Running head: Management of Web 2.

0 Tools

Management of Web 2.0 Tools

Chuck Devlin
University of South Carolina
Management of Technology Resources EDET 746

On my honor as a University of South Carolina (Aiken) student, I have completed my

work according to the principle of Academic Integrity. I have neither given nor received
any unauthorized aid on this assignment

Charles Devlin
September 28, 2014

Management of Web 2.0 Tools

My daughters school, Lexington 1 School District, recently transitioned to a

relatively new Learning Management System called Schoology. Their website states
Schoology transforms your school or district into a thriving digital ecosystem.
Everything students, faculty, and parents need is in one easy-to-use platform. Teach,
learn, communicate, share, and collaborate anytime and on any device. When I
began preparing an interactive web based course for a faculty member at USC, I had
reviewed Schoology, and found it to be an interesting model.
Schoology allows educators to create free accounts, while districts are able to
pay for the more robust enterprise version. Some of the features available in the basic
version are:
o Personalized Homepage
o Calendar
o Online Homework Submissions
o Create Tests and Quizzes
o Make Learning Mobile
o Online Grade book and Attendance
o Standards and Outcome Alignment
o Track Student Usage and Course Analytics
The enterprise version offers the same features, however, it also offers:
o Cloud Services
o User Management
o Application and Integration Management
o Professional Development
o Custom Branding
Both versions offer some social settings:
o Discussion Boards
o Professional Networking
o Group Workspace
I find Schoology to be an effective alternative for course management as the
layout is visually appealing and offers some great features, the interface of Schoology
looks a good deal like Facebook, allowing users to have easy access to the calendar,
course work, and contact information for teacher and other classmates. With all this
information in one place, students, and parents have little issue navigating the site.
Individuals would navigate the site to explore many of the great features
available to them. With this Learning Management System, parents are able to
review their childs progress, homework, and participation. Teachers are able to create
tests and quizzes and allow for work to be submitted online. Students navigate the
page to do course work, and with the mobile features, they are able to access their
work from virtually anywhere. Administration would make use of many of the report
features available regarding student/teacher performance, and with the integration
feature, information passes seamlessly from the LMS to state reporting databases like
PowerSchool.
As technology advances students are more interested in taking courses online
or having web 2.0 technologies infused with their curriculum. Research conducted by
Vance indicates students prefer social interaction while online. Interestingly enough,
the study does not show a significant difference in the number of students who enjoy

Management of Web 2.0 Tools

online courses versus those who take traditional courses. Indeed, when given
multiple possibilities, students did select social media and community building (65%71%), but they also showed a real preference for traditional instruction with online
support. Web 1.0 elements, especially that of podcasting lecture materials or the use of
PowerPoint to supplement instruction, were favored as well. (Vance, 2012, p 490).
The study goes on to state that users who are currently enrolled in online courses when
exposed to various web 2.0 tools feel that Facebook should be included in the
coursework. (Vance, 2012). Which correlates with the earlier discussion that
students who are online prefer social interaction. Schoology, like Facebook, provides
students the opportunity to interact with each other. However it differs from Facebook
in that in contains additional features related to education.
One of the nice things about using Schoology in the schools is that it creates a
social environment for students, teachers and parents. Dorsch & Greenberg describe
social networking as Social networks are interactive online membership communities
on the Web where individuals can create an online profile, connect to other users, and
share interests and activities through online messaging, email, photos, video, blogs or
discussion groups(Dorsch & Greenberg, 2009, p63.) Schoology fits that definition of
social networking by combining all listed components in one platform.
When I worked at a charter school, implementation of such a program would
have been very seamless, (did I mention free). However implementing it district wide,
especially in districts the size of Lexington District One would be more complex and
involve considerable planning and forethought. I am unable to locate the cost of the
enterprise version on the website, however, I would assume it would be based on
subscribed users. In order to implement something like this at a district level several
considerations must be made, including cost and training.
Cost would be a huge variable as this program is web 2.0 based and your cost
would be subscription based. With subscription-based programs, cost could increase
from year to year, which could lead to issues down the road. The program is very user
friendly, so I am sure if you intended to end your subscription, your data can be
integrated into blackboard or other LMS program, however changing programs
frustrates teachers and parents. The plus side of annual fees would be you do not
have to spend a great deal of money purchasing something that may only be used for a
few years. Additionally, subscription based programs for the most part, want to keep
your business, so if an issue or bug arises, these companys would correct the issue.
The company would also intend to attract new customers therefore each year their
program may become more robust increasing its effectiveness.
Speaking of frustrated teachers, training is another component in this
implementation. Encouraging teachers to leave their comfort zone and begin working
with a new program can be a challenge. Providing them with adequate training and
support can help ease some of this burden. Schoology offers many teacher-training
resources, there is an abundance of training videos on the website as well as training
manuals with answers to frequently asked questions. The professional networking and
message boards, which are available within Schoology, are also an excellent way for
teachers to gain more insight into the program.
Since Schoology is a web-based tool, there is no download or installation that
needs to occur. If the technology specialist indicates that Schoology is a permitted
domain, teachers would have access to the program in their classroom. The program

