Learning Management System (LMS)
What is a Learning Management System (LMS)?
A learning management system (LMS) is a tool that helps school districts manage face-to-face, blended, and online learning environments. An LMS has built-in versatility that allows educators to create and facilitate learning communities and engage parents and education partners in supporting student learning.
Why Move to an LMS?
The district’s new learning management system will serve as a hub for both the district’s vast collection of digital resources and for the delivery of instructional content. As a resources hub, the LMS will streamline content creation and distribution of resources (at the district and school levels) and bring all applications and services into a single location. As a learning hub, the LMS will provide a versatile platform for content delivery, communication, collaboration, and professional development. The varied tools within the LMS will engage our students and prepare them for their academic and post-academic lives, while providing a multifaceted support system for teachers and administrators for their own professional growth.
Advantages of an LMS:
Enhanced Traditional Face-to-Face Instruction
- 24/7 access to course content in a secure environment
- Forums and chats allow students to communicate outside the classroom
- Online assignment submission and review
Blended Learning Opportunities
- Part of the learning occurs online
- Students have some control over the pace, time, place, and path of learning
- Allows students to move between different learning modalities, such as online instruction, teacher-directed instruction, seminar or group projects, and one-on-one teacher coaching
Students
Access your course content anytime, anywhere! Communicate and collaborate with your teachers and peers. Track your learning and progress.
From the M-DCPS Portal, click on the Schoology Tile
Teachers/Staff
Collaborate on content creation and sharing, participate in job-embedded professional learning, and be part of the district’s and schools’ professional learning communities.
From the M-DCPS Portal, click on the Schoology Tile
About Schoology
- Schoology is a learning management system and educational platform that allows users to create, manage, and share academic content. Schoology connects everyone (teachers, administrators, students, and parents) in an easy-to-use environment that facilitates learning, communication, and collaboration.
- Schoology is a learning space that enhances personalized learning for students, teachers, and families. All M-DCPS schools will have the option to begin using Schoology during the 2021-2022 school year.
- Parent access to Schoology will be available for the 2022-2023 school year.
Why Schoology?
Miami-Dade County Public Schools selected Schoology as its learning management system beginning in the 2021-2022 school year. Schoology enables students and teachers to engage with learning materials and their school community beyond the classroom. With Schoology, students can digitally submit homework assignments, review grades, participate in interactive discussions, receive announcements and feedback, take tests, and more. Parent access to Schoology will be available for the 2022-2023 school year.
Students and Employees can access Schoology from the M-DCPS Portal Landing Page, by clicking on the Schoology Tile or through the mobile app available at the iOS App Store, Google Play Store or Amazon Appstore.
Listen to “The Schoology Song” by Chloé Eklof & Micah Haven, two educators at Meeker Middle School in Washington. Learn the correct pronunciation of Schoology by listening to the song below. We know you will love this catchy song, so share it with your colleagues.
Thank you Chloé (@chloeharmony) & Micah for writing the song.
Click here to listen to “The Schoology Song
We recognize that giving the opportunity to test drive Schoology is a great way to gain confidence in the platform. The Test Drive self-paced course is designed to provide new users with an overview of Schoology and some of the key features.
Training and Professional Development
The M-DCPS Schoology Professional Development program is dedicated to providing sustained job-embedded professional development, geared toward enabling educators to master and apply new learning in their own educational context. Educators may select one or several professional learning offerings listed below.
Professional Development Opportunities
- Register for summer professional development sessions through the Professional Development Management System (PDMS) formerly known as MyLearningPlan (MLP).
- Principals may request a Schoology on-demand training for their faculty and staff, 25 seat minimum is required.
Professional Development Sessions
Professional Development Management System (PDMS)
The interactive, hands-on session provides an overview of the new Learning Management System (LMS), Schoology. Participants will have opportunities to explore the platform in real-time as they learn the LMS features to support communication and collaboration amongst teachers, students, and colleagues. Participants will manage individual profile, settings, notifications, School Page/Group(s). Finally, participants will explore Courses, Groups, Resources, and Administrator Tools: Advisor Dashboard and Usage Analytics.
