How to Create a Schoology Course for the Summer

Want to create a Schoology playground for the summer? Creating a course on your own will allow a place to add materials and test the different functions without students in the course. 

Watch this to see how its done!

Or check out Schoology's Help Desk resources for more info!

If you have any questions or need some help, don't hesitate to contact your Ed Tech Coach!

I'm leaving Westerville City Schools, now what?

Over the past years we've been creating, sharing, and learning using Google's G Suite of products (Docs, Sheets, Slides, etc.). These products have been an amazing tools in the educational setting. However, the products were all used using a Westerville Google account that was created and owned by the district. So what does someone do if they are leaving the district (i.e. graduation, retirement, etc.)

This is where we introduce you to Google Takeout!

Google Takeout allows individuals to either download or transfer all of the content they own within G Suite so they can use that material with a different account outside of the Westerville domain.

Google actually makes the process pretty easy. Just follow the steps they provide in their help center.

If you are not sure if you will be using a personal Google account with this material later, use Google Takeout to download all of the content to be uploaded/converted into whatever product you will using later. This downloads an archive of all your material to be saved on an external storage device (i.e. flash drive). Once a new account has been created, these files can be uploaded and converted into that account's format. NOTE: some formatting may not stay consistent in the conversion.
You can find Google Takeout HERE.

If you plan on using this content with a personal Google account later, use Google Transfer. This will simply take all of the material in the Westerville created account and transfer it to a personal Google account.
You can find Google Transfer HERE.

Westerville Central's own Amy Farris has put together some amazing directions specific for Westerville students. You can read them HERE!

We hope this helps! If you have any questions or need some help, don't hesitate to reach out to your building's Ed Tech Coach!

And if you are using either of these products, the WCS Ed Tech Department just wants to say...

Spotlight on Pointview's Efforts to Reach Parents and Strengthen Communication

Creating a communication system that is accessible to families, supports a wide variety of content, is easy for staff members to use, and doesn’t cost any extra money is a dream for many school leaders seeking to build stronger school-home connections. Pointview Elementary principal Sherry Birchem is one such leader. Sherry is in tune with the needs of her families and her staff and has worked diligently to build a strong sense of community in her building, including spearheading the effort to streamline school-home communication. After many trials, Sherry has found the system that fits the bill: Schoology. Through making use of Schoology's easy sign-up process, closed system for sharing images and video, and ability to send emails and text messages to families when updates are posted, Sherry is set to create a robust communication system that meets the needs of Pointview’s staff and families.

Watch this video to learn about how Sherry is working to better connect the Pointview community, including what she has tried in the past, why she is excited about Schoology, and what lies ahead:

Interested in setting up a school-home communication system in your building through Schoology? Contact your Ed Tech Coach today!

Alexa, Siri, Google, whoever you are, set up voice control for my classroom.

The ever more ubiquitous Amazon Echo devices and other smart assistants like Google Home are great for home use. If you have one, you may have already realized some of the things it can do: play music, change the thermostat, read recipes, and a host of entertainment options. Most of these functions come from third part apps. There are thousands of existing skills or apps with more being added daily.  One of the most useful functions is that a smart speaker has an answer to most questions you can ask. If you ever wondered what imitation vanilla extract is (you don't want to know), Alexa or Google has the answer. While all of this is a nice gimmick and a fun addition to your home, smart home  devices have some useful applications for school as well.


1. Automating class procedures: Smart home devices can set timers, play music, keep calendars, and play reminders for transitions in classes allowing the teacher and students to focus on learning.  They also has a number of built in skills like rolling dice, picking random numbers, picking cards, calculator, thesaurus, and dictionary functions as well. Simply ask for what you need and you get it!

2. Specific questions: Smart home devices can also help students to find basic answers to questions they may have. If the teacher is busy working with a student and someone wonders how long the Great Wall of China is, they can ask and get an immediate answer all through using their voice.

3. Custom Skills: Amazon recently created a system for creating custom Apps called Skill Blueprints. You can choose from a variety of premade templates to create skills that can assist in the classroom. There are a large number of options, but some will be more useful in the classroom than others.

-Storyteller: Students and/or teachers can create custom made, interactive stories that follow a genre theme. Right now there are options for fairy tales, sci-fi, fables, and adventures.

-Custom Q&A: set up custom questions and answers for common questions in the classroom

-Babysitter: Avoiding the name, this skill allows you to set up instructions and steps to follow. This could be very useful for when a sub is in the room, or for setting up recurring sets of instructions for classroom procedures.

-Quiz/Flashcard programs: You can also create quiz and flashcard skills that are custom built for any subject area you might want. You can choose the questions, answers, and hints. There is a learn mode and a test mode for these skills as well.

-Others: To add a bit of fun depending on your classroom, there are customizable jokes, inspirations, insults, and games that can be used in the classroom as well.

But Wait! There's more!
Chromebooks have a built in voice assistant as well. It is turned off by default, but can be turned on. While there is not the level of customization available that Amazon has (for the moment) It can be used to control Google searches, timers, calculators, and other basic functions using your voice. If you would like to set it up, follow the instructions here

If you have a smart device at home, try out the  features and consider if it would be a good addition to your classroom. If you are interested in learning more, contact your Ed-Tech Coach! or check out the additional resources here:
ITSE on the use of digital assistants