systems (LMS) to choose from, which one should you adopt in your classroom?

Without a doubt, Blackboard has the largest market share in the field of LMS's, and I believe it's because they were one of the first companies to offer a product many colleges and school districts needed.  However, being the biggest company out there doesn't equate it to being the best.  I've tried Blackboard and found it frustrating.  Their layout is clumsy and their features are illogically named.  One of my colleagues told me that they actually sell a Blackboard for Dummies.  Surely an LMS shouldn't be that complicated.

Many dissatisfied users of Blackboard have turned to alternatives such as Moodle, Haiku LMS, Canvas by Instructure, Edmodo, and Schoology.  Not having truly tried Moodle beyond a superficial dabbing, I can't render an opinion.  However, I have used the latter four extensively with my many classes.

Haiku and Edmodo are great products.  These sites are aesthetically pleasing to the eye and are easy to navigate.   I know many who love these products, and I do, too.  I thought my search was over.  I could easily have chosen either of them for my classes.

Until I found Schoology.

Schoology has a Facebook-like feel to it, with its news feed (called Updates) and the ability to upload your picture or avatar.  Students and teachers can post to the Updates page and "like" or add comments.  Since most of my students are 13 or older, this similarity to Facebook is a big plus.  No need to purchase a Schoology for Dummies with this product.  I'm sure such a book would never exist.

What makes Schoology a clear winner is that it works well multiple platforms - whether you're using a web browser, smartphone, tablet, or even the Kindle Fire.  I can't think of many products that offer this last option.

So what about Canvas?  Canvas also has a clean interface and is definitely superior to Blackboard in its ease of use.  As a matter of fact, Canvas was created by two computer science graduate students who were inspired by the comment, "Think of the worse software you use and you probably have a business idea."  They realized that it was Blackboard, and thus, Canvas was born.

I really liked Canvas, too.  Navigating through their website is easy, and they have an awesome iPad app called SpeedGrader that allowed me to give audio and video feedback for student assignments while reclining on my couch.  However, it was originally created for colleges and graduate schools, and it looked serious and plain, not quite as appealing for the younger students.   (Nevertheless, it looks like Blackboard has some competition here because in December of 2010, the Utah Education Network of 17 colleges chose Canvas to replace Blackboard, and they've continue to convert many other universities since then.)

In the end, I found Edmodo to be most similar to Schoology, but I discovered that Schoology has richer features and does everything I want.

In my English language arts class, discussions are vital to my needs.  The only place to host discussion on Edmodo is on its "wall," which over time becomes buried.  I appreciate the fact that Schoology has its own discussion section, and I can create different topics for my students to discuss.  These discussion threads are always stored separately, and I can go back at any time to check them or view a student's response.  Plus, Schoology offers analytics so all  I have to do is click one button and instantly I can see how many times a student participated.

Additionally, I can embed videos, insert a link, or host my Google Slides in these discussion threads.  This is great for flipped learning because students can react to these teaching resources in the comments below.  Lastly, I am given the option to score their responses if I wish to grade them on their contributions.

Schoology also has some nice features like creating students groups.  If your class sits in teams like mine, this comes in handy if you want to issue group assignments.  A quick click to assign work to a pre-determined group, and you're go to go.  You can also assign work to individual students.  Another nice feature is the ability to align your lesson to the Common Core or to your specific state's standards.  This is helpful if your site administrator wants to see how your lesson meets these standards.

Being an English language arts teacher, I tend to assign written responses and essay exams, but I think many teachers who teach other content areas would appreciate the rich features offered by Schoology when it came to quizzes.  Here's a brief overview of what options you have as a teacher.

• Create timed tests.  You can time the entire test or time each question.  This deters cheating since students won't have enough time to look up the answers on the Internet.  
• Randomize the questions and the answers.  Students who sit next each other will have different questions even if they're on the same number.  On top of that, even if they're on the same question, the multiple choice answers can be randomized.
• Create math tests with formulas in the test question and test answer.
• If students are taking the test on the iPad and they exit the Schoology app, the test will end and be scored at that point.  This also prevents students from going on the Internet to look up the answers.  (Of course, if you allow students to retake the test multiple times, then they can try again so keep this in mind.)
• There are many types of test questions available: True/False, Multiple Choice, Fill-in-the-Blank, Reorder, Matching, Short Answer/Essay.
• The quizzes can be self-grading.
• There's an option to allow students to retake the quiz multiple times (as a teacher you determine the number of tries you will accept).
• You have the ability to score answers on the best score out of X number of tries or on the last score.
• You can configure it so that only one test question is viewable at a time.
• You can determine when the quizzes will be available 

Here's a screenshot of one of my classes in Schoology.  I love how organized it looks.

