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.
Calling all educators and administrators! Join us June 20, 2019 for CONNECT OH - a FREE day of interactive, professional learning opportunities with Schoology!
With regional networking and relevant content, this one-day event will leave you inspired and ready to advance what’s possible in your school or district.
CONNECT OH will include:
A special message from Schoology on Advancing What's Possible in Education
A keynote from a local educator or administrator to kickoff the day
Your choice of sessions from Schoology and the community on topics like:
Ongoing Professional Learning
Curriculum Framework
Student Centered Learning
Assessment and Feedback
Engaged Communities
Leadership and Administration
What’s New with Schoology’s LMS and AMP
Networking opportunities with educators and education leaders in your region
The opportunity to learn from and ask questions to Schoology product experts
A certificate of participation that can be used for continuing education units (CEUs)
Registration will be open soon, but we are currently accepting presentation proposals: Share Your Expertise!presentation proposals are due APRIL 1st! No Joke!
Each week it seems like there is a new app that we can use to increase student engagement, foster creativity, or increase student performance. Many of these apps can be very effective, but it can be cumbersome to keep track of what does what and how many logins you have to different programs and sites. It has been awhile since we took a look at some of the lesser known features of Schoology, but many of these apps and features are available within Schoology with the added bonus of having all your students signed in with no additional work required! Some more popular apps and their Schoology equivalents are below:
1: FlipGrid VS Discussions with Video Reflection
Flip Grid allows you to create a grid of video based responses where students can make short reflections on their learning. In Schoology, it is possible to record video or audio clips as a method for any assignment or discussion. in order to do this, simply choose the microphone icon and follow the prompts to record.
2. Poll Everywhere vs. Polls within Schoology
Poll Everywhere is a popular app that show real time student responses. Schoology has a similar feature that is located within the updates tab on each course page. Create a poll and students can respond to your questions and see the summary of what responses were.
3. Student Websites vs Schoology Portfolios
Many teachers use websites as a way for students to gather their work in a portfolio. Schoology has a built in portfolio feature that can be used as well. Click on your name in the top right of the screen and choose "my profile" in your profile, there is a tab labeled "portfolios". Here you can create pages and folders and even import assignments from Schoology.
There is a ton more that you can do within Schoology that emulates some of the more popular education apps. You can also add certain features like Khan Academy or other sites directly within Schoology. If you want to know more about consolidating the websites you use for teaching into one site, contact your friendly local Ed-Tech Coach!
One of the downsides of using technology for lessons is that the content that we teach is rarely in one place. We get greater control over the content, but this often means grabbing video, audio, and text from a variety of sources. At the same time we know our students- the more clicking to get to content, the more issues will arise. It can be frustrating to have the perfect content available, but no easy way to get it to students without an unholy amalgamation of links, text and pictures. Enter the Embed Code. A handy way to get content on one page.
Most web content creators and hosts like YouTube provide embed codes that allow users to insert direct, interactive links to content into their site. For example:
The embed code allows you to bring multiple sources of content into one place. You can even embed a website into another website! They can look intimidating, but the process is much simpler than you might think. Follow the steps below to insert content into Schoology or other sites.
How to Embed Content into another site
1. Find the content you want to insert
2. Many sites have either an embed button or a share button where you can find the code. If there is not one,this site has a way to do it through a process called the iframe.
3. the code you embed will look something like this <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i9SSOWORzw4" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Wait! Don't be intimidated!
The great part is that you don't have to understand how HTML code works or even what is inside the code to embed it.
4. copy the code
5. Go to your Schoology page and access your assignment, page, or other place you want the content to appear and follow the steps in the picture below
Now your content should appear! Schoology and other sites also play nicely with Google products like Drive and YouTube. The insert content button on many pages allows you to import embed code directly without having to follow the steps above.
6. If you are using a different site, the process is similar, you just need to find a way to switch to HTML view for a moment. Sites like Weebly, Blogger, and Word Press all have these options.
A few tips:- You can play with the width/height numbers in the code to adjust the size of the content you embed.
