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Hello,

We'd like to take a moment to say welcome to the Schoology Community. If you care about enhancing the learning experience with technology and improving student outcomes, then you're in good company!  

In the coming days, you'll start on a series of emails with beginner tips and tricks. But first, there are a few things you should do ...

1. Follow Schoology on Twitter (And Tweet at Us, Too!)

Do you have room for one more in your personal learning network? Get brilliant ideas and practices from elite educators right in your feed by following @schoology on Twitter. 

Follow @Schoology >> 

Bonus points: Tweet to @Schoology with the hashtag #NewToSchoology and tell us what excites you about edtech. The best tweets could win some swag.

2. Familiarize Yourself with Schoology's Help Center 

Whether you're an LMS novice or veteran, Schoology's Help Center has answers for everyone's questions. This is your go-to place for learning about the product, troubleshooting, and contacting Schoology.

Visit help center >>

3. Join the Schoology Educators Group

What do tens of thousands of Schoology users all have in common? They're part of the Schoology Educators Group inside the Schoology platform. Ask questions, get answers. Collaborate with educators around the world. Share ideas and resources. There's no better way to tap into what the Schoology Community has to offer.

Join Schoology Educators >>

4. Check Out the Schoology Exchange Blog

Every week, educators from inside and outside of the Schoology Community share thought leadership, best practices, and how-to’s on the Schoology Exchange blog. Stay on the leading edge of education and subscribe.

Go to Schoology Exchange >>

Happy educating!
The Schoology Team

Welcome to Schoology’s Newsletter!

Happy Digital Citizenship Week! This week we turned to our great community of educators and administrators to share their ideas on two important topics. Check out the blog where Robert Schuetz tells us about how Township High School District 211 created a student-led digital citizenship program. Then, take a look at our eBook, A Beginner's Guide to Digital Citizenship. We hope that both of these resources from our community get you thinking about how to innovate more in your classroom and district.

Thank you to everyone who applied to the Schoology Ambassador Program this year, we’re looking forward to reading all of your applications! But, just because Ambassador applications are closed, doesn’t mean your chances of joining an awesome group of educators is over. Learn about our Schoology Champions Program (no application required, just sign up!) and how you can earn swag, network with other educators, advance personally and professionally, and much more.

As always, if you have stories or news you'd like to share or tell us, send your ideas to newsletter@schoology.com or tell us on Twitter @Schoology. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from Schoology and the edtech community every Monday morning!

This week on the blog

The Schoology Champions Program… What’s That?

How We Created a Student-Led Digital Citizenship Program

6 Strategies for Improving Schoolwide Communication

Content

Beginner’s Guide to Digital Citizenship

We decided to ask a handful of educators from Schoology’s Digital Citizenship Council and other passionate members of the community to share their knowledge on this topic… because why not learn from the real experts, right?

Learn more

EdTech Pro Tip

Don’t yap about your yappy online!

"Don’t publish this information or provide it in response to questions in emails, private messages, chat rooms, or forums. Even if you think these are private.

Y - your full name
A - address (home/school/email)
P - phone number
P - passwords
Y - your plans and birthday"

- Anonymous

Professional Learning

The ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) Standards are a great guide for educators to use no matter where they fall in their professional learning journey. Digital citizenship practices are prevalent throughout all the standards. Did you know that Schoology has an ISTE standards aligned ongoing professional learning program called the Blended Learning Leader Academy? Participants in the academy become Certified Schoology Blended Learning Educators. Reviewers from ISTE commented that, “Educators who complete this program will have a very complete understanding of the ISTE Standards and will have gained the knowledge and skills to create engaging learning experiences for students.” If you want to learn more about this powerful professional learning academy and how the educational experts on the Schoology team can help you grow your digital citizenship practices and more visit the Professional Services website.

Partner Spotlight

Personalized Learning Meets Special Populations

Focus on implementation, not compliance, and empower all of your teachers & staff to support the learning needs for every student. Education Modified's integration with Schoology ensures that all teachers have easy access to the data, instructional tools, and pedagogical resources they need to personalize instruction for special populations. Learn more about Education Modified and Schoology

New Feature Release

Notepad for Assessments  

We're added a notepad tool for course assessments (Enterprise) and managed assessments (AMP). Students can use the notepad tool to take notes, create reminders or lists, and compose drafts during attempts on managed assessments and course assessments. Instructors may enable this feature under assessment settings. Learn more: Notepad for Assessments

Latest EdTech News

A New Approach to Discipline Slashed Suspension Rates and Transformed This DC School

Three years and a top-to-bottom transformation later, Langley is unrecognizable. New teachers hired at the elementary school this year would have a hard time believing that, just three years ago, the suspension rate was 66 percent and physical altercations were not uncommon among 7-, 8- and 9-year-olds. Read more.

Welcome to Schoology’s Newsletter!

We’ve been talking a lot about the topic of personalized learning lately, so we thought it was a good idea to share how we here at Schoology think about personalized learning. Check out the blog for a recap of a 1:1 conversation with Joel Hames, Schoology’s VP of Product, to learn about his perspective on the topic. Then head to our new resource to understand the foundations of implementing personalized learning in your school or district.

Personalized learning isn’t only for students, it’s for adult learners as well. Don’t forget to check out the Professional Development Team’s new blended learning package to discover how to design personalized, virtual, blended, and face-to-face offerings for your educators too! And while you’re at it, try out the individually assign folders to feature to really have the opportunity to personalize learning and improve student performance.

As always, if you have stories or news you'd like to share or tell us, send your ideas to newsletter@schoology.com or tell us on Twitter @Schoology. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from Schoology and the edtech community every Monday morning!

This week on the blog

How We Think About Personalized Learning

Entrepreneurship in Education: Building the Next Generation of Thinkers and Doers

Content

Beginner’s Guide to Personalized Learning

In order for us to incorporate personalized learning into our schools effectively, we must be able to observe, categorize, and measure how educators and students are personalizing learning and, ultimately, what’s working and what’s not. Read this guide to understand the foundations of implementing personalized learning in your school or district.

Learn more

EdTech Pro Tip

Breakout Games with Schoology

"Want to do a Breakout activity but don’t have the boxes? Use Schoology’s student completion requirements and the “test/quiz” feature to have students enter the “lock codes” in order to access the next set of clues."  - Theresa Doster Spanish Teacher at School District of Lancaster 

Professional Learning

There is a lot of discussion in education about personalized learning experiences for students, but what about adult learners? Adult learners want effective professional learning experiences that meet their personal learning needs.

Educational scholars have described professional development as “structured professional learning that results in changes to teacher knowledge and practices, and improvements in student learning outcomes” (Darling-Hammond, Hyler & Gardner, 2017). In fact, research revealed a positive link between teacher professional development, teaching practices, and student outcomes. Using models and modeling of effective practices is one of the seven characteristics identified in effective professional development.

How is your district rethinking how professional learning is designed and facilitated for educators? Are you modeling effective practices and harnessing the power of Schoology to do this? The Schoology Professional Learning team has new and updated offerings that can help you move in this direction. We recently released a six-week blended professional learning package called “Powerful Professional Learning in the Digital Age.” Through this blended professional learning experience, educators can discover how to transform professional development in your district by harnessing the power of Schoology to design personalized virtual, blended and face-to-face offerings. Feel free to contact our team to get more information about this powerful professional learning offering or check out the Schoology Professional Learning Catalog.

Source: Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M., & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective teacher professional development. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.

Partner Spotlight

Have you tried Kami yet?

