For the 2020-2021 school year, Schoology was chosen as the main system to be used during distance learning. Previously, in the 2020 post-Spring break quarantine, Google Classroom was used to distribute work and turn assignments in.
Google Classroom is the far better application to be mandated by administration and used by students while distance learning.
Schoology is an extremely inefficient program. The constant clicking between windows and links causes a lot of confusion among students and teachers alike. Oftentimes it is easy to miss information due to the extremely disorganized layout of the website. Once you click to open one folder, it takes five clicks to get back to your home page. Not only does this create frustration, but when on Zoom and trying to follow a teacher’s instructions, students can fall behind due to the impracticalities of Schoology’s layout. Falling behind while on a live Zoom makes it difficult to follow along with the lesson and can end up hurting a student’s performance in school. Some may minimize this issue, blaming Schoology problems on technical difficulties. Yet, Google Classroom did not have these complications in the past, proving it will be more efficient for students to operate.
Additionally, there is no need to learn a completely new system, especially when it is so ineffective in making distance learning easier. Since Google Classroom was already working in the Spring, it should continue to be used as it has proven to be reliable. Opposers may argue that Schoology was switched to because of it’s gradebook accessibility within the application. However, not only does Google Classroom show you the grades on multiple assignments, but the grade book is still always available for students’ viewing. HAC is already an essential application used by students, so a grade book replacement isn’t a concrete feature for making Schoology worthwhile. Even teachers are unclear on how to use Schoology, and instructions for participating in class properly can become vague, leaving both students and teachers confused. Time wasted on attempting to understand a completely new application is time lost to teach students and this is an unacceptable cycle.
Google Classroom is also much more functional since it’s easier for students to turn in assignments through varied applications. With Schoology, students are required to turn in pdfs which can be difficult to scan for some students. Similarly, turning in any sort of document is a lengthy process since everything must be imported into Schoology. With Google Classroom, apps like Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive are all conveniently installed within the system. Google’s many forms of documents makes it so that students can easily turn in an array of different assignments that correctly cater to the classes they are enrolled in. Another common issue with turning in assignments to Schoology is the added difficulty of having both dual credit and non dual credit students turn work in while in the same class. Being unable to have both types of students turn in the same assignments adds to the dysfunction of Schoology’s system. For instance, students in Calculus AP Dual got all of their grades and hard work erased due to Schoology’s glitching. Matters like this should not be looked over as they are setting back students and causing unnecessary stress for teachers.
Administrators need to take notice of the multiple problems caused by Schoology and seriously analyze the struggle that it has caused in academic life. To ensure the success of students, the switch back to Google Classroom must be made. A plan to shift systems during a holiday break, or in between grading periods would surely show considerable improvement in system proficiency.