BSM teachers used to be able to use a variety of online learning platforms, including Google Classroom. Starting Friday, however, Benilde-St. Margaret’s administration decided not to allow teachers to use the platform anymore. While it hasn’t affected most of the teachers at BSM, a few had to make the full transition to Schoology.
Senior High Principal Stephanie Nitchals explains that the administration received feedback from students expressing their frustration with using different learning platforms. In order to help students have all lessons and assignments on one platform, a new policy was put in place. “We’re trying to be more consistent in everything we do for the teachers and for [students]… It was really difficult to figure out what was due [and at what time]… But there’s nothing wrong with Google Classroom, it’s just that we had to pick one,” Senior High Principal Stephanie Nitchals said.
We’re trying to be more consistent in everything we do for the teachers and for [students]… It was really difficult to figure out what was due [and at what time]… But there’s nothing wrong with Google Classroom, it’s just that we had to pick one
— Stephanie Nitchals
Science teacher Mark Peterson is a long-term user of Google Classroom. He enjoys the clean look of Google Classroom and finds it easier to communicate with students. “The reason that I like Google Classroom is because of its relative simplicity…it is easy to create learning opportunities,” Peterson said.
Teachers previously using Google Classroom faced a challenge: moving all of their lessons and assignments to Schoology. Some teachers, like Science teacher Tanner Stevens, have already accepted the use and made the full transition to Schoology. “Change can be really challenging, especially when it’s something that you feel like is working or is going well. I was frustrated for the first day… But as I continue to reflect on it, change is a part of life, [and] change is a part of what we experience all the time, whether we want it or not,” Stevens said.
While this change was unprecedented for some teachers, Peterson looks on the bright side for certain aspects that Google Classroom didn’t accommodate. “[On] Schoology, for example, I can give verbal feedback. I [can] record either just my voice talking to students about their work, or record my face and my voice,” Peterson said.