Take any existing document - including scanned PDFs - and write, draw, type, annotate, comment, augment, enhance, and otherwise bring it to life - all within your browser. Kami's intuitive design and collaborative features are specifically designed to improve classroom engagement and interaction - all while making the task of distributing, completing and turning in classroom assignments effortless. With Kami as your digital pen and paper, students can learn, create, and collaborate together or in their own time. Get started with Kami today!

Feature Spotlight

Individually Assign Folders  

Have you assigned a folder to a student yet? It’s super easy! Teachers can assign folders to specific students and grading groups so that only the assignees can view the folder and its contents. Any materials added to the folder are automatically updated to be available to the assigned student(s). This will enable instructors to use their professional judgment to individually assign any content within Schoology, making it easier to personalize learning and improve student performance.

Latest EdTech News

Students with Dyslexia Aren't Dumb. Teachers Can Help Them See That.

Having a clear diagnosis helps students and their families understand what’s going on, but academic success depends on that powerful bond between teacher and student. I didn’t advocate for myself throughout school, but the classes I succeeded in were taught by educators I connected with and who made a point to see the whole me. That kind of relationship gives students the opportunity to separate their strengths from their abilities. Read more.

Welcome to Schoology’s Newsletter!

This week is all about collaboration! We're not just talking about collaboration between students or between student and teacher. Collaborating across departments as well as across different schools is also extremely important and can have some major benefits for you as an educator. Check out the blog this week to get some tips on how you can take on both of these tasks.

Then head over to our webinar led by our Learning and Innovation Manager, Gina Hartman. Alongside three key members of the Ohio Blended Learning Collaborative, we discuss what we can all learn from their successes with collaboration.

As always, if you have stories or news you'd like to share or tell us, send your ideas to newsletter@schoology.com or tell us on Twitter @Schoology. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from Schoology and the edtech community every Monday morning!

ps. Do you think the emoji in our subject line is a high five or prayer hands? We think it's a high five, but we aren't totally sure.

Big News

Schoology signs definitive agreement to be acquired by PowerSchool creating the most comprehensive unified classroom solution for K12 education. Learn more about it here.

We're sure you have a lot of questions, so we created this FAQ you take a look at.

This week on the blog

10 Creative Ways for Cross-Curricular Collaboration

How to Collaborate With Administrators at Other Schools

Content

Webinar Recording: A Blueprint for Effective Faculty Collaboration

Learning and Innovation Manager Gina Hartman is joined by three key members of the Ohio Blended Learning Collaborative to discuss their program, their keys to success, and what we can all learn about collaboration.

Learn more

Professional Learning

How are you harnessing the power of Schoology for cross-curricular instruction and collaboration? We’d love to hear from you on Twitter. Just include the hashtag #SchoologyPD on your tweet.

Here are a couple of quick tips from the educational experts on the Schoology Professional Learning team:

1 – Educators around the country are using the power of Groups in Schoology for cross-curricular planning and collaboration when face-to-face time is limited. The Lee’s Summit School District in Missouri developed grade-level groups to connect their 18 elementary schools and allow teachers the ability to share cross-curricular resources, share ideas and questions, and post pictures of digital learning in action.

2 - A powerful way teachers can connect their students with others outside the walls of the classroom or with students in other grade levels or subject areas is by using Shared Discussions in Schoology. Shared Discussions allow students or adult learners to collectively participate in one big online discussion across different Courses in Schoology. This is a great way educators can design collaborative and engaging cross-curricular lessons that can help students begin to see knowledge as interdependent and connected rather than as individual and isolated subjects.

Reach out to our team and let us know how we can help create a customized professional learning plan that is aligned to your school improvement efforts.

Feature Spotlight

Reporting for Course Assessments  

Instructors who administer a course assessment or a managed assessment can access immediate feedback to guide instruction. The Reporting tab within an assessment offers overall class performance information, such as class average, median, mode, and outliers. Learn more in our Help Center article: Assessment Reporting within Courses.

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Latest EdTech News

Helping children maintain a healthy media diet goes beyond simply curbing their device usage. In 2016, the American Association of Pediatrics backed down from their two-hour-a-day screen time guidelines. They now propose a more tailored approach, suggesting that parents can be “media mentors” and not just time cops. Read more.

Welcome to Schoology’s Newsletter!

Giving students more autonomy and choice when it comes to their learning can have a truly positive impact on the learning process overall. Since we’re talking about having the focus on students, we wanted to highlight our Educator of the Year and how he is using technology to help students be more involved in his music classes. Check out the blog to learn about the unique ways he used technology as a band director, and then take a look at our Release Notes recap post! We know how busy you are, so we wanted to highlight our recent product improvements in one place so you can easily stay up to date on what’s new.

On the topic of features… we wanted to give you, our special newsletter subscribers, a sneak peek at a new feature—Choice Activities! We’re so excited to make it easier for teachers to incorporate student choice into their activities and instruction. Keep reading to learn more about this upcoming feature.

And as always, if you have stories or news you’d like us to share, send your ideas to newsletter@schoology.com or tell us on Twitter @Schoology. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from Schoology and the Edtech community every Monday morning!

This week on the blog

Q&A: Using EdTech to Help Shape Young Musicians

Release Notes: Scanning Paper Assessments, District Mastery - Grade Aligned Materials by Objective and More!

Who’s In Your Hive: The School’s Role

New Content

One of the most effective ways to get students engaged in the learning process is via choice-based learning. It allows students to take the reins (in a controlled way, of course) and explore concepts on their own terms. What’s great is that there are easy ways to layer in student choice into your classroom, and this guide can help you do that.

Learn more

Professional Learning

“I’m done”, “I already know how to do this”, “I do not understand”, “I would like to share my learning a different way”, or “I want to learn more about that!” These statements are often heard in classrooms or are unspoken when working with adult learners facilitating professional learning. Finding ways to best meet the needs of every learner can feel overwhelming. Utilizing digital choice boards can help meet the needs of diverse learners, differentiate instruction, and give learners (students or adults) voice, choice, and control over their learning.

Choice boards are built around an academic goal, then provide learners with an opportunity to select the activities they will complete to practice a skill, learn a concept, or demonstrate understanding. Educators can differentiate the choices based on a number of approaches, such as ability, learner interests, or tiered levels of learning. Digital choice boards can be used to meet the diverse learning needs of students or adult learners.

Educators on the Schoology Professional Learning team want to help you get started designing digital choice boards. We have created and shared a professional learning digital choice board template built on a Schoology Page. Check out this link in Public Resources to download the template. If you need help using Public Resources in Schoology, feel free to check out our Help Center. 

Partner Spotlight - School Office Apps

Install the PTC (Parent-Teacher Conference) from the Schoology App Store to make conferences simple for the office, staff, and parents. Admins set the dates, times, duration, location, and participating staff. 

Welcome to Schoology’s Newsletter!

We have a little bit of everything for you this week... which is sometimes what it’s like being an educator, right? You’re doing a little bit of everything to fit your students’ needs and help them succeed. This week we wanted to feature our student completion rules to show how you can create a journey for your students, helping them move along the path that is ultimately the most beneficial for their learning.

Head over to the blog to continue the conversation on improving student learning, but this time, by collaborating with parents. It doesn’t stop there! There are so many ways to guide your students’ in the right direction. Learn how one teacher/tech coach from Fort Bend ISD is incorporating coding and robotics into curriculum to keep students excited and engaged.

And as always, if you have stories or news you’d like us to share, send your ideas to newsletter@schoology.com or tell us on Twitter @Schoology. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from Schoology and the Edtech community every Monday morning!

