Accessing GALE Resources in Schoology

Not that kind of Gale

GALE has created a series of resources that are available for teachers and students to use for research and lesson planning. These resources have been made available through Schoology to make it easier to incorporate them into assignments and student work without needing to login. 

Gale is "deeply integrated" which means any article can be pulled into an assignment, discussion, etc. from within Schoology itself.

Create an Assignment, etc. in Schoology:

1. Create an assignment, discussion, etc. and choose the "insert content" button at the top menu bar

2. Choose a database from the list that pops up.

3. This will open the database within the assignment window. Find the article that you would like to include

4. When you find the article, look at the right menu bar. There are two options for including the article: embed or link. Embed will put the article inside the assignment window and give all Gale's tools to students within Schoology. Link will open Gale in a separate window

GALE truly provides an awesome amount of research possibilities and information: From analyzing different points of view on a topic, to deep looks at different topics in any subject area, we encourage you to explore these great resources with your classes.

Formatting Digital Worksheets

We've talked about reflecting on instructional practices using the SAMR model for a while now. While higher level tech integration in classrooms is great, sometimes simple tasks still need to be completed. While worksheets can serve a purpose in a classroom, when we switch to a digital version for submission, we might want to take a look at the formatting when we do. A few simple conversions will make a lot of difference!

When worksheets were on paper, there was a need for lines to be present so students could respond to questions. Physical space had to be included in the original so that students could add to the worksheet.

1. Answer the question below:

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

However, in a digital world, these worksheets can be manipulated after they have been assigned to offer the space needed for students to submit their work!

Using Schoology's Google Drive Assignments, teachers can create templates for students to add their own responses. These worksheets work just like their paper counterpart, however, students have the ability to format the document as they respond. This means that the lines that we used to include for handwritten responses are no longer needed. Instead, create spaces for students to respond digitally!

Using Google Drive Assignments creates a copy of the document, adds the student's name to the title, and time stamps when it is submitted. Therefore, there is no longer a need to have a placeholder for the name, date, or eventual student work. These are all added after the work has been assigned.

Kids will then be able to open the document right in Schoology and add their responses in the appropriate spaces, then hit the submit button. 

[read more about Google Drive Assignments on Schoology's Blog here!]

With a little manipulation, teachers can use the worksheets that they have created over the years in the digital space that kids are becoming more and more accustomed to. As always, if you have any questions about how this works, or want someone to help you walk through it, reach out to your building's Ed Tech Coach!

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