School Is Back In Full Swing — Save Time With Auto-Grading
School Is Back In Full Swing — Save Time With Auto-Grading
There never feels like enough time at the beginning of the school year. There are so many events that a Teacher must attend, new systems to set up, and 30-something new students to meet in each class. Where can you find the time? Find time with automated grading. Auto-grading apps can help you regain time in your class, and a total commitment to digitizing assignments will find you hours and hours this school year. We’ll walk you through some tips to get started and give you some of our picks for auto-grading apps.
Tips and strategies for using auto-grading technology resources for Teachers
Does the process of starting auto-grading seem daunting?
If so, take a deep breath, and do one step at a time. Let’s walk through it together.
Know your destination before you start
All assignments should have a goal in mind. Online digital assignments are no different. Often Teachers don’t digitize their assignments for auto-grading because the online assignment may become different than original paper and pencil worksheets. Just ask yourself, which parts would be the easiest for a computer to grade? Which parts are essential for my students learning this new material? Knowing where your students need to end up will help create a perfect digital assignment for auto-grading.
Give yourself time to adapt your materials with auto-grading programs
It takes time to learn new software. So give yourself time to adapt your materials with auto-grading programs. If you feel strapped for time, take the time to research the perfect grading software before diving into assignment creation. This will save you time and headaches in the long run. From there, pick an assignment that you know will be easy for an auto-grader before you jump off with more complicated assignments.
Acclimate students to the technology and apps you are using
Not only will you have to learn the new app, but your students will also have to learn the new program. It will take your students longer than you think to use a new app. But the good news is once they get it down, you won’t see as many hiccups along the way. Taking this time to acclimate your students to new technology will pay off if you plan to regularly use your new auto-grading app in your classroom.
Start with a low stakes assignment
Your first assignment in an auto-grading app should be something low stakes. This way, you and your students won’t get too stressed as you work out the kinks. You could do a student inventory or just an informal formative assessment at the beginning of the year. But you have to do a test run before the big day. No one wants to be graded while using an app they don’t understand.
Communicate your expectations
This one is big. Sometimes, students don’t think that their assignments on a computer or Chromebook count as much as a paper and pencil. It’s your job to communicate your expectations. Explain that your practice assignment already occurred, and it seems like everyone was able to ask questions about the online work. Tell your students where to find the assignment, how to ask questions, and when the assignment is due. Explicitly say it is for a grade. Being firm is the only way this will work, but once you have the expectation in place, submitting assignments digitally for auto-grading will be the norm in your classroom.
Put the auto-graded assignment in the grade book
After you communicate your expectations for the digital assignment, it is time to click auto-grade. Put your grades into the grade book. It should be that easy.
It will take time and patience to get auto-grading set up in your classroom. But it is the same process for establishing any procedure with students at the beginning of the year. It will be worth it in the end when your entire class submits work digitally, and you can spend seconds auto-grading assignments.
Online Grading Tools for Teachers
So you have an idea for how to get started, but which program to use? Picking the right tool is everything. So take some time to shop around. Often auto-grading tools have different features. Pick the right tool for your classroom.
TeacherMade
TeacherMade has a robust platform that is easy to use. It is robust because you can use it for both auto-grading and digital assignments, and is easy to use because it only takes a few steps to convert existing worksheets. It’s simple, upload a document that you would like to use as a digital assignment. TeacherMade accepts PDFs, DOCX, and images. This file becomes your online worksheet’s background. Click anywhere on the background to add a variety of question types. Then set up auto-grading with your preferred answers. TeacherMade can connect to Google Classroom, Canvas, and Schoology!
Google Forms
Google Forms is an old standby for Teachers. It is so accessible to the LMS platform Google Classroom, so it’s worth a try. Here Teachers create worksheets from scratch with multiple choice and short answer questions. Answers populate a Google Sheet, and then self-grading can be implemented. The downside to this method is that you often have to transcribe your existing materials into Google Forms. This can be time-consuming.
Grade Cam
Grade Cam is a more modern take on old-school scantrons. You can print off your bubble sheet, and students can fill in their answers. Then you use a document camera or even your phone to scan in the bubble sheets. The pros of Grade Cam are that you are adding self-grading to a paper assignment. But this could also be seen as a con because there is not a way to integrate auto-grading with digital assignments. Also, multiple choice can be limiting when you consider how students are assessed via TEIs these days.
Get started with auto-grading in your classroom today.
The sooner you start something new in your classroom, the sooner it becomes a habit. Free up your nights and weekend with auto-grading today!