This week on the blog

How to Collaborate With Parents to Improve Student Learning

How We Incorporate Coding and Robotics Into Curriculum

5 Common Mistakes to Avoid with Classroom Technology Integration

New Content

Every student requires a different educational pathway. The best way to do this is to personalize learning. In order for us to incorporate personalized learning into our schools effectively, we must be able to observe, categorize, and measure how educators and students are personalizing learning and, ultimately, what’s working and what’s not.

Read this guide to understand the foundations of implementing personalized learning in your school or district.

Learn more

Professional Learning

Deciding what post-graduation path to take is a big decision for most high school students. There is so much information to digest that it can be overwhelming and confusing. “What college should I attend?” “Is a trade school the right choice for me?” “I wonder if there are any scholarships available that I should apply for?” “How do I apply for financial aid?” are just a few of the questions racing through students' minds.

How can all of this important information be curated for students and parents? A Schoology Group is the answer! A Schoology Group can house all of the career pathway information, scholarship applications, important dates, and so much more. A one-stop-shop for students and parents that will help make planning for the future a little less stressful. No more wondering where to find what you’re looking for because the answer will always be, “It’s in Schoology!” Check out the Guide to Using Schoology Groups in our Help Center to getting started today.

Partner: SchoolOfficeApps

Install the PTC (Parent-Teacher Conference) from the Schoology App Store to make conferences simple for the office, staff, and parents. Administrators can make PTC’s simple by setting dates, times, duration, staff, and allowing for the set up of groups to stagger the sign-ups. Staff can also show when they won’t be available and parents can set up their child’s teachers through Schoology’s enrollment sync.

Welcome to Schoology’s Newsletter!

Innovation! What more do we have to say, right? Whether it’s personalizing reading for students of all abilities or taking on the task of starting your own education podcast, trying something new and innovative is never a bad choice. Our blog posts this week are all about this idea of using technology to inspire us to take that leap of faith. Whatever it is you’ve been contemplating trying out, but have been too hesitant to do so, this is your sign to go for it! Get motivated by reading other educators’ stories of their own successes with innovation.

Switching gears a bit, we also wanted to provide something interesting and useful for the more analytical educator. Check out our Beginner’s Guide to Common Assessments to learn more about analyzing assessment data. Speaking of data, we’ll be enhancing the course analytics view over the next few weeks to include drill down reports for students. Stay tuned for more information on this!

And as always, if you have stories or news you’d like us to share, send your ideas to newsletter@schoology.com or tell us on Twitter @Schoology. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from Schoology and the Edtech community every Monday morning!

This week on the blog

Starting Your Own Education Podcast— What To Know

Personalizing Reading for Students of All Abilities

What the History of Personalized Learning Teaches Us Today

New Content

Analyzing assessment data between two different classrooms can be like comparing apples and oranges. In order to give a more accurate “apples to apples” data comparison, some districts are moving towards common assessments.

Read this guide to understand the foundations of common assessments.

Learn more

Professional Learning

“Innovation!” Many different things come to mind when educators hear this word. Something that comes to our mind on the Schoology Professional Learning team is “How are we harnessing the power of Schoology to design innovative learning experiences for the students or adult learners that we work with?” One way to do this is by designing immersive learning challenges in Schoology.

Immersive learning challenges blend gamified instructional elements with the “Four C’s” - Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, and Creativity to increase learner interest, motivation, and understanding. Schoology can serve as both the kit and the management tool for creating BreakoutEDU-style challenges for your students or adult learners. Digital breakouts using Schoology offer cost savings and distinct management advantages that make it easier for educators to implement.

Our team offers a four-week blended professional learning program for educators that help them understand the purpose and pedagogy behind immersive learning challenges. In addition, educators participate in a digital breakout activity built in Schoology and learn how to leverage Schoology tools to create their own immersive learning activities. Reach out to our team to get more information about the “Breakout & Blend It! Getting Started with Gamified Learning in Schoology” professional learning program.

Partner: CaptiVoice

 
Personalize Reading for Students of All Abilities

Capti Voice literacy & learning platform, a Schoology certified partner, helps struggling readers improve comprehension and fluency. Teachers can assess 6 reading skills and focus intervention on the weakest skill that holds students back. Capti also enables teachers to provide reading accommodations to Special Ed and EL students with an all-in-one solution. Learn how to use Capti with Schoology.

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Demand Generation Specialist

Welcome to Schoology’s Newsletter!

We hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving and spent a ton of time with family and friends! We didn’t want to miss a beat, so we have some interesting reads for you again this week. Head over to the blog for some overall tips on internet safety and digital footprint. In a social media filled world, it’s important for not only students, but faculty as well, to stay on top of these important topics. 

Along the same lines of making sure you’re being safe online, we’ve brought back our Beginner’s Guide to Digital Citizenship eBook! As a reminder, this was written by members of the community who are experts on all things digital citizenship. Don’t forget to check out our feature spotlight where we highlight section override roles and how this can help everyone involved have access to what they need.

And as always, if you have stories or news you’d like us to share, send your ideas to newsletter@schoology.com or tell us on Twitter @Schoology. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from Schoology and the Edtech community every Monday morning!

This week on the blog

The Importance of Digital Footprint & What Students Need To Know

How to Build Quality Assessment

6 Ways to Address Internet Safety for Students

Submit your digital learning idea
(& win $25 Amazon gift card)

We’ve been hearing about some incredible digital learning classroom ideas recently. It got us thinking….

Now we want to hear yours! Here's an opportunity for you to share your favorite or interesting ways to enhance the learning experience with technology. By submitting an idea, you will have the chance to win one of five $25 Amazon gift cards! Good luck!

Submit your idea here. 

New Content

Brought back by popular demand... We decided to ask a handful of educators from Schoology’s Digital Citizenship Council and other passionate members of the community to share their knowledge on this topic… because why not learn from the real experts, right?

Read this crowd-sourced anthology of strategies from real education professionals to learn how they think about digital citizenship.

Learn more

Professional Learning

Professional learning cohorts are now forming for the Schoology Blended Learning Leader Academy to kick-off in school district’s at the beginning of 2020! This is our most comprehensive professional learning program that is aligned to the ISTE Standards for Educators. ISTE reviewers commented,

“Educators who complete this program will have a comprehensive understanding of blended learning, utilizing all of the tools available in Schoology and external apps and tools that complement and enhance the experience where appropriate. Educators who complete this program will have a very complete understanding of the ISTE Standards and will have gained the knowledge and skills to create engaging learning experiences for students.

Schoology Blended Learning is a well-designed, well-written, exemplary professional development opportunity for Schoology schools/districts. The program models best practices and combines face to face, synchronous, and asynchronous sessions to explore the trends in blended learning while practicing the strategies and using Schoology tools to build activities for use in the classroom. The Schoology Blended Learning program provides participants with customizable learning pathways for educators to deepen their personal interests. The unique combination of learning activities and options for deeper learning provides a learning environment for every level of learner.”

If your district is interested in learning more about this Powerful Professional Learning opportunity just submit the contact form on our Professional Services website and our team will be in contact with you.



Partner

Did you know that 74% of K-12 teachers already use video streaming services in the classroom? Install Edpuzzle from the Schoology App Store to allow students to watch YouTube videos safely and comply with student privacy laws like FERPA & COPPA. Spark student engagement, help teachers increase productivity with automatic grade syncing, and get support from Edpuzzle whenever you have questions.

Welcome to Schoology’s Newsletter!

We know this is a short week for everyone, but we wanted to provide you with some exciting content and fun activities to keep you busy (in between digesting that turkey). Hear from one teacher how she is creating project-based units to personalize learning for her students. Then check out our October Release notes blog post where we cover everything from new features to bug fixes.

