Schoology 201: Razzle Dazzle on Schoology

Hello Schoology!

I knew the day was coming when my principal would give me the directive to use Schoology....and it finally did.  I was so wrapped up in my Google Site (which, as of the writing of this post,  I am still planning on using in conjunction with Schoology) that I thought there was NO way I could transition to Schoology.

But I was wrong.

I am here today to give you a few fun tips on zhuzhing up your Schoology feed to make it more exciting for the elementary set (as one high school teacher reminded me.....what I am about to show you is very much for us teachers of little kids....which I am 100% ok with ;) )  These are not basic tips, which is why I titled this Schoology 201....not 101.  There are plenty of videos and articles for that.  Instead, this is intended for the next level people.  If that is you, welcome!  If you don't think you are next level, stick around.  You just might be surprised how next level you actually are.

So.....on to it.

Zhuzh Tip #1:  Creating a CLICKABLE ANNOUNCEMENT

One thing that I always wished when using Google Classroom was for it to be more visual.  It is great for listing the assignments, but there just isn't any way to make pictures pop or keep information front and center in a visual way.  But with Schoology you can!  You can create an ANNOUNCEMENT that will be pinned to the top of the main page that the kids will be able to see each time they log on.  What is even better is that you can make it CLICKABLE to head to other pages in Schoology itself OR outside websites.  Now, this is a bit complex, in that there are a TON of buttons to push, BUT this is doable.  I have attached the tutorial video I did on my IG stories (where, incidentally you can see many more tips for Schoology in my highlights)  If you follow this step by step, you too will have a cool, clickable banner!

Zhuzh Tip #2:  Adding Images to Your Folders

On the feed, you can add folders with things like, "This Week's Work" and "Zoom Codes".  This will help the students to better find the information that they need in order to succeed in your class.  You could make them into a plain and boring list.  This functions fine.  But we are here to ZHUZH up your Schoology....so that will NOT do!  Instead, I will show you how to put images in there.  Here again is a short video so that you can get the images in your folder space. 

Zhuzh Tip #3:  Making Those Images USEFUL!

Now, having an image there in the folder is GREAT.  It is cute and eye-catching and makes the kids want to know what is in that folder.  But there is another way to make that valuable real estate even more powerful.....make it full of added information!  On this next video, you can see that I added some Google Slides and Google Drawings into the mix. Instead of just inserting an image, I inserted these two files that help the kids just a little bit more.

 

A Google Slide of the week's work provides a cute and easy preview for them of what is to come within the folders.  Since this is housed on Google Slides, you just edit it there each week and it automatically updates, without having to go through the download process again.  What's more, if the kids click on it, the image enlarges so that they can see it a bit more closely.  This little peek into the week is just a little preview for them so that the kids know a bit of what to expect during that week. (this template is from Ladybug's Teacher Files.  You can get it here.)  

Using a Google Drawing (in the SAME way we inserted the Slide -- see the video above for specifics) will allow the kids to click into the specific area of the folder that they want to view.  I have this little gem of a cork board set up with our "fun" items.  This folder is full of get to know you type things, class rosters, birthday lists, etc....everything they would need to really KNOW their fellow classmates.  Inside the folder are even more folders, which can get overwhelming.  SO if the students just click on the exact place they want to go from the image, which I have pre-linked for them, it will make life just that much easier.  (NOTE:   This cork board would be good for SO many things...I just choose fun ;) )  To link the file on the Drawing, I just grabbed the link I wanted from Schoology and inserted it using the link chain on Drawings.

Would you like any of the templates you see above in your Schoology course?  You can get them here and start Zhuzing up your own course!!

OK...that was a lot of information in a short span of time, so I think we will leave it here for now.