SPLS - Nancy Healy

The student personalized learning system has a lot of potential in guiding students through their learning pathways.  The content is easily accessible in one location and organized into sections, making it easier for students and teachers to navigate through. The teacher can set up groups (i.e., course) and assign students to the groups. The learning system is available 24/7, allowing students to work at any time of the day and at their own pace. Resources, including videos and hyperlinks, can be embedded into the system. Quick assessments and instant feedback are also available in the learning system. A teacher can monitor student progress and contact the student through email within the system. Standards can be assigned to modules/sections.

I see challenges with this learning system. Visually it’s very plain and simple so it’s not very inviting for students. This learning system doesn’t provide a great deal of interactivity and opportunities for communication/collaboration with others. SoftChalk tools, however, can be integrated into this learning system, making it a little more interactive.

This learning system is also lacking several other important features that I currently have with Schoology (used with my secondary students) and SeeSaw (used with my elementary students). Both Schoology and SeeSaw are more visually appealing and interactive. Within Schoology, I can develop modules and calendars for courses, track student usage, create blogs/discussion boards, set up different types of quizzes (i.e., matching, multiple choice, short answer) with time limits and retake options, post feedback several different ways, embed videos and websites, email or text students, connect lessons to built-in standards, and add apps (i.e., Google Drive, Evernote). Schoology also has an online gradebook where I can export grades to JMC (our SIS).  Students can communicate with one another through the discussion boards. I can give parents access so they can monitor their students’ progress and communicate with me. Teachers and students can record video and audio recordings within Schoology. If students are absent or need to review a concept in one of my courses, they know to go to Schoology to find out what they missed. I’ve been using Schoology for the past two years and it has developed into a must-have for my courses.

Nancy,

I appreciate your time in reflecting on the similarities and differences between the SPLS and Schoology and SeeSaw. I also agree with your point that while the site is plain and simple in appearance, students may not necessarily find that as appealing or engaging. Integration is also critical for your use with SPLS and other resources because we do often need to export grades and communicate with teachers. I also like the feature of being able to link standards to the SPLS as well as the quick assessments and instant feedback.

What other features do you think would be most helpful for the SPLS in the future?

I couldn't agree more. The interactiveness is definitely something that would help engage students and even me! I like that Schoology has a blogging capability too. It allows students to reflect and respond...which is so important!