We know this is a short week for everyone, but we wanted to provide you with some exciting content and fun activities to keep you busy (in between digesting that turkey). Hear from one teacher how she is creating project-based units to personalize learning for her students. Then check out our October Release notes blog post where we cover everything from new features to bug fixes. !

And as always, if you have stories or news you’d like us to share, send your ideas to newsletter@schoology.com or tell us on Twitter @Schoology. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from Schoology and the Edtech community every Monday morning!

This week on the blog

Q&A: How I Create Project-based Units to Personalize Learning

Release Notes: HTML5 Audio/Video Recorder, Student Mastery Details, New School

Submit your digital learning idea
(& win $25 Amazon gift card)

We’ve been hearing about some incredible digital learning classroom ideas recently. It got us thinking….

Now we want to hear yours! Here's an opportunity for you to share your favorite or interesting ways to enhance the learning experience with technology. By submitting an idea, you will have the chance to win one of five $25 Amazon gift cards! Good luck!

Submit your idea here. 

New Content

Effective communication and consistent engagement with parents are critical components in a successful school. But, the reality for many school districts is that parent engagement is the missing piece of the puzzle. Effective communication and consistent engagement with parents are critical components in a successful school. But, the reality for many school districts is that parent engagement is the missing piece of the puzzle.

Read this crowd-sourced anthology of strategies from real education professionals to learn how they’ve increased parent engagement.

Learn more

Professional Learning

School districts around the country are harnessing the power of digital tools to encourage collaboration and break down communication barriers with teachers, students, families, and communities. Using the power of Schoology gives educators the opportunity to create meaningful paths to engage numerous educational stakeholders.

Research revealed that educational experiences that are engaging, active, student-owned, social, and contextual lead to deeper learning. A few of the results of collaborative learning are the development of higher-level thinking, increased student retention, self esteem, and responsibility, improved student-faculty interaction, preparation for real life social and employment situations, and exposure to diverse perspectives. Educational research has also revealed that family involvement can improve students’ behavior, attendance, and achievement. Schoology makes collaboration in and out of the classroom easy for everyone!

What does student and parent collaboration look like for you? We now have a new four-week blended professional learning package titled “Creating Powerful Partnerships: Digital Age Communication and Collaboration” that explores the many ways that Schoology can be used to create powerful partnerships in the classroom as well as with parents and the community. Reach out to our team to get more information!


Partner

Teaching with Learning.com and Schoology helps students transition from consumers to creators by gaining essential digital skills for future readiness. The Learning.com integration provides necessary instruction for effective use of technology to create and safely use technology for communication with your students. Learning.com helps your students move beyond using their devices to track and turn in assignments to helping them create better work products for those assignments. Evaluate our curriculum and learn more.

Welcome to Schoology’s Newsletter!

It may be almost time for a much needed winter break, but that doesn't mean the teaching and learning stops. We have some helpful teacher resources for you this week. Check out the blog for some advice on personalizing learning and conquering digital platform issues and access to wifi. By being aware of these issues, you can take steps to help students, families, and educators alike conquer the problem.

It may be almost time for a much needed winter break, but that doesn't mean the teaching and learning stops. We have some helpful teacher resources for you this week. Check out the blog for some advice on conquering digital platform issues and access to wifi and helpful tips to support teachers and build their confidence in and out of the classroom. By being aware of these issues, you can take steps to help students, families, and educators alike to conquer problems that come their way.

And as always, if you have stories or news you’d like us to share, send your ideas to newsletter@schoology.com or tell us on Twitter @Schoology. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from Schoology and the Edtech community every Monday morning!

This week on the blog

Conquering Access to Wifi and Digital Platform Issues

5 Strategies for Supporting Teachers To Do Their Best Work

Why It’s Important to Build Teachers' Confidence in Technology and How to Do It

Apply to Speak at Schoology NEXT 2020

This is a fantastic opportunity for you to push yourself and build your confidence with the broader Schoology community (& get a free ticket to Austin while you're at it). Applications to speak are due by Monday, January 6.

Submit a proposal to speak at Schoology’s NEXT User Conference 2020!. 

New Content

Technology is a native language for many of our students. By helping teachers facilitate the use of technology in the classroom, instructional technologists, technology coordinators, curriculum designers, and instructional technology coaches have a major impact on student learning - no matter what you call them.

Let’s take a closer look at two popular digital learning career paths that could be a logical next step in your journey as an educator.

Learn more

Professional Learning

It’s not hard to find articles, blogs and reports about the positive impact teacher collaboration has on teachers and students. The roadblock that oftentimes prevents consistent collaboration from happening is “time”. The Schoology Resource Center has a hidden gem in it that allows teachers to create a collaborative area where resources can easily be shared with each other and added to any Course or Group with one click. Creating collaborative collections allows teams to “divide and conquer” when planning together and most importantly “saves time”!

Have an awesome Schoology Discussion, Assignment, Assessment or Page you want to share with others? Collections will make sharing your creation quick and easy! If you haven’t used collections to connect and share content with others, give it a try and start enjoying the gift of a little more time on your plate!


Partner

Capti Voice literacy & learning platform, a Schoology certified partner, helps struggling readers improve comprehension and fluency. Teachers can assess 6 reading skills and focus intervention on the weakest skill that holds students back. Capti also enables teachers to provide reading accommodations to Special Ed and EL students with an all-in-one solution. Learn how to use Capti with Schoology.

Welcome to Schoology’s Newsletter!

There are a ton of buzzwords in edtech, digital literacy being one of them. But digital literacy is so much more than that! It’s crucial to helping students become lifelong learners. Check out the total guide to digital literacy on our blog and learn more about why it’s so important and how it can be incorporated into your daily lessons. Speaking of helping students, we chatted with a Director of Curriculum and Instruction about how she uses differentiation and Response to Intervention (RtI) to meet her students where they are and help them grow. Head to the blog to view the full Q&A.

Keep reading to learn about the Media Album that our Professional Services team wants to share with you! This can help students learn to be powerful digital communicators with Accountable Talk sentence stems. We hope these resources help you continue to do all that you can for your students’ success (which we know you already do!). Did you miss the webinar on PowerSchool’s acquisition of Schoology? No worries, you can catch up with the recording! We also took some of your burning questions and compiled them into a blog post, so make sure you check that out for some answers.

And as always, if you have stories or news you’d like us to share, send your ideas to newsletter@schoology.com or tell us on Twitter @Schoology. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from Schoology and the Edtech community every Monday!

This week on the blog

Q&A: Reaching Students Where They Are With Differentiation and RTI

The Epic Guide to Digital Literacy in Education

12 Questions Answered about PowerSchool’s Acquisition of Schoology

Speak at Schoology NEXT 2020

This is a fantastic opportunity for you to push yourself and build your confidence with the broader Schoology community (& get a free ticket to NEXT 2020 in Austin while you're at it). Applications to speak are due by Monday, January 6.

Submit a proposal to speak at Schoology’s NEXT User Conference 2020!

Win a $25 Amazon Gift Card

Here's an opportunity for you to share your favorite or interesting ways to enhance the learning experience with technology. By submitting an idea, you will have the chance to win one of five $25 Amazon gift cards! Good luck!

Submit your idea here. 

New Webinar Recording

When best-in-class edtech comes together, all educators and students succeed. Watch this webinar with PowerSchool and Schoology leaders and customers to hear how this acquisition will impact the future of teaching and learning for you (in the best way).

