Being out of the classroom this past year has been an interesting venture. I've worked with so many dedicated, thirsty educators looking to improve their craft and in turn their students' experiences. I'm always asked if I miss teaching. I always correct them, quick to say I'm still teaching. My classroom has changed however. And I miss the traditional classroom experience. Immensely. I look at, dissect, play with, and analyse all sorts of different EdTech tools all the time. I send out tips and updates twice a week to you on things I would love to use in the classroom!!
Actively Learn? Man I would love to use that!!
Digital BreakoutEDU? I would use that all the time!
Google Sites? All my students would have their own! But these things flow with my style in the classroom and I feel comfortable using them....which with anything takes time. But this is an era of booming educational technology that I would take advantage of for classroom efficiency, student agency, student engagement, and to help give our students an authentic voice. We all have one bit of technology at our fingertips that is grossly underused in our district that can help in these areas. It's high time we commit to it.
The purpose of this post is to persuade, not to teach. I believe all teachers should have a Schoology presence in their classroom curriculum starting next year. This may be scary for some. Those that know me well, know I was a Schoology resister. I believe it would benefit our student population, our interactions with parents, and help get students "College and Career Ready." Future posts on Schoology will be more geared towards teaching.
Student Engagement
Our students need to be engaged in their learning. This takes on many forms in the context of a given year, unit, or even lesson. There isn't one way to truly engage all learners. The only way we can drive towards near full engagement is through innovative and inspired lesson design. It's you as an expert in your subject and craft developing lessons that challenge and push your students' understanding of the material. Shifting towards a Schoology delivery system will not instantly make your lessons more engaging but it will get you creating and sharing new ideas on how to innovate your curriculum. Once comfortable in a Blended Learning environment, the educator, ever the big picture thinker, starts to see possibilities of innovation. They start to ask "what can I do with this?" That is when students become engaged. When we as educators continually keep things fresh. When we inspire our students to be innovative thinkers through our own.
Interactions with Parents
Study after study shows a growing need for parents to be connected to the classroom to encourage student success. Schoology automates this process as they have access to student performance, they're able to see what goes on a daily basis, and individual or group communication becomes a snap. Because parents "sign in" as a parent to your class their information is there and at the ready for you to easily connect with them. A number of parents have told me they like how easy it is for them to know what is happening in the classroom and that it cuts down on the "How's my kid doing?" emails and phone calls. We have a problem with "system overload" for parents. Teachers have various avenues of reporting information to parents (websites, eSchools, Schoology, other apps and services, etc ). All are excellent means of communication but for a parent, sometimes even for the tech savviest of them all, this proves both a challenge and a frustration to get a clear picture of how their student is doing. Through uniformity of processes, we can solve this problem if we commit to using Schoology as our chief source of communication with parents through curriculum delivery, parent communication, and timely grade updates.
College and Career Ready
College and Career readiness is not just about content preparation and academic skill development. We've been told for years that we are preparing students for jobs that don't exist yet. I'd say we're doing quite well considering that's like trying to unlock a door in a room full of doors in darkness. However, that's not an apt metaphor. We do know that the world economy is trending towards greater automation and using systems (no matter the career) to manipulate or use data to solve problems. In order to prepare our students we must model this through the delivery of curriculum via a system that allows them to organize and track data, to manage their workflow, and to learn how to solve problems efficiently and collaboratively. This was one of the reasons for the 1:1 initiative - for students to become familiar and proficient in a 21st century environment. I'm not sure the worksheet system is one that prepares our students for future careers. Using an LMS in the classroom will get them familiar with systems they will find themselves learning in as they extend their formal education and when they enter into their chosen careers. The LMS you have at your disposal is Schoology. And it's a pretty good one.
Is Schoology perfect? No way. Teachers have legitimate problems with the system with respect to its integration with 3rd party services (namely eSchools and TurnItIn). Some teachers haven't had enough experience in the environment to understand how it can benefit them and their students - I was certainly that teacher when we purchased the product years ago. I also know that a number of teachers need a lot of tech training in general to feel comfortable to take the leap. I sympathize with those concerns. I also believe that those fears and concerns could dissipate through time with a full commitment to make it work better for teachers, better for students, and better for parents. Take time looking into Schoology this summer (only a few months away) if not sooner and think about what is possible. I'm here to assist those that want to make that shift. I'm hoping everyone will if you haven't already.