I've been converted.  And I'll never look back.

Here are a couple more resources to check out.

• "Sorry Edmodo...Switching to Schoology" from my friend Jennie Magiera
• "Learning with Schoology in the Kindergarten Classroom."

How about you?  Which LMS do you like and why?

Two-way Sharing with the Dropbox App

You're using iPads in the classroom.  Now what?  How do you collect the work they created?

I found Dropbox to be a great two-way sharing tool.  Students can share their work with you, and you can share files you want them to access, too.

According to their website, "Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere. This means that any file you save to your Dropbox will automatically save to all your computers, phones and even the Dropbox website."

This is my setup:

1. I have two Dropbox accounts: one that I use to store all my teaching files (I'll refer to this as my teacher account), and a second one that I use only for my class set of iPads (I'll refer to this as my iPad account).
2. I create a folder called "iPad Language Arts Folder" from my teacher account and share it with my iPad account.
3. I create subfolders in this "iPad Language Arts Folder" for each of my classes (i.e. Period A, Period B, etc.)  My students would upload their work to their specific class folder.
4. I also have subfolders of the unit we're studying (i.e. Short Stories, The Outsiders, etc.)  I usually leave those folders there for students to access all semester.

This setup allows me to easily drop any file I want to share with my students.  What do I share?  They're typically files I create just for my students.

1. A word document
2. A presentation file I want them to follow (You can turn off your LCD projector to save your bulb!)
3. A PDF file
4. An audio file
5. A video
6. Pictures (I take pictures of the participation points they're earning in my class.  I also take a screenshot of their current grades from my computer.  Both are posted anonymously.  You no longer have to post paper grades on your wall for everyone to crowd around.)

What kind of work can your students share with you?  The Dropbox app allows you to import images and videos from the iPad camera roll.  It could be any picture or video they created on the iPad.  It also could be a screenshot of any work they created on an another app.  See my post on "How the iPad Transformed My Classroom in 30 Days" to read about the different apps you can use with iPads.  I also describe in detail how I use Zoodle Comics in my classroom on a different post.  

How do you use the Dropbox app in your classroom?  Please share in the comments section.

How to Use Zoodle Comics in the Classroom

Students can create their own comic strip by using Zoodle Comics.  It comes with the ability to add speech bubbles, captions, and characters.  Students can import their own images to personalize the comic strip even more.  They can use a non-copyrighted image from the Internet or take their own photos.  Just make sure they save it to the iPad's camera roll in order to import these images.  There are two versions, free and paid.  The paid version has more features, but I found the free version to work just fine for my students.

It's a great way for students to express what they've learned.  In science and math, students can explain a concept.  In history, they can depict a historical event.  In English, read on.

Tableau vivant: A group of models or motionless figures representing a scene from a story or from history.

Goal:  Students will analyze a character or theme from the story they read.

Directions:

1. Students will sketch four scenes in the style of a tableau vivant from the story they are reading.  
2. They will depict a character or a theme from the story on a storyboard.
3. After students finish the storyboard, they need to take a photo of each tableau vivant they created.
4. Next, launch the Zoodle Comics app and have students import their tableau vivant photos.
5. Students will add speech bubbles and captions to explain their scenes. 
6. Save work to the camera roll.

Jing? Snagit? or Camtasia?

Recently, I was asked by a colleague what I thought of Jing and Camtasia by TechSmith.  It's a question I asked myself in the past when I first started researching screencasting tools.

Last year, I started using Jing, and for a free product, there's lots to love.  It's simple and easy to use for your first dabble in screencasting.

With Jing, you can take screenshots of your desktop and add annotations to get your message across.  You can also record what you're doing on the computer.  You can easily share your captures via email, your social network, or host your videos on their Screencast.com website.

However, it is a beginner's tool so if you're looking to do more, then you might consider Snagit or Camtasia.  What's the difference, and do you want to pay more?

Obviously. paying more means more features.  For example, with Jing, you're limited to a five minute video but Snagit has no such limit.  Also, with Snagit, you have full image editing capabilities, and I have to say, those tools are very cool to have.

How about Snagit and Camtasia?  There are two major differences upon first glance.  You can use Snagit to capture images.  You can't with Camtasia.  However, Camtasia has video editing capabilities.  Snagit does not.  Of course, there are many other features that differentiates the two, and  I think this TechSmith employee's explanation is well-written and quite detailed.

