Students turn in their papers by email by 11;59 p.m. of the due date. The title of their document is studentlastnamecomp2.doc. If the student forgets this format I change the doc title after I download it. The next morning, I create a folder and place every attachment in the folder, so the papers are in alphabetical order by student last name. I open a document and set it to "track changes." I grade each one on the computer screen, writing corrections and comments, and a final comment with the grade. I send back the attachments to the students by going to "file," "share," then "share as attachment." That way I never send a message without its attachment.
The advantages of this system: I never print anything. Students never print anything. I never have to struggle with my own handwriting. Students never struggle with my handwriting. I never lose a paper. Students never come late to class because they are still printing the paper due that day. I never struggle with a paper printed with an exhausted toner cartridge. Students get their papers back even if they are absent on the day papers are returned. I have an electronic record of the grades on each paper. The turn-over on papers is faster and more efficient. I never spill coffee on a student paper. Students can revise their papers by accepting my changes and going from there. I have an electronic copy of each paper, so I can track student progress over the course of the semester. For example, I can see if a student is making the same mistakes in every paper.
I do think it's valuable to print things out and read them, but I have a shocking confession. I have written articles that I have never printed out even once. The entire process has been electronic. Probably very few will ever read these articles on real paper either.
2 comments:
you've described my grading process to the very last detail. the only difference is that i've set up an email account exclusively for grading.
additional advantages to this approach:
1. i have copies of student papers and grades forever (in the even of either good or bad circumstances)
2. my comments are much less rushed, and thus i find myself having more positive things to say, such as "do more of this..." rather than simply trying to find out what's wrong with a paper and then move on as quickly as possible.
I could have a dedicated account for this, but I find it easy enough to use my main one.
I also find myself writing more simply because I can type better than I write and am not limited by margin space.
Post a Comment