-The Publish button (under file) in Google Slides, Docs, and Sheets can provide an embed code so you can directly link content into a page too (again, Schoology has easier ways of doing this through the Google Drive App, but for other sites it can be a useful tool.).
-Many content creation sites like blogs, web design programs, and learning management systems have a button or menu choice to switch between HTML view and WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) view. HTML view is where you can paste in code.
As always, feel free to contact your ed-tech coach with any questions or to learn more!
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!
Beth Eddy, a chemistry teacher at Westerville South High School, has been interested in creating customized learning opportunities for her students throughout her career. In the videos below, Beth talks about her journey to create these opportunities and shows how she has harnessed the power of technology to expand upon her efforts. Beth does not view herself as a "techie" teacher, but her passion for helping her students build ownership in their learning and approach the content in ways that make sense to them has driven her to make creative use of the digital tools available to her. In the first video, Beth takes you through her process, talking about how she came to creating a learning environment that allows students to learn at different paces and through different methods, and discussing some of the challenges and successes that she has had along the way.
In the next video, Beth takes you on a tour of her Schoology course. You will see how she has set up her course, what Schoology tools she uses to deliver varied content to her students, and how her course design encourages students to reflect on who they are as learners and how they can be successful in her class.
The way that Beth has designed her course allows her students to take part in classroom activities when they are ready, helps them reflect upon their understanding throughout the learning process, and encourages them to truly master the material. And she isn't done yet! Beth is continually reflecting upon her own practice, trying out new ideas, strategies, and tools to further engage her students and individualize their learning. As Beth points out, success is a messy business, but the messiness makes it all the more rewarding.
Interested in learning more about how you can develop ways to customize learning opportunities for your students? Contact your Ed Tech Coach today!
You have probably run into at least one social media article that includes a ridiculous question like the one below:
Incidentally, Stop Clickbait is doing an important service…
These headlines and articles are written in ways that draw our attention because they (sometimes) pose an unbelievable or compelling question that we need an answer for. One of the hallmarks of media and advertising, particularly online is to capture attention through clear, attractive design, and giving viewers a compelling reason to engage with the content. For example, consider which of the advertisements below catches your eye:
Option 1:
Buy
Coke.
Option 2:
The second option is much more likely to catch your eye with varied fonts, pictures, color, and other features that set it apart from the rest of the writing on this page. The fact that the bottles are collectible adds to the cultural appeal. So what does this have to do with the content that you put online?
Websites, apps, and other media are built along the same principles. As teachers begin to move their course content to online systems like Schoology, it is important to remember that design is an important aspect of the online experience. Strong design can help students in their learning, while poor design can increase the barriers that they may have to work through to learn. Here are some best practices that you can use to make sure that your courses are providing students with a good user experience.
Establish the goal of your course- is it just to serve as a place to hold assignments for students to access? A fully differentiated and built out course? Depended on the focus, your goals and organization will be different
How can you help your students accomplish the goal? What will make it worth their time to interact with your content?
Pictures?
Video?
Color and varied font?
How the content is split up (folder and assignment design)
What can explain to students where they are, what the goal is, and why they should care?
About this course section?
Introduction page?
Course Overview page?
Breakdown of standards?
What is the compelling reason for them to click on folders, links, and other content? Do the clicks further the goal of the course or an assignment? How can you reduce the number of clicks while still presenting content in a manageable way?
Make each page, link, and folder intentional in its design and contents. Can content be presented within an assignment or does it need to be a separate page?
Do links need to be included separately or can they be embedded within the text?
Use common layouts. Schoology is somewhat limited in the layout options that you have and Google classroom is even more limited, but even so, there are options that you can take advantage of to make sure that navigation is easy for students.
Pick a method of organizing content, assessments, and assignments and stick to it throughout the year.
Break text into sections so that eyes have a break between reading (look at different websites to see how this happens without you even noticing!
Video, photos, and other media can be a great way to do this.
If you are looking to spice up your Schoology Course, and want some more ideas, contact your Ed-Tech Coach for help!
