Quizzes on Schoology

Before the school year began, all us IPading teachers got together to test out the quiz functions on Edmodo and Schoology. We knew that as a school we had to pick one online platform that would be consistent for all students and teachers; some had used Edmodo, others touted Schoology. It came down to the quiz function. Our tech savvy admin prepared a quiz for us (Star Wars trivia. Nailed it) and we ran it on both platforms.

Without a doubt, Schoology won out. It was smoother and cleaner and Schoology already had a couple of other upsides over Edmodo. So, it was a pretty easy decision.

This week, I ran my first quiz with my students. Actually, it was the second, but the first one was done more as a practice activity and didn't go over well. Some students couldn't enter the course, and there were problems with everybody submitting at once. Not to mention that though I had made the quiz available, I hadn't actually published it yet. This second time, it went great and I can tell I - and they - are going to like it.

The quiz didn't count for a grade, it was still practice, but this one felt more like opening eve dress rehearsal. I conducted it like a quiz. Desks apart, IPad up, no talking. I stood at the back where I could see all the IPads and had everybody get to the point where the begin the quiz button was visible. We had learned that Schoology chokes up with 5 requests within 5 seconds, so I asked them to begin one row of students at a time.

   
Once done, students could see their results right away. As a class, we saw the questions that were troublesome and I was able to re-teach to those and clarify misunderstandings. No grading for me and instant formative and summative assessment. Though I have to re-make all my quizzes into the platform, the time saved grading is enormous, not to mention plugging in those scores onto excel, which I won't have to do. The best part, however, is the instant feedback the students get.

Quizzes on Schoology are a win-win-win.