Upon returning to school after a long summer vacation, students at Korea International School were introduced not only to new staff, students, and academic courses but also to an entirely new online learning environment, Schoology (schoology.com). After implementing a laptop program five years ago, the school has decided to provide students with an even more effective learning system that includes various features such as online gradebooks, tests and quizzes, class assignments and homework dropboxes.
Though the program has not been in use for long, students at Korea International are finding that Schoology has facilitated the way in which they students learn and study material, as well as how they communicate with teachers and classmates.
“Using Schoology makes me feel like being in a classroom anywhere, anytime,” says Jackie Lee, a senior at Korea International School. “I even have a mobile app that comes in handy when I’m trying to check my homework assignments on my way to and from school.”
Schoology is visually and systematically similar to Facebook, which enhances students’ enthusiasm in learning and digesting class materials. Schoology was created by three Washington University alumni, Jeremy Friedman, Ryan Hwang and Tim Trinidad, as a social-media site for interactive educational purposes. It was released commercially in 2009 and has continuously added more features since then.
