A Beginner's Guide to Using Schoology

Posted in Pro Tips | March 31, 2020

For those of you out there who need a little refresher, and for those of you just starting
out (Welcome, by the way), we've put together a quick overview of navigating the
platform that will be available here on the blog and in our Help Center.

Navigate Schoology Like a Pro

If you look up at the top of your screen, you'll see three main areas —  Courses,
Groups, and Resources—and some icons and your name on the upper right. This top
navigation is always available, no matter where you are on the site. Make sure to
familiarize yourself with it, because you'll be using it a ton. (If you are a system admin or
have Advisor access, you might see an additional area called Tools).

And keep in mind that Schoology streamlines navigation. There are multiple ways to get
basically anywhere you want to go, so don't hesitate to try something new and see what
happens.

Home Page
Your Home Page is where you will start every time you log into Schoology. There are
two main tabs on your Home Page:  Recent Activity and Course Dashboard. Depending
on your preference, the Recent Activity tab is perfect for sending mass messages,
posting updates, making calendar events, and the Course Dashboard is perfect for
jumping directly into your courses.

There are two main components to your Recent Activity area:

 Nearly everything on this page is clickable for quick and efficient navigation, so click
away.

Central Column—This column shows a condensed feed of posts that relate to you,
your courses, and your groups. It also enables you to post updates, announcements,
and polls with files and links attached.  (Pro tip! Posting an update or an assignment on
the Recent Activity feed is a quick way to post to multiple places at once.)

Upcoming Feed—All your assignments, due dates, and calendar events are organized
in chronological order.

For more information on your Home Page, see this help guide article.
Course Dashboard
The other tab on the home page (which might be your default) is the Course
Dashboard. This is where you can navigate to your active courses, which for most
teachers and students, is automatically populated based on your courses in the Student
Information System (or SIS).

Your courses are your digital learning environments. This is where you will put learning
content, grade materials, and communicate with your students. Your courses contain all
your instructional items (e.g., files, assignments, and assessments) along with
communication and organizational tools strictly associated with the course.

You can set up and organize your courses in many different ways. Your course
materials can be set up by week, section, topic, whatever. You can even set up in what
order your students must complete each item using the Student Completion feature for
a self-paced approach to learning. However you decide to do it, consider one word of
advice: Organize everything with folders. This makes it easier for both you and your
students.

You can learn more about courses from our Help Center.

Groups
The Groups area can be used in many different ways -- from professional development
to book clubs -- so the best way to learn about their potential is simply by exploring
some of our Public Groups, like Schoology Educators.  Basically, Groups are
collaborative spaces where you can share ideas and resources, organize events, and
connect with others.
Groups are a great way to build or expand your personal learning communities (PLCs)
on a global scale.

You'll notice that your Groups look very similar to Courses. Groups are more about
communication, collaboration, and resource sharing. They can be set up for students,
parents, and educators -- basically for any group that needs to connect, collaborate, and
communicate with others, enabling all members to work together for a variety of
purposes.

You can find out more about Groups from our Help Center.

Resources
The Resources area is a centralized place where all of your instructional and shared
Group materials are kept. It is a place where you can manage all your files,
assignments, assessments, learning outcomes, and badges.  Best of all, it has unlimited
storage.

You can import files, create new resources, and copy or move them into any or all of
your courses quickly. You can also share resources with your groups and download
them from our Public Resources area. Course items, folders, and even entire courses
can be copied in your resources for use on a later date.

If you use folders to organize everything in your courses, they will stay just as organized
when you move them to your resources. If you don't, everything will be loose and much
harder to find and repurpose.
The Resources area has three main sections:

Left Side Navigation—This enables you to switch between your Personal, Public, and
Group Resources. This is also where you can connect Resource Apps, like Google
Drive and Microsoft OneDrive.

My Resources —These are your personal and shared resource collections (collections

are kind of like different filing cabinets). You can switch between collections here

Main Window —This is where you can create, view, edit, and manage all your
resources.

You can learn all about Resources in our Help Center.

Personal Profile  
In the top right corner, you'll see your name with a downward-facing arrow. By clicking
on the arrow, you can modify your personal and account settings such as profile picture,
privacy, notification settings (email, text, and push notifications), and more.  This is also
where you can see any received badges and your Portfolio(s).

You can learn more about managing your Account and Profile in our Help Center
articles.

That's pretty much all you need to know to start navigating Schoology like a pro. There
is always more to learn, so make sure to check out our Help Center with step by step
info on using the platform.