The interactive, hands-on session provides an overview of the new Learning Management System (LMS), Schoology. Participants will have opportunities to explore the platform in real-time as they learn the LMS features to support communication and collaboration amongst teachers, students, and administrators. Participants will manage individual profile, settings, notifications, and more. Additionally, participants will explore Courses, Groups, and Resources to build expertise with the many facets of Schoology.
The interactive, hands-on session will provide participants a deeper understanding of the new Learning Management System (LMS), Schoology. Participants will explore the platform in real-time to review features in Schoology. Participants will have multiple opportunities to engage with colleagues using the communication and collaboration tools. Finally, participants will join/create Courses, Groups, and Resources to build expertise with the many facets of Schoology. Pre-requisite: Must have attended Schoology 101 for Instructors.
The interactive, hands-on session provides an overview of the new Learning Management System (LMS), Schoology. Participants will have opportunities to explore the platform in real-time as they learn the LMS features to support communication and collaboration amongst teachers, students, and administrators. Participants will manage individual profile, settings, notifications, and more. Additionally, participants will explore Courses, Groups, and Resources to build expertise with the many facets of Schoology. Pre-requisite: Teachers new to the district or teachers in their first and second year of teaching.
On-Demand Training for Faculty and Staff
School Administrators can request on-demand Schoology 101 Online virtual training for their faculty and staff, minimum of 25 and maximum of 30 participants. Principals may make more than one request if they have more than one cohort of 25-30 participants. The interactive, hands-on session provides an overview of the new Learning Management System (LMS), Schoology. Participants will have opportunities to explore the platform in real-time as they learn the LMS features to support communication and collaboration amongst teachers, students, and administrators. Participants will manage individual profile, settings, notifications, and more. Additionally, participants will explore Courses, Groups, and Resources to build expertise with the many facets of Schoology. For additional information, please review Weekly Briefing: #30880: Request Form for On-Demand Schoology Trainings.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Do you have questions about our new learning management system?
You’ve come to the right place! Below, you will find frequently asked questions about the District’s new Learning Management System – Schoology.
- Classroom teachers are currently provisioned automatically by ITS.
- Students will be provisioned automatically by ITS at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year.
- Roles automatically provisioned by ITS require no action.
- Assistant Principals, Counselors, and Teachers who do not have classes assigned to them will need to have AAAA access provided by their Principal or District-level AAAA administrator.
- All other roles may be provisioned at the discretion of the site AAAA administrator.
- See instructions here on how to provision roles and user accounts.
For the 2021-2022 school year, participation is voluntary. Courses (Classes) will be created, rostered, and ready to use at the beginning of the school year.
No, there are no schools assigned as a pilot. Courses will be available in Schoology for all teachers.
Yes, Schoology has a mobile app available for iOS and Android.
iOS: Download the latest version from the App Store.
Android: Download the latest version from the Google Play Store or Amazon Appstore.
Professional Development will be offered both virtually and face-to-face. Please check the Professional Development Management Systems (PDMS), formally known as My Learning Plan, for current offerings.
For the 2022-2023 school year, Schoology will house all student grades and then sync with Pinnacle at the click of a button.
Yes! Teachers can upload existing resources and reuse them in their Schoology courses.
Yes, apps will be integrated within Schoology. Microsoft OneDrive, Discovery Education, Edpuzzle, Teams, Zoom, and OneNote are currently available. App integration is an ongoing process, and more apps will be added throughout the year.
Yes. There are several options available:
- Book time with the iLearn Team: One-on-one, small group, and large group professional development sessions during open office hours.
- The iLearn team can also provide support either through the Schoology Cohort Initiative, or virtually by booking with us.
- The Instructional Technology Department and the Division of Academics will create groups in Schoology to provide ongoing support.
- The Schoology help center is available within the platform and by accessing www.support.schoology.com.
Updates to the roster will happen via a nightly rollover. You will not need to manually add or remove students from your courses.
Schoology has a standard interface; however, the Division of Academics will provide elementary and secondary templates that teachers can customize.