Management of Web 2.0 Tools

is accessible on all operating systems and mobile devices giving teachers consistent
access to the program when in the computer lab, or elsewhere on campus.
Capo and Orellana (2011) present an interesting theory that I had not
considered in the applications of web 2.0 tools in the classroom. With the world of
education breaking down some of the walls making it more accessible to students and
parents 24/7, teachers may be hesitant to introduce some web 2.0 tools as it may affect
their workday. Teachers are already taking home work to grade, if they were
encouraged to create social networking sites to better connect with parents, would an
expectation arise where they are expected to check in on this web 2.0 tool after hours.
My personal philosophy is that the students and their parents are our customers and
deserve access to those of us being paid by their tax dollars, at least by replying to an
email after hours. However if this was expected of me, my opinion may change. If I
had many additional commitments after school, like coaching, sponsoring a club,
parenting, or additional employment, I may value my after work time differently.
A report conducted by Drexler, W., Baralt, A., & Dawson, K. (2008) found that
students benefit when teachers integrate Web 2.0 technologies into their curriculum.
Additionally they state that additional research is needed to focus on various tools and
their impact on student learning. I was unable to find any research that focused
specifically on the use of Schoology in the classroom. Schoology is a relatively new
Web 2.0 tool, therefore, I imagine those studies will be forthcoming. I would be
interested in reading studies of this tool to see the type of impact it had. There is a
great deal of research regarding the use of Facebook in the classroom and I anticipate
additional studies will be conducted using the Schoology platform in years to come.
Most of the research I was able to locate focuses on news articles and press
releases. In recent events, Schoology has been growing in popularity and has
recently been awarded a contract by the Department of Defense Education Activity.
Additionally, at the 2014 CODiE awards, known as the Oscars for education
technology, Schoology took home three awards including the top honor of Best
Education Solution. Within the press release I found an excellent description of the
Schoology Program New York City-based Schoologyused by more than four million
users in over 50,000 K-12 schools and universities around the worldcombines
dynamic learning management, an easy-to-use collaborative interface and nextgeneration API integration into one innovative solution. Schoology transforms learning
into a media-rich interactive experience where students, teachers, parents and
administrators work together to raise student achievement worldwide. Available as a
free stand-alone product and as a fee-based integrated enterprise-class solution
deployed in schools or across districts, Schoology is user-centric and scalable for any
blended learning environment.(Schoology. (5))
Schoology as a Web 2.0 tool would be appropriate for use in an education
setting, while I focused on its application in K-12, the website discusses the possibility
of using this tool in Higher Education or Corporate settings. The management of this
tool could be controlled by appropriate permissions on the network. Individual
teachers would be then be able to create individual course packets free of charge. If
the district intended a system wide application, management would occur at a central
server with support from the Schoology team as needed.
Resources

Management of Web 2.0 Tools

Capo, B., & Orellana, A. (2011). Web 2.0 Technologies For Classroom Instruction: High
School Teachers' Perceptions And Adoption Factors. Quarterly Review Of
Distance Education, 12(4), 235-253
Dorsch, M., & Greenberg, P. (2009). What You Need To Know About Social Networking.
State Legislatures, 35(7), 62-64.
Drexler, W., Baralt, A., & Dawson, K. (2008). The Teach Web 2.0 Consortium: A Tool To
Promote Educational Social Networking And Web 2.0 Use Among Educators.
Educational Media International, 45(4), 271-283.
Schoology. (0004, October). Department of Defense Agency Awards Contract to
Schoology. Business Wire (English).
Schoology. (5). Schoology Wins Top Award for Best Overall Education Technology
Product at SIIA CODiEs. Business Wire (English).
Vance, L. (2012). Do Students Want Web 2.0? An Investigation into Student
Instructional Preferences. Journal Of Educational Computing Research, 47(4),
481-493.