LMS for teachers and school administrators
4.4/5 (239 reviews)Schoology seamlessly connects learning management with assessments so that school districts can improve student performance, foster collaboration throughout their community, and personalize learning for every student. Every day millions of students, parents, faculty and administrators from nearly 2,000 K-12 school districts leverage Schoology to advance what is possible in education.
Pros
This is hands-down my go-to LMS for education. Having used a variety of LMS programs out there, and having come from some such as Google Classroom, and 3DGameLab, Schoology is top notch. Constantly being updated, Schoology helps transition the focus from the teacher to the student. The best features are Schoology's ability to integrate with other tools, as teachers can embed edtech tools such as Padlet, Polleverywhere, Thinglink, etc into a Schoology assignment using their LTI integration. As they continue to partner with other edtech companies, some of these then become options within their platform. I have used their integrated Conferences, Lock Down Browser, and more. The ability to transition ownership to the students, monitor their work while letting them work at their own pace is truly remarkable and a game-changer in education.
Cons
There are some things I wish were available such as the ability to share an entire folder of contents with an individual student, or to set separate completion rules/dates for assignments within a folder. Not sure why these aren't options. I also think a way to automatically award badges upon completion would really help teachers cut down on time awarding them.
I have used Schoology as a teacher with students and as a professional development platform with other teachers. I love all the options I have for sharing content of all types and engaging students in many ways. I constantly find new features to try out with my students.
In addition, I am one of the system admins for our school district. I have used both the Basic (free) version and the Enterprise version. Schoology Support is always helpful, and while they cannot always meet my needs right away, they are always working on site improvements and new features.
Pros
•Ease of use - Most teachers, students, and parents learn to navigate the LMS pretty easily.
•Many levels of use - Teachers can begin using the LMS at a simple, basic level with great success, and then progress to use more advanced features that enrich the educational experience of their students. I love incorporating online discussions and media albums in my classes.
•Anywhere, anytime - Teachers can set up their daily classes in Schoology, embedding images, media, discussions, quizzes, and more. This lends itself to all types of teaching experiences from whole class to small group to individual assignments. Assignments can actually be assigned to small groups or individual students, and these will not populate the Schoology feeds of other students. The Schoology course can be used to facilitate the classroom experience, but also allows student access to classroom content 24/7.
•Great integration with G Suite - Schoology plays very well with all things Google. I love the Google Drive Assignments app, which organizes my students’ assignments so beautifully.
Cons
•Cannot create recurring calendar events.
•Badges are only visible on Profile Page. I wish they were more visible on all pages, like they are in Khan Academy. Badges are also not visible on the iOS platform.
•I wish assignments had both “assigned on” dates, as well as “due dates.”
I use Schoology for almost all of my course work. I teach using the flipped classroom model and Schoology's platform allows me to share my lecture videos, conduct assessments of student knowledge and understanding, to give assignments, and to provide communication with students and parents. All of my content is available to my students through Schoology 24/7, I can make it available in a variety of ways, and I can make updates in real time. Recently, Schoology's introduction of the Google Assignment App has me excited about our switch to Chromebooks. This app allows you to attach a Google Doc (say a study guide) as part of an assignment. When students open the assignment the document is copied, renamed, and added to their Google Drive. No more students opening or copying a new version of the document each time they go back to the assignment instead of to the copy they made but didn't actually rename like the directions stated. The document is 'tied' to the assignment and updates no matter where they work on it from (inside the assignment or through their Google Drive.)
Still to come, a cleaner looking interface with differentiation for elementary students!
Pros
+Google Assignment App - this is a game changer for schools using Google and Chromebooks.
+Most open LMS - it integrates with more outside apps and programs.
+New interfaces on the way - a cleaner look for all and an elementary version of the interface.
+More question types coming for assessments including labeling.
+Options are available for assessment monitoring for schools and districts.
Cons
-I wish I could move and resize pop up editing boxes. I create complex and visual landing pages with hyperlinks for my students. I wish that box were able to be made bigger and many pop up boxes cover information on the page that would be helpful when working in the box.
-Settings and due dates for assessments are in two completely different places when creating them. One is in a tab in the content area, the other is in the creation "gear" menu. If both are not set correctly, your assessment will not work.
In my 7 years as a teacher, I was always looking for the latest and greatest tools. The one thing that never changed, was Schoology. They are constantly improving their product and updating to make it better. I used all the free features of Schoology with my students. We took all of our assessments via their platform. They submitted assignments, essays, and projects via the other software. I was able to easily attach rubrics to the work that students were creating. My favorite piece was the discussions. It allowed me to elicit responses from all students, not just the ones who were willing to raise their hands. I would often use the online discussions to facilitate a face to face discussion in class the next day. I was able to use the responses from the online portion to direct and call out specific responses that could further our in class discussion. Schoology is an all around great tool, if you are looking for an LMS, it would be a mistake not to consider Schoology.
