On October 25, the EPISD Board of Trustees approved the purchase of Schoology as the district's official learning management system. A learning management system (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery of educational courses or training programs. They help the instructor deliver material to the students, administer tests and other assignments, track student progress, and manage record-keeping. LMSs support a range of uses, from supporting classes that meet in physical classrooms to acting as a platform for fully online courses, as well as several hybrid forms, such as blended learning and flipped classrooms. (source)

Schoology is the LMS that EPISD has adopted and will introduce districtwide during the 2017-18 school year. Schoology is an online course management system that allows teachers to create and manage academic courses for their students. It provides teachers with a method of managing lessons, engaging students, sharing content, and connecting with other educators. (source)

Schoology offers a platform for collaboration, communication, organization, discussion boards and a place to submit assignments. Teachers can review student work and provide feedback through the system. Schoology has a simplified navigation and a similar layout to Facebook. It is also iPad compatible and fully integrates with Office 365 for Education. Parents will be able to check their children's:

• Activities
• Courses
• Calendars
• Updates
• Groups (source)

Classes will be able to go almost totally paperless with Schoology. Teachers can assign work, students can turn it in, and teachers can grade all without running off a single sheet of paper!