Schoology
Improving the Learning Experience through LMS

It was during the college days when Jeremy Friedman, along with three of his enthusiastic friends, realized that outdated teaching methods were still prevalent and education technology was barely improving the learning experience for students and instructors. Determined to change this, Friedman, Ryan Hwang, Tim Trinidad, and Bill Kindler developed Schoology, a unique Learning Management System (LMS) which takes the learning style and aligns it with real-world needs and scenarios.

Gone are the days when student learning was only associated with schools, colleges, and universities. As LMS emerges as a potential delivery tool for education and training, institutions are striving to find the right combination of students, faculties, systems, and protocols to manage their learning programs. “Education technology is trapped in a walled garden. There are thousands of apps and systems, none of which work together as well as they should,” says Friedman, CEO and Co-Founder, Schoology.

Schoology’s LMS for K12 makes it easy for users to leverage both new and existing content. Instructors can rapidly create media-rich lessons, reuse their past courses, and even embed content from Google Drive, Microsoft Office, YouTube, and other web tools. Its Instruction tool feature helps users track students individually and connects with them in collaborative groups, differentiate, flip, or blend instruction. Students are able to identify their needs and use the individualized instruction to guide themselves. Instructors can access students’ work, switch between submissions, and record grades with the help of the grading tool. The data from the course analytics and master reporting functionality in Schoology facilitates users to track student engagement and performance. With the help of the procured information, the faculty is able to make informed decisions and provide instant feedback to students after a test or quiz. Alongside, the tool also allows students to invest more time in learning with the help of online discussions, sharing their ideas via videos and images, and engaging with other students in a better way.

Education technology is trapped in a walled garden. There are thousands of apps and systems, none of which work together as well as they should

The firm also offers LMS for higher education to connect, communicate, and share documents easily with their peers across the campus and around the world. Students can continue their discussions with the help of the LMS tool and get assistance if they have any doubts. The tool also empowers the faculty to collaborate and connect with other global experts via a learning community.

In an instance, Schoology enabled a client in Lima, Ohio to improve the learning experience for students. Previously, the students would watch dance performances in class and enter their critiques in the dance journals. With the help of Schoology’s LMS solution, the client was able to post links of dance performances which the students could view anytime, anywhere and submit their critiques and assignments via Schoology. Alongside, the tool enabled the students to engage in discussions about each other’s performance and improve their dance choreography.

Schoology recently launched an Assessment Management Platform (AMP) to empower teachers and administrators with actionable data embedded in LMS. The functionality can be used not only across a district, but also at the department, or even Professional Learning Community (PLC) levels. “For the K-12 administrator who wants to improve student outcomes, Schoology’s integrated learning and assessment management systems bring total visibility and the ability to take immediate action,” says Friedman. “With the help of our solution, administrators, faculty, students, and parents will be able to improve teaching and learning experience,” he concludes.