Home LMS Five Ways for Google Educators to Hack Schoology

Five Ways for Google Educators to Hack Schoology

by Miguel Guhlin
Schoology Hacks

“How do you put popular tools like EdPuzzle, Google Forms, and Google Slides into Schoology? What about Flipgrid?” If this is the kind of question you have had about Schoology, then this blog entry is for you as I walk you through five Schoology hacks that G Suite EDU educators need to know. And, if you are into Bitmoji, there’s something at the end for you as well. But before we jump into Schoology, let’s first find out what embedding content involves.

Did You Know?

TCEA offers a Schoology Educator online course. Here’s what one participant had to say after completing it and earning a digital badge, certificate, and 12 CPE hours: “I am very thankful for this course! I have gotten a great start on my classroom and I will be able to use what I have learned to help others.” Learn more.

Embed? What Is That?

Embedding content is a simple copy-and-paste process. You copy the “embed code” which is available at a content source page (e.g. Flipgrid, EdPuzzle, YouTube). You then switch to the code view where you want that code to appear. You can grab the embed code (a.k.a. iFrame code) from many sharing websites. Here’s what that looks like in Flipgrid:

Schoology Hacks

Want a YouTube embed code? View a YouTube video. Then, click on SHARE to view the code. The embed code will look like this:

Schoology Hacks

You can then take that copied embed code and paste it into Schoology. Here’s an overview of the process:

Schoology Hacks

Want to embed other content? Use one of the following two options:

  • The first approach is to switch to HTML Source Code view, then paste the embed code where you want it to appear.
  • The second approach is to INSERT MEDIA button on the toolbar.

Here’s a short video of the process:

Wasn’t that easy? Now, let’s take a look at how to connect sources to Schoology.

Connect Sources to Schoology

There are several sources you can insert that Schoology supports. Those include Google Drive, YouTube, OneDrive, and Dropbox.

Schoology Hacks

Ready to connect your Google Drive to Schoology? To get that done, follow these simple steps:

  1. Go to Schoology Resources page.
  2. Click Apps.
  3. Add Google Drive Resource App.
  4. You will need to allow Schoology to access your Google Drive.

Here’s a quick video overview of that process:

Now that we know how to embed and connect, let’s take a look at how to do that in Google and/or Microsoft Forms.

Did You Know?

TCEA offers bundled Google Certified Educator Level 1 and 2, as well as Google Classroom and Sites, online, self-paced courses. And, it also has Microsoft 365 online course.  Be sure to check these inexpensive, online courses out.

Hack #1: Google Forms and Microsoft Forms

As you might imagine, putting a form into Schoology can be as easy as linking a picture or text on the screen. Or you can drop the whole Google or Microsoft Form right in.

As you’ll see in the video below, some content embedded via INSERT MEDIA option in Schoology will fail. The better approach with inserting an iFrame code is to use the HTML Source view approach.

What does this process look like for Google Slides and PowerPoint? Let’s find out.

Hack #2: Google Slides and PowerPoint Online

As you might imagine, Google Slides and PowerPoint Online have more possibilities. I have to admit that I see how much easier it is to embed the former into Schoology. Google Slides makes it possible to create hyperslides for navigation. PowerPoint Online? Not so much.

That aside, I can still create a thumbnail of a PowerPoint slide and then link it in Schoology. For either, you can click on the slide deck and it will jump you out to full screen slide show.

Want to create a navigation menu for your Schoology course? Google Slides is the way to go. You can take the embed code from “Publish to Web” option in Google, then drop that code into Schoology. Be sure to check the bonus hack at the end of this blog entry for hyperlinked Bitmoji books.

Hack #3: Clickable Choice Boards in Schoology

Need to copy a multimedia text set or choice board and embed it in Schoology? If you’re using Google Docs, it’s not that hard to do. In this blog entry, I explore digital choice boards and offer various ways to make them.

Embedding clickable choice boards in Schoology is easier than you may think. You make the choice board options clickable, or hyperlink them, in Google Docs or Slides. Then, put the embed code into Schoology.

Let’s watch a short video see how well Docs, Slides, and Drawings work when embedded in Schoology.

Hack #4: EdPuzzle Embedding

One of the favorite student comprehension assessment tools for video is EdPuzzle. You can’t go wrong with this versatile tool and setting up an account is easy to do. In this video, we take an existing EdPuzzle video with multiple choice questions and embed it in Schoology.

Wow, it doesn’t get much easier than that to assess student comprehension.

Hack #5: Schoology Materials Menus

One of the challenges people face when working with Schoology is navigation. While you can use Schoology’s built-in navigation scheme, some may prefer something easier. What could be easier? Age-appropriate images that students can use to navigate the course. Imagine creating an easy navigation system for your students in Schoology.

What’s even more fun, you can design the whole experience in Google Docs or Slides. This gives you greater control over the design process. That is, you don’t have to mess with HTML except to drop in the embed code into a Schoology page.

But wait, there’s more Schoology Hacks for G Suite EDU educators; check out this bonus hack for the Bitmoji Classroom.

Bonus Hack: Embed Your Bitmoji Classroom

Since Schoology makes it easy to embed Google Slides content, you can do a lot. One thing that I saw was sharing a few of your favorite books. You can do that by creating an interactive, Bitmoji classroom with a bookshelf whose books students can click. Each click takes them to engaging content about that book.

Schoology Hacks

Here’s an example I stole from RIYL Libraries (thanks!) and adapted for TCEA.org. See how I did it below.

Want to learn how to make your own Bitmoji Classroom? Why not take TCEA’s Bitmoji Classroom online, self-paced course for $29? You’ll be engaging your students with Bitmoji classrooms in no time.

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