Watch now

Professional Learning

If you ask ten educators what digital literacy is, you are likely to get ten different answers. That's because the meaning of digital literacy varies depending on the source. In the end, all parts of the digital literacy definition come together to mean preparing students to use technology effectively and appropriately. Schoology offers its users so many ways to communicate and collaborate so helping students become good digital communicators is important.

Teachers often start with a conversation about Accountable Talk and what conversations will look like when learning is collaborative. Accountable Talk takes practice, but as students' eyes are opened to how much they can learn by sharing their knowledge, thoughts and ideas respectfully, their motivation and learning are enriched. Check out this Media Album that can be found in Schoology's Public Resources. It includes a collection of Accountable Talk sentence stems that will help students learn to be powerful digital communicators. You can easily save this resource and edit it to meet the needs of your students. Creating collaborative collections allows teams to “divide and conquer” when planning together and most importantly “saves time!" 


Partner

MailEm! provides smart emailing/texting of any combination of courses and groups. You can include student data from Schoology and/or PowerSchool, filter by gender, parents and/or students, unlimited attachments, links, and the ability to schedule a series of emails to go out on specific days/times!

Available now in the App Center or for more information visit www.schoolofficeapps.com.

Welcome to Schoology’s Newsletter!

Do you hear that? It’s the faint thud of people slipping on icy sidewalks (yep, that happened to some of us this morning on the east coast). Regardless of where you are today, check out the blog for an in-depth understanding of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or ideas for taking your professional development to the cloud.

After months of crunching the numbers from 17,000 education professionals across the nation, we’re thrilled to announce the 3rd Annual State of Digital Learning webinar is here! Join us on Thursday, January 30th at 2:00 PM ET / 11:00 AM PT to learn about our key findings.

This week we're also highlighting one of our ambassadors (ahem “friends”), Lori Hack, and then Brian Bruggman is offering up his edtech challenge of the week, “Challenge your students to outperform you!”

For those of you who’ve adopted Schoology and are looking for outlined next steps to improve student performance, engage parents and communities, and take your district to the next level, we’ve got something here for you! Schoology has designed new Professional Learning Programs to address the Compass Success Routes. Find out more below. Last but not least, our friends LockDown Browser + StudyMate Campus for Schoology have a webinar for you to join on January 29th.

And as always, if you have stories or news you’d like us to share, send your ideas to newsletter@schoology.com or tell us on Twitter @Schoology. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from Schoology and the Edtech community every Monday!

This week on the blog

Understanding Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)
Taking your professional development to the cloud

Save your seat for the 2020 State of Digital Learning webinar

We surveyed almost 17,000 education professionals across the US last year. Join us on Thursday, January 30th at 2:00 PM ET / 11:00 AM PT to learn about our key findings. We'll discuss what you need to know about the state of digital learning to help you be successful in 2020.

Save my seat

Ambassador of the Month!

No more tri-fold boards!

“My students create projects using any app demonstrating their research on a specific type of cancer or topic related to cancer. They submit them through Schoology and I compile them into a page so they can learn from each other on the final day before winter break.”

Lori Haak, Teacher, Simley High School

EdTech Pro Tip 

Challenge Your Students to Outperform You! 

At the end of a unit of study, challenge your students to outperform you on a Kahoot, Quizizz, or another gamified solution of your choice. Create a self-paced game that reviews the learning targets for the assessment. The teacher is allowed to complete the activity once. Upon completion, you would post your score for the students to see. The students can play the activity multiple times, each time attempting to beat your score. Any student who outperforms your score receives a reward. I usually use candy. This underhanded and sneaky maneuver assists students to review the information and prepare for your assessment.  

Brian Bruggeman, Band Instructor, Monroe Middle School, Monroe, WI

Professional Learning

You’ve adopted Schoology for your district, so now what? As a district, you have noticed the need for change to improve student learning outcomes, communication with stakeholders in your district, educator professional learning, etc. Where does one begin to determine what the next steps are for your district to leverage the power of Schoology successfully? Schoology offers a self-paced course entitled, “Schoology Compass,” to help districts identify their needs when it comes to driving change for all users.

It’s imperative for districts to remember that when making changes that leverage technology in the educational atmosphere, there can be a myriad of emotions and roadblocks that users encounter. To keep the vision of adopting Schoology on course and moving forward, Schoology has designed new Professional Learning Programs to address the Compass Success Routes. These Professional Learning Programs offer districts powerful learning opportunities on topics such as:

• Assessment Design
• Blueprint for Schoology Success: Effective Elementary Course Design
• Creating Powerful Partnerships: Digital Age Communication and Collaboration
• Powerful Professional Learning in the Digital Age
• Strategies for Schoologizing Course Content
• Serving Up Powerful Learning Experiences with Microsoft and Schoology

Reach out to your Client Success Manager or our team for more information!


Partner Webinar

LockDown Browser + StudyMate Campus for Schoology 

Join this 50-minute webinar on 1/29 to hear from Dennis Haynie of Andrews ISD about how LockDown Browser and StudyMate helped to increase the overall adoption of Schoology across his district. You'll also get tips for implementing the applications in your own school or district.

You’ll also see a demonstration of these tools, and learn how they can prevent online cheating and enhance the power of your Schoology LMS. All registrants will receive a recording of the session. Register here.

Welcome to Schoology’s Newsletter!

Now that we’re more than a week into 2020, collaboration should be the main priority for the rest of the school year. It not only is important all year long, but it can help to switch things up and keep students engaged as well. Our blog post this week discusses more specifically, how to use an LMS to get your students collaborating. Find out what opportunities technology brings to your classroom.

It’s a big week in the edtech world... it’s FETC! We will be at FETC holding customer-led and Schoology led sessions on Wednesday, January 15 through January 17. Check out our post to learn why you should visit booth #3013 (you might just win an Apple Watch).

Check out our Ambassador highlight for a great example of student interest and agency. Maybe this idea will help you create something similar in your classroom or school. It’s important to remember that the more interest you can garner from students by making topics more fun for them, the more engagement you will actually see from these lessons. It’s good to switch things up once in a while!

And as always, if you have stories or news you’d like us to share, send your ideas to newsletter@schoology.com or tell us on Twitter @Schoology. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from Schoology and the Edtech community every Monday!

This week on the blog

4 Ideas to Get Students Collaborating Using Your LMS
FETC 2020: Sessions, Raffles, & Networking

eBook: 13 Ways to Incorporate Social-Emotional Learning 

The tips and experiences these 13 educators share are what has worked for them. Hopefully, they inspire you to consider how to approach social and emotional learning both in and out of the classroom with your students.  

Learn more.

Ambassador of the Month!

Student SWAT Team Promotes EdTech  

“I have been studying evidence-based grading as my district is looking at making the switch at the secondary level. I am looking at doing an independent tech study, but need a little help from the upper-level admins to make this work.”

Brian Bruggman, Band Instructor, Monroe Middle School, Monroe, WI

EdTech Pro Tip 

Grading in PowerTeacher Pro and Schoology   

“When syncing grades in PowerTeacher Pro, fill empty grades from missing assignments easily with both comments and codes by using the fill down button in the score inspector. Then when students complete the work in Schoology and you re-sync your grades, the grade will easily replace the codes that you put in place prior to the student completing the assignment. Also, since I don’t put zeros in the Schoology gradebook, I hide their overall grades in the gradebook set up in Schoology since my PowerTeacher Pro grade won’t match the grade in Schoology.”  

