Kelly Thanos, Managing & Opinions Editor|October 27, 2021
Fairfax County Public Schools recently introduced a new learning platform, Schoology, to their students and teachers. FCPS was associated with Blackboard for the past 20 years, but they parted ways after their contract ended in June 2021. FCPS decided to adopt Schoology as their new online learning portal instead of re-signing with Blackboard. Over the virtual-school period, Google Classroom was a crucial program that teachers and students used everyday. Assignments and information were posted on Google Classroom and it was easy to navigate. Teachers, students, and parents were comfortable and familiar with Google Classroom, so the sudden switch to the new platform was a little unsettling. Even though FCPS had a contract with Blackboard, it was only used for students to attend their online classes on their zoom-like platform “Blackboard Collaborate Ultra”. Blackboard was not used regularly because Google Classroom was preferred for many reasons, for example it’s ease of access and sleek design. After talking to many students and staff, I received many opinions regarding the switch to Schoology. The opinions were consistently alike, in that they all included the notion that Google Classroom is better than Schoology. Most students said they preferred Google Classroom over Schoology because they felt it was designed for students, required less direction, and helped them stay organized. Teachers were also comfortable with Google Classroom and understood how to use it to teach their students. Similarly to my classmates and teachers, I prefer Google Classroom over Schoology because I am familiar with it, I’ve used it over the past few school years, and I think the layout appears neat and polished, but I believe Schoology will become much easier to use once we understand how to navigate it. On the Homepage of Schoology, two tabs are presented, Recent Activity and Course Dashboard. The Recent Activity tab has two sections displayed, the Central Column and the Upcoming Feed. The Central Column shares announcements, polls, and other important information. If a teacher wants to post something to all of their classes, they can post to the Recent Activity section. The Upcoming Feed shares a calendar that includes assignments and due dates so students can easily see what needs to be done. The other tab, Course Dashboard, organizes the classes a student is enrolled in. Each course holds assignments and other things related to that class. Courses can be organized on the page and placed in whatever order the student prefers. Groups, Resources, and Grades are visible at the very top of the Homepage. The Group section allows students to join different clubs and groups. Joining clubs and groups gives students a chance to connect and work with other students and teachers who have the same interests. The Resource page is a place where students can create folders to organize their assignments and files. Resources can be shared with people in your group and courses can be saved into the resource files and folders. The Resource page is divided into 3 sections, Left Side Navigation, My Resources, and Main Window. Left Side Navigation holds your Personal, Group, and App Resources. Google Drive is accessible through the App Resource Folder. The My Resources section of the page stores and organizes personal and shared collections. The Main Window is where you can manage, view, edit, and create resources. The Grades section allows students to check up on the grades their teachers are submitting. Grades can also be viewed in SIS Student Vue and SIS Parent Vue. In the upper right corner, the student’s name will appear next to an arrow. Click the arrow and a profile will become accessible, which holds portfolios and personal information about the student. In the top right corner, a search bar, a four-square grid, a calendar, an envelope, and a bell are visible. Using the search bar, you can search for classes and assignments, which is very helpful if something needs to be found quickly. The four-square grid allows students to access other learning portals. My four-square grid holds Horizon, Clever, Naviance, Online Textbooks, and Online Databases. The calendar lets students know when their assignments are due and what holidays are coming up. The envelope acts as a mail service, students can send messages and receive notifications/notes from their teachers through their Schoology envelope. Recent assignments and announcements appear under the Notification Bell. Although Google Classroom is a great program and has been a big help to FCPS students, teachers, and parents over the years, I trust that Schoology will grow on us as we continue to use the program and become comfortable with it.
