Schoology is an online LMS or learning/course and classroom management system with social networking aspect integrated into it. The advantages that a school might get from implementing Schoology or any learning management system is that it improves the learning experience through better communication, engagement, collaboration, and increased access to curriculum and supplemental content.

Schoology as a course management system helps teachers create, post, and grade assignments or tests. It can also be used for online class discussions and to share helpful links and resources. It’s not only useful for teachers but it’s also very helpful for students, and parents as well.

Learning to use Schoology is very helpful for teachers as well as students and parents, as it helps the teachers create the educational material needed by their course while it helps the parent and student interact with it in the most useful way.

The aim of this post is to present and compare between free online sources that beginners can rely on to learn Schoology, the sources stated here are full-structured courses that beginners can follow along.

If you just want the bottom line (the road map to learn Schoology) and you don’t wish to read the entire article then go to the “Bottom Line” section at the end of the article.

Getting Started with Schoology from Scratch

Schoology Help Guide

Schoology Help Guide is the first free online outlet where beginners can start learning to use Schoology through a video as well as a text training, you don’t have to register to have access to the training.

Structure: The training  is divided into two main categories; Text and video. The text is divided into three main sections; instructors (30 parts), students (14 parts) and enterprise (40 parts). On the other hand the video is divided into 90 video how-to.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just select the topic you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to the page where either the video or the text tutorial resides.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well-structured for beginners.
3. The training is available as text as well as video.
4. Covers Schoology for students, instructors as well as enterprise.

Cons

1. The training isn’t well-organized for beginners.

Verdict: This is the best outlet where beginners can start learning Schoology online for free through text as well as video tutorials.

Rid Kirby Training on Schoology

Rid Kirby Training on Schoology is the second free online outlet where beginners can start learning to use Schoology through a video tutorial. The training is hosted by the Schoology website.

Structure: The training is divided into 3 main sections; beginners, intermediate and advanced. Each section is divided into video lessons the covers the various aspects of Schoology.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just choose the section you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to a page with a list of available video lessons, just select the video lesson you’re interested in and a new page will pop up and the video will start right away.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well structured and organized for beginners.

Cons

1. Enterprise topics aren’t covered unlike the first outlet, though that won’t be a problem for most of the beginners.

Verdict: This is the best free online outlet where beginners can start learning to use Schoology through video tutorials.

ACC Schoology Training for Teachers

ACC Schoology Training for Teachers is the third free online outlet where beginners can start learning to use Schoology through video tutorials, this outlet is a YouTube channel.

Structure: The training is divided into 10 video lessons, each video lesson covers certain aspects of Schoology, The training is more of an overview about using Schoology and not an extensive training.

Interface: The standard YouTube interface.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well-organized for beginners.

Cons

1. This is an overview about Schoology not an in depth training.

Verdict: This is an excellent outlet for beginners who want to have an overview about Schoology and might be using another LMS.

LPOSD Tech on Archive.org

LPOSD Tech on Archive.org is the fourth free online outlet where beginners can start learning how to use Schoology through video tutorials, you don’t have to register to have access to the training.

Structure: The training is divided into 13 video lessons, each video lesson covers certain aspects of Schoology.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the video lesson you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to the page where the video resides.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training covers the basics beginners should be familiarized with in order to start using Schoology.

Cons

1. This is an overview about Schoology not an in depth training just as the above outlet.

Verdict: As the above outlet, this is an excellent outlet for beginners who want to have an overview about Schoology and might be using another LMS.

Bottom Line

The recipe for learning Schoology:

1. Schoology Help Guide is the best outlet for beginners to start learning Schoology through a text as well as video tutorials.
2. Rid Kirby Training on Schoology is the best outlet for beginners to start learning Schoology through  video tutorials.

Remember that the first step is always the toughest step, and the aim of this post is to provide you with resources that will help you take your first step in learning Schoology.