Nicole Burns, Physical Science Teacher, Bellevue Public Schools

Professional Learning

Many educators are assessing observed student behaviors on a daily basis and finding that collecting this data is becoming more consuming in their daily tasks than ever before. The manner in which data collection takes place varies depending upon the district, building, and individual teacher. Wouldn’t it be nice to have these assessments in one location with other student scores and a visual tool to show you exactly how your students are performing? Schoology offers the ability for educators to use custom learning objectives, rubrics, and assessments to help with the collection of student data beyond the curricular framework!

By collecting data through rubrics and assessments aligned with custom learning objectives, educators are able to plan effective lessons, personalize content for student learning, provide opportunities for student reflection, give feedback, and help students practice a growth mindset. The Mastery Gradebook gives educators a visual tool to determine which of these objectives students are mastering and where they need more support. Moving your data collection to Schoology can not only streamline the data collection process, but it can provide commonality on how observed student behaviors are measured.

Partner

Join us on January 22 for a free teacher event!

 

You’re invited to a free, exclusive professional learning event led by recognized leaders in education. Join us for a virtual WE Teachers professional learning session on Trauma Informed Practices. Network with like-minded teachers, learn how to empower yourself and your students to lead change, and enhance your understanding of social-emotional learning and social issues that affect students. January 22, 6:30 – 7:30pm EST.

Welcome to Schoology’s Newsletter!

We’re past that one month mark since the holidays, how’s everyone feeling? Hopefully, you’re still chugging along! But, if you needed some extra motivation, we’ve got just the thing. Head over to the blog to learn about makerspaces and getting parents involved in personalized learning goals.

We’re so excited to finally share our key findings from the State of Digital Learning Survey. Please note the date change for this webinar. This webinar will help you prepare for the rest of 2020 and beyond, you don’t want to miss it. We hope to see you there!

Our community shared some awesome tips with us this week. Learn how one teacher uses folder assignments to support English language learners, and how Schoology discussions are so much more than just discussions. Think about receiving feedback from peers, posting links, or submitting video/audio responses. The possibilities are endless!

And as always, if you have stories or news you’d like us to share, send your ideas to newsletter@schoology.com or tell us on Twitter @Schoology. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from Schoology and the Edtech community every Monday!

This week on the blog

Communicating Personalized Learning Goals to Parents
How To Get Started With A Makerspace

Save your seat for the 2020 State of Digital Learning webinar

We surveyed almost 17,000 education professionals across the US last year. Join us on Thursday, February 6th at 2:00 PM ET / 11:00 AM PT to learn about our key findings. We'll discuss what you need to know about the state of digital learning to help you be successful in 2020.

Save my seat

Ambassador of the Month!

Using Folder Assignments to Support English Language Learners!

“The ELD teacher at one of my schools and I created a great example to share with teachers around differentiation and 'choosing paths' for students. We created one version as a simple hyperdoc and one version using individually assigned folder and completion rules in Schoology. So great!"

Tiffany LoSasso, Digital Coach, Denver Public Schools

EdTech Pro Tip 

Schoology Discussions is Not Just For Discussions! 

It’s easy to dismiss the discussion section in Schoology for just online discussions but it is a great place to have students share work with their peers and get feedback. Consider how you may have students construct posters and post them around the room or present in front of their peers in a traditional class. These tasks can be completed in a Schoology discussion and provide more organization, interaction, and access to digital multimedia. It can be a place to post links to material created on other websites, upload many different file types of files, submit video or audio responses, and a variety of other uses. The additional choice to require students to post first before being able to see what others post also provides even more instructional options. Think of it a virtual presentation/sharing space viewable by all students in the class. Don’t underestimate the power of the discussion space – there's a lot you can do there with your students!

Jim Czadzeck, Instructional Technology Specialist/Instructional Technology Teacher on Special Assignment, West Irondequoit Central School District

Professional Learning

One powerful way we have seen a school district harnessing the power of digital tools to engage and communicate with families is by using Schoology Courses or Groups. The Coppell Independent School District in Texas created a Course in Schoology that they call the “Parent University.”

This course is a great way they are strengthening the school to home connection in their district. In the Parent University Course, they have included a wealth of resources to help families become familiar with Schoology and understand how they can use it to help support their child’s learning at home. In addition, they provide opportunities for families to learn more about parenting kids in this digital age. They provide a wealth of resources and tools to help families understand about managing digital devices, parental controls, privacy settings and much more.

A new online learning module the district is currently developing for families is called “Preparing Our Learners for the Future.” This great resource will engage families and help them understand what it means for youth to be future-ready and embody the skills they need to be successful when interacting and working with others in the future. You can take a quick glimpse inside the Parent University at the Coppell Independent School District above.


Partner Webinar

LockDown Browser + StudyMate Campus for Schoology 

Join this 50-minute webinar on 1/29 to hear from Dennis Haynie of Andrews ISD about how LockDown Browser and StudyMate helped to increase the overall adoption of Schoology across his district. You'll also get tips for implementing the applications in your own school or district.

You’ll also see a demonstration of these tools, and learn how they can prevent online cheating and enhance the power of your Schoology LMS. All registrants will receive a recording of the session. Register here.

Welcome to Schoology’s Newsletter!

We’re back! We hope you had an amazing break with your family and friends, and some relaxation (you deserve it). You’re probably still getting back into the groove of things, so we wanted to share some interesting reads to help you start brainstorming for the rest of the year. 

Ever think of incorporating podcasting into a classroom lesson? We’ve got you covered with expert advice on how to do so from an awesome member of our community, Will Deyamport. Speaking of members of the community, our Ambassador highlight is from our 2019 Educator of the Year Brian Bruggeman! Check out how you can use the Mastery Gradebook to provide evidence of learning. It’s sometimes hard to have high engagement with students right after the holidays. In our edtech pro tip, Sean Coffron shares how you should focus on promoting their learning through the effective differentiation, connection, or project-based addition to the learning activity.

And as always, if you have stories or news you’d like us to share, send your ideas to newsletter@schoology.com or tell us on Twitter @Schoology. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from Schoology and the Edtech community every Monday!

This week on the blog

The Classroom Teacher’s Guide to Podcasting with Students

14 Ways to Keep Learning Going on Snow Days!

We can’t control whether or not we get snow days, but we can be prepared. By having access to their learning management system (LMS), students and teachers always have access to assignments, information, resources, and—most importantly—each other.

Ambassador of the Month!

Mastery Grade Book provides evidence of Learning

“I have been studying evidence-based grading as my district is looking at making the switch at the secondary level. I am looking at doing an independent tech study, but need a little help from the upper-level admins to make this work.”

Brian Bruggman, Band Instructor, Monroe Middle School, Monroe, WI

EdTech Pro Tip 

Assessing the assessment: Ensuring that students are still with you 

“Classroom management and student engagement are greatly dependent on our ability to use instructional technology to meet the needs of our students, not just to gamify or add the "cool" factor to our lesson or learning activity. The focus is on promoting their learning through the effective differentiation, connection, or project-based addition to the learning activity. One way to make sure we are pursuing the right modification to our lesson is to provide quick checks for our students. These are assessments or reflections throughout the activity that check their interest level and their sense of relevance.”

Sean Coffron, Instructional Technology Training Specialist, Manassas City Public Schools

Professional Learning

Greetings from the Schoology Professional Learning Team! With the start of 2020, your district may be thinking about your Spring and Summer professional development offerings. Our team wanted to reach out and tell you about some new professional learning packages we now offer that could help your district Learn, Lead, and Grow.

The Professional Learning Packages are listed below. You can also find more details about each offering in the Schoology Professional Learning Catalog.

If you would like pricing information or more details about these professional learning offerings, please contact your Client Success Manager or reach out to us here.


