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Schoology, the popular online learning platform now being depended on by teachers and students across the state of Minnesota during the coronavirus pandemic, was unprepared to handle the initial rush of distance learning, according to internal emails obtained by 5 INVESTIGATES.

 

Hundreds of students reported slowdowns and error issues during the first days of distance learning in Minnesota.

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Redwood Area Schools Technology Director Stephen Lien said those problems continued for staff and students through the end of last week.

 

"If I were to give them a grade, it would be a D- minus, barely passing," he said. "Basically all the functions that it"s supposed to have simply had been failing."

A Schoology representative said an "unprecedented number" of users—more than triple what they had seen just weeks earlier—was the biggest peak in the company"s 10-year history.

 

"As you can imagine, this can put a strain on certain areas within Schoology," the email states.

 

The company reassured schools that they were "continuously monitoring these factors" to keep similar issues from occurring. Servers were expanded, code was tweaked and engineers were brought in to assist with the fix, according to an email chain between school district technology directors across the state.