At first glance, I thought that it would be fairly simple to find a Learning Management System (LMS) and critique it. But this assignment took a bit of time. In my search, I kept encountering LMS systems that could be used district-wide. After narrowing down my search, I finally found an LMS that I could potentially use in my classroom in the future. This LMS is called Schoology.

Strengths:

When browsing through the schoology website, what struck me as being very useful is their approach to instructional tools. This LMS contains pre-loaded Common Core standards that allows a teacher to assess each student’s mastery. At the Intermediate level we use letter grades to evaluate learning. Because students are transitioning from a standards-based grading system (elementary school) into a letter-based grading system, it can be confusing for students. I often have students asking me what an B/C grade actually means. Schoology allows me the opportunity to post number and letter grades and housing them under a specific standard. This is very beneficial to students so they understand how letter grades correspond to each standard.

Another benefit that Schoology offers is a clean and easy to use interface. By looking at the screenshots, typography, and design I can discern that the the developers had the student’s interest in mind. The interface is inviting to students and even include options to include an avatar, post comments, or like a specific post.

The interface is also easy to use for teachers. I use Google Classroom as my LMS in my classroom, and it can only allow me limited access to word processing tools. Sometimes I want to bold something in the assignment description, so that my students won’t miss it. Google Classroom does not allow me to do this, but looking at the screenshot below it seems like Schoology has that function.

My students love social media and it looks like the Schoology interface also looks like a social media website (see below). Students are familiar with this way of communicating including commenting and likes.

Disadvantages:

There are some limitations with Schoology that I have noticed. This LMS has dedicated a section of their system for communication and collaboration. There are folders that share teacher content across the system and allows teachers to add them to their courses instantly. Schoology claims that this will increase collaboration between teachers. But I just question if it is really called collaboration if teachers are sharing their curriculum? I think that instead of sharing files across the system, there should be an option for teachers to critique other teacher’s lessons and give their insights on how to teach the lesson better. Maybe an option for real-time communication and editing would be useful too.

Questions and Concerns:

In Schoology, I have some questions and concerns. On their homepage their mission states that this platform will not require any training, because it is designed with the users in mind. I think that when any technology is introduced into a system, on going training and support is crucial. I just taught a Google Classroom workshop in breakout sessions with my entire school. There were many teachers who shared with me this same question, “So, who do I go to if I need help?” Ongoing training with technology is essential if a school wants teachers to be confident in using LMSs in their classroom on a daily basis.

Another concern that I have is Schoology’s promise of allowing an automatic SIS synchronization. They understand the teacher’s frustration of transferring data between LMS and SIS. Trust me, I get frustrated sometimes, too! Many LMSs that I researched does not integrate with the State’s SIS system called Infinite Campus.  I’ve been searching and searching for an LMS system that links up seamlessly with Infinite Campus, so I can transfer grades over. Any public school teachers have any suggestions?

Mahalo