Partner

SchoolBzz Now Supports 25 Different Languages
 

SchoolBzz is a personalized app for parents that integrates seamlessly with your Schoology LMS. It’s the easiest way to keep your parents connected and now supports multiple languages via an Amazon Translate integration. SchoolBzz is also the winner of the Amazon Web Services edtech pitch competition held in San Francisco this fall! 

If parent engagement is a priority for you, visit SchoolBzz!

Welcome to Schoology’s Newsletter!

Happy February! We don’t know about you, but 2020 is flying by already. In honor of the new year, we have our December Release Notes blog post to remind you of all the updates and bug fixes that have been made. Make sure to check out the new multiple submission tracking feature for district mastery! You know we love personalized learning. This week we bring you another great resource on this topic with 5 tips for personalizing learning with technology. Learn how to truly make the most out of the tech you are using.

These next few days are your last chance to register for one of the most highly anticipated webinars of the year... The State of Digital Learning! Save your spot and block off your calendar for February 6th at 2pm EST and help yourself be more successful in 2020.

We love how our Ambassador highlight this week supports non-tenured teachers. Check it out and learn how you can really be there for your colleagues. One of our instructional technologists from the community also shared a tip to help you keep track of devices. With technology being so important in the classroom, it’s also important to ensure devices are actually being brought to class, labeled properly, and are having the most positive impact possible on learning.

And as always, if you have stories or news you’d like us to share, send your ideas to newsletter@schoology.com or tell us on Twitter @Schoology. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from Schoology and the Edtech community every Monday!

This week on the blog

5 Tips for Personalized Learning with Technology
December Release Notes: Multiple Submission Tracking for District Mastery

This Thursday
State of Digital Learning in 2020

We surveyed almost 17,000 education professionals across the US last year. Join us on Thursday, February 6th at 2:00 PM ET / 11:00 AM PT to learn about our key findings. We'll discuss what you need to know about the state of digital learning to help you be successful in 2020.

Save my seat

Ambassador of the Month!

New ways to support non-tenured teachers 

“My mentoring team and I created a class on Schoology for non-tenured teachers to share their experiences and discuss ideas. We've found it to be an inviting, private space where we can support our colleagues in their journey."

Julia Hill, Math Teacher, Stephen Decatur High School

EdTech Pro Tip 

Schoology Discussions is Not Just For Discussions! 

"Technology is everywhere, and the impact that it has on our world is growing. It affects how we live, communicate and how we learn. Every profession today requires the use and knowledge of technology. Therefore, it makes sense that schools integrate items, such as tablets, into the curriculum to prepare students for the world that awaits them. Educational institutions feel so strongly regarding the infusion of technology that many have transitioned to the one-to-one initiative and permit students to bring tablets home. This opens up numerous benefits to the students, as they are not bound by the brick and mortar classroom. However, if schools do not have rules and procedures in place for tablets it can have a negative impact on learning. One issue that will inevitably occur is the tablet not being brought to class. Check out the tip below to help keep track of devices.

David LaMaster, Curriculum Specialist, Kanawha County Schools


Partner Webinar

Webinar: Using Science to Develop Foundational Reading Skills

Join this edWebinar to learn more about the foundational reading skills that are critical for reading development. Review the reading science behind these skills and the importance of assessing them. Learn about the instructional activities that will help you differentiate instruction and develop these skills faster. Save your seat!

You will get a CE Certificate of attendance. Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020 @ 3-4pm EST.

Welcome to Schoology’s Newsletter!

Last week was all about the data! We held our State of Digital Learning webinar (see recording below) and published our blog post based on the report. Both were filled with tons of information regarding the State of Digital Learning in 2019-20 and what teachers/admins are prioritizing, what trends to look out for, and more. We’re so excited to share this data with you and can’t wait for the full report to come out! Make sure you’re following us on Twitter and join the Schoology Champions Program to be the first to know about fun contests and activities around this report.

We’re a big fan of the edtech pro tip this week (If you’ve seen our social media, you know why). Make your folders more colorful and fun by adding emojis to them! Emily Thomas explains how this can help draw attention or move something to the top of the list. Don’t forget to register for the Education Modified webinar tomorrow to learn what the barriers in special education are and how you can bridge that divide today. 

And as always, if you have stories or news you’d like us to share, send your ideas to newsletter@schoology.com or tell us on Twitter @Schoology. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from Schoology and the Edtech community every Monday!

This week on the blog

Digital Learning: What to Know in 2020
4 Ways Schoology Can Help You Personalize Learning

State of Digital Learning in 2020

Last week we analyzed a massive dataset from our 2019-20 State of Digital Learning in K-12 Education research study. And we found some incredible insights!

Watch recording

Ambassador of the Month!

Authentic Experiences in Digital Citizenship  

“I am using individually assigned folders to allow students flexibility in a final project for an online course 100% delivered through Schoology. The course is completely self-paced and self-graded using completion rules."

Elizabeth Roth, Instructional Technology Specialist/Technology Teacher, Cosgrove Middle School

EdTech Pro Tip 

Use Emojis to Organize Folders in G Suite, 365, and Schoology! 

"Did you know you can add emojis to folder and document names in G Suite and Office 365? You can insert them into the item title by right-clicking (PC) or control+clicking (Mac) and selecting Emoji! This will add it to the top of the list making it easier to find. You can use Unicode characters (https://jrgraphix.net/r/Unicode/2600-26FF) to insert the emoji into Schoology item titles as well! Emojis are a fun way to draw attention to particular items or move it to the top of your item list in G Suite or Office 365!"

Emily Thomas, Technology Trainer Technology Trainer, Northeast Metro Intermediate School District  

Professional Learning

What does innovation look like in your district, school, and classroom? Common answers to this question include the following topics: student engagement, critical thinking, creativity, career readiness, personalized learning, inquiry, collaboration, choice, global learning, reflection, mindset, and fun! When pondering your answer to this question, consider Schoology’s role in innovation. Schoology offers several tools that make being an innovative educator much easier. 

Innovation is big, encompasses so many ideas, and challenges us to think differently. Teachers often use a plethora of resources when carrying out innovative lessons with their students. Here is the part you are going to love! Schoology offers a place to house digital content, embed interactive tools, publish work, invite collaboration, individually assign, have global conversations, assess knowledge, and so much more! 

Want to learn more about the role Schoology can play in being an innovative educator? Check out this overview of Schoology’s Professional Learning offerings and see the powerful learning opportunities available to your district. Reach out to a member of our team for more information!

Partner Webinar

Webinar with Education Modified

Join this edWebinar to learn more about the foundational reading skills that are critical for reading development. Review the reading science behind these skills and the importance of assessing them. Learn about the instructional activities that will help you differentiate instruction and develop these skills faster. Save your seat!

Register today: Bridge the Digital Divide in Special Education!

Welcome to Schoology's Newsletter!

This week, we want to share some ideas that will help support teachers and admins in the classroom, as well as with their own professional development. The Q&A series has made a return on the blog with an awesome story about how two educators used their LMS to create an innovative and unique way for students to learn more about internships. Don't forget to check out our Ambassador highlight and edtech pro tip for the week, they're all about supporting your staff and creating a positive environment.

The time is finally here! Our State of Digital Learning Report is ready for you to dive into. We're so excited to share this data with you all and hope it can shed light on the various aspects of edtech that you may not have thought of before. Our goal is for you to use this report as a reference throughout the school year and beyond, and have it be a helpful guide to share with colleagues. We can't wait to see what you think!