In my current role, I provide more professional development support. I am working with teachers on their implementation of Schoology and other tools. Schoology allows me a way to deliver online courses to teachers and support them in their growth. It is a great experience for our teachers to use Schoology as a student, this gives them the perspective they need when it is time to work with their students. It also affords us the opportunity to show them some best practices of using an LMS. Schoology is a winner in every way, I wouldn't be where I am today without Schoology, and our teachers wouldn't be making the gains they are without the support of Schoology.
Pros
There is an instant comfort to using Schoology for students and teachers. Most things are very easy to find and within a couple uses, teachers begin to develop confidence with the program. As a teacher, I was easily able to teach myself (with some online guidance) how to accomplish what I needed. The range of options available for free is outstanding and the paid version just adds the icing to the cake!
Cons
There are times where it seems like I have to click a lot of buttons to execute something. There are some quirks (as there are with many programs) that don't seem 100% logical to me. With that said, Schoology is always willing to listen, things may not be fixed immediately but it is nice to know they are aware.
Moodle. Blackboard. Edmodo. Google Classroom. Each year of teaching seemed to bring with it another piecemeal LMS until we found Schoology! Schoology allows our teachers, students, admin and community to stay informed and connected. As a teacher, Schoology was easy to figure out due to its intuitive platform. I love the various features and app integrations that allow students to do much of their online learning within the platform avoiding third party site visits and lots of extra clicking. As an Enterprise user, I also appreciate the SIS integration with PowerSchool that automatically transfers student grades from Schoology. The group feature allows me to easily send updates about One-Act and Speech practice schedules or leave time reminders that can be routed to students' phones, and the groups also provide excellent PLNs for various topics. Admins have begun harnessing the power of online professional development modules via Schoology as well. Students enjoy the calendar view, which we have taught them to use like a planner and appreciate the quick feedback from assessments. Parents enjoy more transparency about what is going on at school and the media albums work great for capturing all of the awesome learning that needs to be recognized and celebrated. As a BlendEd Learning leader, Schoology is integral to day to day planning and organization.
I also appreciate that Schoology is very responsive to user issues and requests. Their Client Success team is there to answer questions and trouble shoot when you need them, and the product developers are always taking suggestions and creating new features to make the platform more user friendly for teachers and students.
Unlike previous platforms, Schoology is my one-stop shop that is here to stay! After four years of use, I couldn't imagine teaching without it!
Pros
-Ease of use
-Groups provide online PLNs
-Supportive client services
-Excellent BlendEd Platform
-Can align with CC or state standards
-Allows for competency-based grading (Mastery via Enterprise)
-Parent log in options (one log in for all of their kids)
-App works well on Mac and Android devices
Cons
-Can't create reoccurring events or assignments (yet)
-PowerSchool Pro and Schoology integration in beta only (Enterprise)
Instructor Tools
Schoology's versatile platform empowers instructors with dynamic course creation and management tools, a global community for sharing resources and best practices, and comprehensive analytics for free.
Curriculum Management
The flexible, connected nature of Schoology's interface facilitates unique curriculum management. Utilizing standards-compatible content creation, sharing, and tracking, we provide in-depth oversight that allows for greater focus toward meeting student needs and improving student outcomes.
Global Learning Community
Arguably the most useful resource an instructor can have, our Global Learning Community provides access to resources, professional development, best practices, and personal experiences from passionate instructors locally and around the world.
Analyze Hard Data
With an automatically updating online grading system and performance-based analytics, all the important data required to tailor lessons for a more effective education is presented in an easily read and relevant fashion.
Collaborate and Improve
Schoology's Resource Center and Groups allow you to collaborate with other instructors in a local-to-global community. Share instructional resources, best practices, personal experiences, and more to help each other improve instruction.
Expand Engagement
Schoology's mobile apps not only provide you important classroom management abilities with mobile freedom, they can easily transform any course into a 1:1, fully engaged experience with little (if any) cost by investing in mobile technologies or holding BYOD days.
Below are some frequently asked questions for Schoology.
Schoology offers the following pricing plans:
Pricing model: Free
Free Trial: Not Available
Schoology offers the following features:
Schoology has the following typical customers:
Large Enterprises, Mid Size Business, Public Administrations, Small Business
Schoology supports the following languages:
English, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish
Schoology has the following pricing plans:
Free
Schoology supports the following devices:
Android, iPhone, iPad
Schoology integrates with the following applications:
Alma, BigBlueButton, Blackboard Collaborate, Dropbox, Gradelink, Mindomo, SmartClass, Zoom, iSpring Learn, newrow_ smart
Schoology offers the following support options:
FAQs, Online Support, Phone Support, Video Tutorials
Overall, I can't imagine my experience both teaching using Schoology and leading professional development for teachers without Schoology. It has afforded me an opportunity to totally revamp my district's PD to something more teacher centered, self paced, and differentiated, by putting together an online database of modules tailored to our specific district needs.