Here's also TechSmith's product comparison chart on their various products, which includes Jing, Snagit, and Camtasia.

Snagit and Camtasia both come with a 30-day trial so it's a great way to try them out if you aren't sure which one you want.  They also have an educator's discount so if you decide Jing isn't enough for you, try Snagit or Camtasia at their reduced price.

Color Code Your Data in Google Sheets

Ever have a need to color code your data in Google Sheets?

Here's an easy trick.

1. In Google Spreadsheet, go to the column you want to analyze.
2. Click on the drop-down menu to pull up the choices shown below and select "Conditional formatting."

3. A new window will pop up.

4. Create your rules.

Back in your spreadsheet, you'll see the data displayed in the colors you want.  

This is especially helpful if you have students fill out Google Forms and want to analyze the information they submit.  I use this trick when I ask students to evaluate each other, and I want to color-code their rating.

Enticing Students to Becoming the Leaders of the Class

This year, I decided that my students needed to learn how to moderate as well as participate in our online activities.  After all, students love power!  So I decided to post job openings for positions such as blog and discussion thread moderator as well as peer editors and tutors.

First, I created a Google Form to entice them.  Then, I explained how these are privileged and well-sought after positions.  Soon, students were furiously typing on their iPads, wanting to be the first to apply.

These were the responses I received:

"I'm a worthy candidate for this job because I'm a good teacher and I'm patient. I can explain situations, problems, and questions well. If you're looking for someone who can work well with others, then you've found her!"

"I want this job because I am completely against inappropriateness and don't like blogs that don't have to do with learning, I pay attention to detail really good, and I know a lot of people in this class and in other classes. PLEASE PICK ME!!!"

All great reasons, but this one might be one of my favorites:  "I am suited for this job because I am good at telling people what to do."

My kids are so awesome!  But after I stopped laughing, I realized the hard part, how many out of the 45 people who applied should I pick?

Do you offer leadership positions in your class?  If so, please share what they are in the comments below.

For the Love of Blogging

Written by a shy student who never raised her hand
in class.  Only I knew how brilliant she was...
until she started blogging.

In the fall of 2011, I introduced my students to blogging for the first time.  It has enabled my writers to discover their voice and uncover a true love of writing. One student wrote, “You gave us wings and taught us to fly, letting us find out for ourselves that the sky really is the limit.”

A blog may be a reflection at the end of a unit of study, a theme piece that introduces an upcoming lesson, or a poetry vlog that feature their own poems in a movie slideshow with music. In addition, many students are motivated to write topics dear to their heart like the one titled “Computers, Konglish, and My American Dream,” in which the writer recounts a story of when she taught her immigrant grandmother how to use the Internet. During her piece, she comes to an epiphany about her heritage and her relationship with her grandmother. Another student wrote a review on the show “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” and comes to the conclusion that the show “is a refreshing new take on the original concept.”

Our blog readers hailed from many parts of the world. My students regularly look forward to reading comments left for them by our visitors, and they swell with pride at all the praise they have received. As for me, I am as excited as my students. I am awed by how reflective, mature, and intellectual their posts have become.

I believe one of the most important outcomes from blogging is that my students have found a creative outlet where they could express themselves, challenge their writing skills, and build their self-esteem. It is my hope that they will continue to blog even after they leave my classroom.

I use Kidblog.org as our blogging platform because it is very safe and secure for students. It gives teachers as much administrative control as they wish. Teachers can decide if their students' posts and/or comments need to be approval before they are published. Alternatively, teachers can configure all posts and comments to publish without being moderated. This is a feature that many parents appreciate since some are concerned about their child's privacy and safety. Setting up a class is also a breeze. Students can easily enroll by using a code or teachers can create student accounts themselves.

My students blog regularly throughout the year. Their blogs feature a variety of topics, some of which are assigned by me and some of which are chosen by the student. Students submit their blogs for credit via a Google Form. I find this to be the easiest and most efficient way to read their work. The key is for students to copy and paste their exact post into a Google Form. (See image on the right.) They submit five posts at a time. This way, I can read all of the posts in one place, on a Google Spreadsheet. (If you're feeling geeky, you can use data validation to require a minimum word count on blog posts, too.)

To drive readership to your students' blogs, consider joining Quadblogging.com, soliciting other teachers with the Twitter hashtag #comments4kids, #kidblog, or reaching out to your PLN on social media.

If you are interested in forming a blogging partnership with me, please contact me.