Schoology 101 - Setting up your course with folders

As you know, Schoology is our new Learning Management System (LMS). I have heard from many teachers at the high school that are feeling overwhelmed with yet another new initiative.

Understandable.

Please know that Schoology is something we are vested in and dedicated to, making the most of this robust resource for our teachers.

Nowthen...

Remember to use our proprietary site to login as you are able to log in with your Gmail credentials: pierz.schoology.com

The main page that opens up is Updates that will be pushed out by administration - updates, news, etc, as well as Updates from any blogs you follow. You may also notice a number next to your

Subscriptions (a place where you can access all the Schoology-based blogs) on the left. All Schoology users are automatically signed up for the Schoology blog (not of my doing, but that of Schoology). There is a lot of good information and teacher-shared resources, questions and thoughts here. You, too, are able to post questions and answers on this blog.

To create your Course:
From this main area, find the Courses tab at the top->Create.

You will be prompted by a pop-up screen to begin filling in your course information. Don't worry about Course or Section Codes. You will want to name your Course Section, however.

Remember, create one Course and then you will be able to Copy the Course and assign different section numbers without having to re-create every. single. section.

You will want to organize your course by Folders. I recommend the first folder be labeled something like Course Information where you'll house the syllabus, your course hours, and your contact information. From there, you can organize with folders by course unit...weeks...chapters...

Organizing each section by folder helps keep your assignments in order and allows you to use the Student Completion function. As you start to add Resrouces to your Course Folders, you'll see the Student Completion check box. This allows you to determine which components of that folder need to be completed first, second and so on.

We will be reviewing much of this during our summer training days. In the meantime, if you're so inclined, Schoology->Help Center is full of helpful videos. 

Project-based learning resources mother-load

If you find yourself wanting to integrate a project into a lesson, but not sure where to start, look no further than that fantastical resources at bie.org. Search by subject area, grade level, common core standard, and even the level of media (interactive or view-only?). 

BIE.ORG

Using Twitter with hashtags

Twitter is a lot of...noise. Hashtags work like magnets (love that analogy) to pull in all relative content to a single feed. Explained better here: http://www.teachthought.com/twitter-hashtags-for-teacher/

Note the plethora of hashtags recommended in the article. Twitter is a great place for professional development, curriculum/class resources, ideas, strategies.

I'd also love to create a hashtag for Pierz Schools, and get everyone involved in taking pictures of their day, their sporting event, their extra-currciculars...and use Twitter to display our school pride.

To Tweet out something great about Pierz Schools, use the hashtag #PierzPioneers!

Download YouTube videos to save your sanity

YouTube is awesome - millions of videos on a plethora of subjects at your fingertips! The bad? The creators of that content can pull those links at any time, leaving you scared, alone, and wondering where to turn...

No fear.
This quick video will show you how to download your favorites. Save them to your Google Drive for anywhere/anytime access.