It’s summer time. For me, that means that it’s time to teach intensives. This means teaching from 8:30 to 5:00, scheduling meetings with students after class, and then doing a task that very few find truly enjoyable, grading.
I actually enjoy grading as I get to see the growth my students have made. It’s always exciting to see, “Yes, they’ve got it!.” However, I do not like the amount of time it takes to grade. Technology can enhance any process and lead to being more efficient; however, it can also prolong the agony of any dreaded task. And, when content management systems and other tools prolong the process of grading, it is frustrating.
As I taught a course this past week that was set up to have students directly submit to the content management system, I encountered this frustration. In order to grade and provide in text (audio and text) comments, I had to download the document to my computer, provide comments and save the document, and then re upload the document and enter the grade into the system. This is when it “hit” me…many faculty and teachers are not aware of some of my favorite cloud based tools for grading and providing feedback.
Google Document, soon to be Google Drive, and Microsoft SharePoint are two of my favorite cloud based tools. With either tool, I simply create a form (Google docs) or submission location. Students submit their documents. I then open the submission on the site, make comments directly in the student document using the comment features, and click “save.” No uploading and downloading, and student receive feedback instantly. Once I’ve filled out the form for each student, I’ve got a spreadsheet that I can easily sort, and then enter the information into my grade book. Andrew Cullison writes “Grade Student Papers Using Google Forms” and explains how to set this system up.
I am sure there are technologies that you have found to enhance and hinder the grading process. I would love to hear about them.