Schoology is a
learning management system for schools and businesses that enables its users to create, manage, and share assignments and resources. Also known as a
web content management system or
virtual learning environment, the
cloud-based platform provides tools to manage classrooms or
blended learning
Blended learning, also known as technology-mediated instruction, web-enhanced instruction, or mixed-mode instruction, is an approach to education that combines online educational materials and opportunities for interaction online with physical pla ...
.
Background
Schoology was designed by Jeremy Friedman, Ryan Hwang, and Tim Trinidad in 2007 while studying at
Washington University in St. Louis.
Originally designed for sharing
notes, features were gradually added and modified.
Schoology secured its first round of
equity financing
In finance, equity is ownership of assets that may have debts or other Liability (financial accounting), liabilities attached to them. Equity is measured for accounting purposes by subtracting liabilities from the value of the assets. For exampl ...
, totaling $1,250,000, with an investment of unknown origin in 2009 and an investment by Meakam Becker Venture Capital in June 2010. In 2012, Schoology raised $6 million in a round led by
Firstmark Capital; in 2014, it raised $15 million in a funding round led by
Intel Capital; in November 2015, it raised $32 million in a
funding round, led by JMI Equity.
In November 2014, Schoology had over 7.5 million users across about 60,000 schools.
Product
Visually, Schoology is very similar to the environment of many
social networks. The service includes
attendance records,
grades
Grade most commonly refers to:
* Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance
* Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage
* Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope
Grade or grading may also r ...
,
exams, and
homework. The interface aims to facilitate collaboration within a class, group, or school through shared libraries of resources.
Schoology can be integrated with the school's current grading system.
Schoology is offered to educators for free.
Revenue is generated with a fee for
add-ons such as custom branding, advanced analytics,
Single Sign-On, and data integration with
student information systems.
The service can also be integrated services such as
Google Drive,
Dropbox, and
Evernote. Native mobile applications are available for
iOS,
Android
Android may refer to:
Science and technology
* Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human
* Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system
** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...
, and
Kindle
Kindle may refer to:
Companies and products
* Amazon Kindle, an e-reader line by Amazon.com
** Kindle Direct Publishing, an e-book publishing platform by Amazon
** Kindle Store, an online e-book e-commerce store by Amazon
* Kindle Banking Systems, ...
devices.
Schoology offers accounts for parents to view students' grades, attendance, assignments, and even allowing them to upload media and documents to the platform.
Schoology for parents is accessible through the application portal.
References
{{Classroom management software
Social networking services
Learning management systems
Educational software