Back To School With Schoology

5 Things To Do This Week

@LisaBerghoff

The adjustment to "back to school brain" is a challenge for me. The amount of information that I am trying to cram in my brain in the first few days puts me on overload. Learning students' names, staying on top of all of the things that need to get done and also the things that I want to get done can feel like too much. One thing that helps calm me down is a good old fashioned to-do list. Here is your Schoology to-do list. Get it done this week and it will help create a smooth(er) transition for you and your students.

1. Set Up Your Gradeboook In Schoology AND IC (or just IC)

No judgement at all if you have not done this yet but please do it this week. I know you think you remember but it's a lot of steps. Please follow these instructions in order. 

2. Make Your Tiles Look Good And Organize Them

Your Schoology tiles are a digital extension of your classroom. Creating nice looking tiles is the same as making sure your room looks nice. The correct tile size is 300X100 pixels. You can use Canva or your favorite design app. Download your design and then click on the image for your course to change it. You must be clicked into the course, not the course dashboard. 

I know some of you use gifs, please be mindful of what the screen looks like when students log in and remember that they have at least 8 tiles. If they were all moving and flashing you probably wouldn't like it. Ask your students what they think. 

To organize your tiles click on COURSES, then MY COURSES, and then click REORDER. Students can do this too. 

3. Set Notifications Settings

Work-life balance is important. Be thoughtful about the notifications you receive. You can customize these by clicking on your name in the upper right corner and clicking on SETTINGS. When you click on NOTIFICATIONS you have many options. You can turn on or off email and also mobile notifications. You can also customize your notifications for specific classes by clicking CUSTOM

. 

4. Organize Your Materials Page

Remember! Every time you enter an assignment into the Schoology gradebook, it populates to your materials page. For this reason I suggest entering through the materials page first so you can organize it. Have a system, make a plan, and stick with it. Maybe you need a folder for each week, put the newest information at the top. Or, if you want your folders organized by unit you can have subfolders for notes, assignments, and other materials. Whatever makes sense for your content area, choose a consistent way to post the information and teach and reteach it to your students. 

Think from the perspective of a student and ask your students for feedback. 

5. Remember These!

• Even if you are entering grades in IC, all assignments should be listed in Schoology. This is where our students go to see what they have due.
• Put due dates on your assignments, even the ones that are being done on paper, so they will show up on your students' upcoming list.
• If it's not a digital assignment, uncheck the "submissions enabled" icon.

Want some help?

Book a time with me. 

I'm happy to talk it through with you!