Our solution is far from perfect but sounds like we use similar tools so
may be helpful to hear what we do. We have a homegrown FilemakerPro
template that is distributed via e-mail to teachers. They complete and
then e-mail that to a special tech department address. The tech dept.
concatenates all teacher comments into a single "master database" which is
served from our filemaker server. This process is pretty quick, since we
have an Applescript that simply walks over all of the files in a folder to
build a single database.
Once we have the master database served, we print a draft copy for
advisors to proof. I would prefer to not print, but advisors tell me that
they want a print copy for their files any way, so better for me to print
and distribute than for each of them to spray prints around the school.
Advisors have the task of checking for completeness and they are
authorized to edit typos. More substantial edits must be done by the
authors of the comments. All corrections are done on the master database,
so no more passing around individual Filemaker files. When the first pass
is done by advisors, the division head reads all comments electronically
on the filemaker server. Sometimes advisors miss a few things and the
teacher must return to make adjustments in a comment or two. The last step
is for the tech department to print final paper copies (one for permenant
file and one for mailing to parents).
A couple of things to note... once teachers submit their comments,
everything is handled on the filemaker server, which we choose to NOT
provide access outside of our network. So all downstream tasks must be
done at school. Teachers and administrators are OK with this. Another
sticking point when we started this process was that teachers were not
completely comfortable with advisors and the division head having the
power to edit their comments after submission. But after a few iterations,
sufficient trust has been established, and they are happy to gain the
benefit of a more streamlined process. But the potential for abuse is
definitely there, so we had to make it very clear that any edits outside
of typos must be handed back to the author. Furthermore, on the Master
database, we allow editing of the non commentary items (grades and
checklists) only via a special password under the control of the tech
dept. Andthose changes must be authorized by the authors.
Of course, I would like to say that we are completely electronic, and
provide parents with a private login to view their children's comments,
but we are not there yet.
-Tom Smith, Park School, Brookline, MA
Maureen Tumenas <maureentumenas@GMAIL.COM> writes:
>How do you manage proofing of grades and comments at your school?
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