Course+Management+Systems

Course Management Systems (CMS) facilitate blended environments that allow you to place course materials online, enroll students in courses, track student performance, store student submissions, and mediate course-related communications. CMS is often used interchangeably for Learning Management Systems (LMS), but a LMS has broader applications associated with delivering e-learning courses although an LMS can be used as a CMS. Learning Management Systems include Blackboard, Moodle, and Desire2Learn, while Course Management Systems include Edmodo and Schoology.

I have used Edmodo in the past, so this year I have adopted Schoology so that I have a basis for comparison. So far, the two are very similar, but Schoology appears to have more functionality. Here are a few things I am using Schoology for so far:

1) Students see their assignments in a calendar view.

2) I import calendar events (e.g., the MS/US day tracker) into the Schoology Calendar.

3) Students could import their own calendars into the Schoology calendar, and if several of their teachers used Schoology, they would see their assignments in one calendar.

4) I export my assignments from Schoology into my department folder calendar so that I don't have to enter assignments in two different places.

5) Schoology integrates with Turnitin.com so that students can turn in their assignments directly through Schoology.

6) Schoology integrates with your Google Drive so that you can more easily upload resources directly from your Google Drive folders.

7) Students can see their grades if you want to enter them in Schoology.

8) You can send announcements to the class.

9) You can administer quizzes and tests through Schoology.