Schoology Part 1: Online Discussions Embedding Flipgrid

Over the past few weeks I have been working with my colleagues on building online professional development (PD) courses using Schoology. As I went over the basics in Schoology (analytics, badges, updates) and spoke about course design, I wanted to draw attention to what online professional development could look like to teachers. As staff development specialists, we collectively analyzed and discussed what we believed to be an authentic online experience - one that teachers can emulate in their own classrooms. This brought up a conversation on the digital tools that are used everyday by educators, as well as certain settings found in Schoology. Instead of teaching about the digital tools that are widely used in classrooms (which is not the premise of their online PD, I take ownership of ed. tech), why not exemplify how they are used through online PD? This way teachers not only have the practice in the application, but can begin to understand the instructional reasoning behind using the digital tools, building their skillset (1*).

For example, online discussions. This type of learning was taken from the University/Higher Education approach to online learning (2*). You may be familiar with the following…

Online discussion criteria: Please respond to this question by this date. Also, please respond to at least two of your colleagues in order to receive full credit.

I am not discounting the value of a typed response, as I firmly believe literacy is woven into everything that we teach. However, introducing other modalities in which one can express themselves can bring engagement and can add personalization to what can be a go-at-it-alone online environment. One example (of many) is using Flipgrid, in a LMS such as Schoology, as a digital icebreaker for teachers to introduce themselves, and having a thoughtful discussion about online learning can make the empty and alone feeling that comes from it more personable. I have used Flipgrid for a while now in my online PD in a variety of formats. In lieu of the “please respond in well constructed sentences to how you would xyz in your classroom...”, use Flipgrid to generate discussions and responses.

Personally, I feel by embedding Flipgrid code into a page set to “Display Inline” with a set of directions make it more aesthetically pleasing. This also avoids that one more click to accomplish a task. This way, you can seamlessly use Flipgrid right within Schoology without leaving the platform or opening an additional link/assignment.

Click for larger view

This is rather simple to do {trust me}

First, grab the embed code from your Flipgrid topic…..



Then toggle on over to your Schoology tab and create a page in your folder/course.




Enter the Title, and the set of directions into the body.



This is where we totally get to geek out. I am so excited!

First→ Switch to the html editor that is available to you in Schoology pages:



Then, if needed/wanted, and a break line by typing <br> right after the <p> html.

Finally, paste the embed code into Schoology’s HTML editor:

Click for larger view

Don’t forget to switch the view to be shown Display Inline







Sources- or- Good reads I suggest......

1* Parsons, S. A., Hutchison, A. C., Hall, L. A., Parsons, A. W., Ives, S. T., & Leggett, A. B. (2019). US teachers’ perceptions of online professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, 82(1), 33-42.

2* Prestridge, S., & Tondeur, J. (2015). Exploring elements that support teachers engagement in online professional development. Education sciences, 5(3), 199-219.