FREE...and works really well!!!
We have been using this for grades 3-12.
A school can set up the "master" account...and then create a teacher account
under that umbrella. Doing this allows the students to access all their
classes within the school. The students then create their own account.
It is web based....and has a variety of ways to set up the account...and
teachers can choose how they want to set up their "grading" system (point
based, % based, etc). It can handle quite a bit....even to the extent of
adding extra credit.
Initially, we had a few parents that jumped on the bandwagon of
micromanaging.... but over the year, the interest from the parents GREATLY
waned! Over this last marking period, I have not had ONE parent contact
me. I think they see the grades in black and white...and it is difficult to
argue....especially when any assignment has a rubric attached to specify how
the assignment will be graded.
What did happen, was something we didn't anticipate.....the students really
became involved in their grades....took ownership, and ultimately became
responsible for their work. For example, a student would directly see the
impact of not turning in a homework assignment, and how it would directly
drop his/her grade. Teachers did not have to chase around after students to
"hand in" assignments.
Of course, you have some students who did not bother to check their grades
(the teacher can see when the last time the student checked grades...and can
communicate directly through the engrade program using the student's e-mail
address)... but what was great was that the student...nor parent.... could
ever say...."why wasn't I told"..or " I didn't know". It is very
concrete...and hard to refute.
Another nice benefit....it prints out individual grade reports for each
student. Quite a few times, I had the students take them home and bring
them back signed.
We will continue to use this program for next year.... it has been
awesome....and a very smooth transition (very teacher friendly). I created
a "cheat Sheet" that I handed out to the students.... and if anyone would
like a copy....just e-mail me directly. The only downside...is that it will
not calculate the final grade directly.... but since it can be exported to a
spreadsheet... it is simple enough to do that via excel.
Hope this helps!
Jeanne Rice
Southern CT Hebrew Academy
www.schacademy.org
On Mon, Apr 20, 2009 at 9:35 AM, Linda Swarlis <
lswarlis@columbusschoolforgirls.org> wrote:
> We are a Prek-12 school and are debating the value of posting grades online
> for parents. I would like to hear from schools who have made the transition
> to posting online grades. If you are making your grades available to parents
> could you list the pros and cons and if overall it has enhanced parent
> communication or if it has caused problems with parents who may tend to
> micromanage (as many people have feared)?
>
> I have read through past discussions and found a few comments from schools
> who are posting grades online, but I would like to know how many schools are
> posting grades and about their experiences with online grading, both good
> and bad.
>
> Best regards,
> Linda
>
> Linda L. Swarlis, Ph.D.
> Director of Information Services and Library
> Columbus School for Girls
> 56 S. Columbia Avenue
> Columbus, OH 43209
> lswarlis@columbusschoolforgirls.org
> 614-252-0781, ext. 129
> FAX: 614-252-0571
>
>
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