THE USE OF SCHOOLOGY AS A BLENDED LEARNING PLATFORM IN TEACHING WRITING

Keterbatasan waktu, jumlah siswa yang banyak, dan kurangnya kesempatan untuk siswa berlatih bahasa Inggris di dalam kelas, sering kali menjadi masalah yang umum di Indonesia. Dengan perkembangan teknologi, inovasi- inovasi baru telah diperkenalkan ke dalam dunia pendidikan untuk menyelesaikan masalah-masalah tersebut. Dewasa ini, ada beberapa platform yang dapat digunakan untuk memfasilitasi process ajar-mengajar yang mampu memenuhi kebutuhan siswa. Salah satu platform nya adalah Schoology. Sebagai learning platform, Schoology dipercaya mampu menawarkan sebuah solusi dalam pengajaran bahasa Inggris, khususnya dalam pengajaran menulis. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menginvestigasi penggunaan Schoology sebagai platform untuk blended learning dalam pelajaran menulis. Penelitian ini menguji, apakah penggunaan Schoology mempengaruhi kemampuan menulis siswa, dan juga menunjukan bagaimana Schoology digunakan. Penelitian ini menggunakan mix-method. Data dikumpulkan melalui dua cara, yaitu test dan observasi kelas. Hasilnya menunjukan bahwa ada perbedaan yang signifikan dalam kemampuan menulis siswa setelah proses pengajaran menggunakan Schoology. Nilai Sig. (p= .000 yang berarti lebih rendah dari pada ɑ= .05) mengindikasikan bahwa penggunakan Schoology mampu meningkatkan kemampuan menulis siswa secara efektif. Selain itu, tentang bagaimana Schoology diaplikasikan dalam pengajaran menulis, penelitian ini mengadaptasi langkah-langkah dalam process based approach. Dapat disimpulkan, penggunakan Schoology efektif untuk mengajar bahasa Inggris. Berdasarkan beberapa temuan, penelitian ini menawarkan beberapa rekomendasi untuk para pengajar dan peneliti selanjutnya.;-- Limited time, big class sizes, and students’ lack of opportunity to practice English in the classroom are often common problems that happen in Indonesian context. Due to the development of technology, new innovations have been introduced to the field of education to solve those problems. Nowadays, there are several learning platforms that can be used to facilitate teaching and learning that fulfil the learners’ needs. One of the learning platforms is Schoology. As a learning platform, Schoology is believed to offer a solution in teaching English, particularly in teaching writing. This study is aimed at investigating the use of Schoology as blended learning platform in teaching writing. It examines whether the use of Schoology affects the students’ writing ability, and also portrays how Schoology as blended learning platform is implemented. This study is both quantitative and qualitative. The data were collected through tests and classroom observation which were conducted to tenth grades of a senior high school in Subang. The result show that there is a significant difference in the students’ writing ability after being taught by using Schoology in blended learning setting. The Sig. value p= .000 which is lower than ɑ= .05) indicates that the use of Schoology effectively improves students’ writing ability. Furthermore, in regard to how Schoolgy as blended learning platform was applied in teaching writing, this study adapted the cycle of process-based approach. In conclusion, the use of Schoology as blended learning platform is effective for teaching English, especially teaching English writing. The platform can be used as an alternative to develop students’ writing. Based on the findings, this study offers recommendation for teaching practice and future studies