And as always, if you have stories or news you'd like us to share, send your ideas to newsletter@schoology.com or tell us on Twitter @Schoology. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from Schoology and the Edtech community every Monday!

This week on the blog

The Role of Admins in Personalized Learning
Q&A: Using an LMS to Connect Classrooms with Community

New Report:
State of Digital Learning in 2020

Schoology''s annual State of Digital Learning is not a survey. It''s the status of digital learning in K-12-the State of the K-12 Union. We heard from about 17,000 education professionals across the U.S. and beyond about their challenges, priorities, and use of edtech tools to further student achievement.

Read Report

Ambassador of the Month!

New ways to support non-tenured teachers 

"My mentoring team and I created a class on Schoology for non-tenured teachers to share their experiences and discuss ideas. We''ve found it to be an inviting, private space where we can support our colleagues in their journey."

Julia Hill, Math Teacher, Stephen Decatur High School

EdTech Pro Tip 

Differentiating Training for New and Returning Hires  

"As we lose teachers to retirement or other schools, I''ve been keeping track of new hires in our faculty course using Grading Groups. That''s allowed me to separate new-hire training from training required for returning faculty. Gone are the complaints about "we''ve done this already" at the beginning of the year, because we can target/differentiate training for different teacher experience levels / hire years."

Adam Babcock, Technology Integration Specialist, Spartanburg District Seven, Spartanburg High School

Professional Learning

A multitude of educational research reveals that teaching quality is an important factor to improving student learning and achievement. In addition, quality professional learning experiences are the key to supporting teachers and helping them professionally learn and grow. Adults need high-quality learning experiences just like our younger learners!

The K-12 STEAM Coordinator in the Pittsburgh Public School District, Vincent Scotto, recently started participating in the Schoology Blended Learning Leader Academy. After one session, Vincent commented that the professional learning "was one of the most valuable learning experiences I've had in nearly a decade. It isn't often that I attend learning experiences after I've already had time to explore on my own that I learn so much."

Our team of educational experts would love to support the educators in your district and encourage them to stretch their professional practice. We are now reserving spots in school districts to kick off the Schoology Blended Learning Leader Academy during the summer and 2020-2021 school year.

Want more info about the Blended Learning Leader Academy? Check this out! Feel free to reach out to talk to someone on our team!

Partner Spotlight
Our new collection of writing assignments for Black History Month

Since 1969, institutions in the United States, particularly educational ones, have celebrated the importance of Black History during the month of February. First proposed by Carter G. Woodson in 1926, this yearly celebration has come to be recognized globally. See new Black History month Assignments and Features here.

Welcome to Schoology's Newsletter!

Happy March! What did you do with that extra day this weekend? We spent some time thinking about if educators are truly ready for 21st century learning. Luckily, you can head over to our blog to learn about 5 different ways to develop an instructional strategy that uses technology to manage, facilitate, and enhance learning. Speaking of enhancing learning, Ambassador Aaron Lentner is sharing how the use of Schoology Assessments has allowed for instant feedback for students, a huge benefit!

A great way to think about your instructional strategy for the next school year is by attending an event like #SchoologyNEXT. Early Bird tickets go on sale today, so make sure you secure your spot at the lowest possible price. Our pre-conference agenda is also live! Check out all of the informative sessions you can attend.

And as always, if you have stories or news you'd like us to share, send your ideas to newsletter@schoology.com or tell us on Twitter @Schoology. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from Schoology and the Edtech community every Monday!

This week on the blog

It''s a Small World: Global Connections in the Classroom
5 Ways to Develop an Instructional Strategy Using Technology


State of Digital Learning in 2020

Schoology''s annual State of Digital Learning is not a survey. It''s the status of digital learning in K-12-the State of the K-12 Union. We heard from about 17,000 education professionals across the U.S. and beyond about their challenges, priorities, and use of edtech tools to further student achievement.

Read Report

Ambassador of the Month!

New ways to support non-tenured teachers 

"This year, with the help of my grade level team, we changed all of our reading worksheets for the year over to Schoology Assessments. This has allowed students to get instant feedback on their work and get working on other high-quality projects in class!"

Aaron Lentner, 3rd Grade Teacher, Falcon District 49

EdTech Pro Tip 

Differentiating Training for New and Returning Hires  

"Digital citizenship is a topic that has received much-needed attention in the last couple of years. My EdTech tip is to make digital citizenship a conscious part of every unit in the classroom, in the same way that standards and essential questions are an expectation. In my classroom, as we begin a new unit, we pause and talk about how digital citizenship will factor into the different activities and projects that they will be taking part in. At the end of the unit, we reflect on the experience with digital citizenship in mind. These conversations become much more meaningful as we discuss things that students had real contact and experience with. As educators, digital citizenship is something we must be conscious of throughout the entire year."

Aaron Lentner, 3rd Grade Teacher, Falcon District 49

Professional Learning

The Schoology Professional Learning team has an exciting lineup of pre-conference sessions taking place at the NEXT Conference this summer. You can even earn graduate credit or continuing education credit for attending the pre-conference sessions and/or the regular conference. Here are some of the powerful preconference sessions we are offering:

• Schoology 101: Getting Started with the Basics
• Schoology 201: Beyond the Basics
• Schoology is for "Littles" Too
• Power Up Your Professional Learning Using Schoology
• Creating Powerful Partnerships in Schoology
• Enhancing your Formative and Summative Assessments
• Digital Leadership: Learning and Leading with Schoology
• Fixer Upper - Schoology Edition
• Supporting Schoology as a System Administrator

You can check out the NEXT Website for more information. We are looking forward to seeing you in Austin this summer!

Plan your move to Schoology Enterprise for the 2020-21 school year now

If we've done our job right, you've gotten a good feel for what Schoology Basic can do for teaching and learning in the classroom.

But do you know the benefits you get when you upgrade to Schoology Enterprise?

Here are a few of the major benefits of Schoology Enterprise

Welcome to Schoology's Newsletter!

This week is all about Professional Development! Head over to the blog to see what strategies are better left in 2019, and what to focus on to make 2020 a year of amazing and successful PD. If that isn't enough, check out our PD toolkit to help you on your journey. It has various resources from guides to videos to blog posts that can help ensure you're on the right track.

PD can be fun and creative too! Our educator pro tip shares the great idea of having a book club with your teachers. Read that book you've been meaning to find time for, make some new friends, and learn something new all in one. Get started with one of the books listed below!

Last but certainly not least we spent the better half of last week brainstorming ways to support schools through their potential virtual learning journey. With situations like the coronavirus and weather-related events having the potential to close schools, we put together a number of resources to help you keep the learning going anywhere, anytime.

And as always, if you have stories or news you'd like us to share, send your ideas to newsletter@schoology.com or tell us on Twitter @Schoology. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the latest and greatest from Schoology and the Edtech community every Monday!

This week on the blog

5 PD strategies to leave behind in 2019
5 Tips and Tools for Flipping Professional Development


[Resources] Virtual Learning Days 

With a heightened sense of urgency around the coronavirus and the potential for school closings, we put together a number of resources to help you keep the learning going anywhere, anytime.

Educator Pro-Tip 

Create a Book Club with your Fellow Teachers    

Whether you are a first-year teacher or a veteran, there is always a list of books we would love to read but can't find the time to read during the school year. Creating your own book club with your colleagues lets you hang out with friends over a cup of coffee or tea while learning something new for your classrooms. I've included a shortlist of books that would be great for teacher reads over Spring Break.

Professional Learning

Did you know that the norm in education is face-to-face, one-day professional development sessions? Did you also know that educational research reveals that this is ineffective?