Akindi...Grade M/C Assessments with a Scanner for FREE!

I have been a Gradecam user for over a year now. However, Gradecam has become a product one must pay to use if you want to scan more than a 10 question assessment. Then along comes a new guy in the multiple choice automated grading industry...Akindi.

Unlike Gradecam, where one must use a webcam to scan bubble sheets individually ..Akindi lets you scan assessments and upload them to be graded using a scanner. I work at a school that has copy machines with terrific scanning services, so it is relatively easy for me to scan hundreds of papers and email them to myself via a PDF file in less than a minute. I also like how you are able to reconcile scores if a student went to town erasing and changing answers.

Experts and education pundits can cry and moan about multiple choice assessments, however, we teachers in the classroom know that multiple choice assessments are a reality. We don't want to spend hours grading mundane assessments, though we want data to guide our teaching. Akindi allows teachers to get this useful data without much effort.

Akindi does not currently allow you to print bubble sheets with names and ID numbers pre-printed, but that will likely be a feature coming in the future. Additionally, one cannot upload a csv file containing student rosters, though when you do your initial scan of bubble sheets, Akindi will save the ID numbers. A teacher with 30 minutes to kill while playing some tunes can easily type in student names. I have sent questions to Akindi and the founder has been quite responsive and helpful. I foresee great things for this company.

If you are looking for a FREE service to quickly grade multiple choice assessments, you should definitely give Akindi a try!

ForAllRubrics Will Make You Love Rubrics

For all you classroom teachers our there, you need to check out ForAllRubrics.com and discover this gem of a website. First, you need to upload a class list. If you have access to a .csv file of this information, you will save yourself lots of time. Next, you create the rubric. After you create the rubric, you can use it to assess a student via a computer or IPad.

I like how you can print out your finished rubrics (they do all the math work for you), save them as PDFs, and you can automatically email them to students. You can also add written feedback for each category.

Now...ForAllRubrics is not perfect. Currently, you cannot create a rubric with weighted categories. For instance, I don't weight all of my rubric categories at the same amount. However, the wonderful people at the company assure me they are working on adding this feature--it will likely be out within the month. I get the feeling that many more positive changes are on the way.

If you would like to check out some short videos showing how you can use ForAllRubrics.com, click here.

Here is an example of a rubric I created using a writing rubric I have been developing and using throughout the school year with my ESOL Local, State, and National Government classes. I am still becoming acquainted with ForAllRubrics, but I love what I see so far...and I am hopeful for some feature additions in the future :)

Did I mention ForAllRubrics.com is FREE? Now I did.

Google Forms is Revived and Kicking!

I have been a big fan of Google forms for many years. Recently, Google did a major overhaul making Forms much more user friendly. You can create simple or complex forms depending upon your needs and skill level. I love how you can copy the link of a form and send it out via email or through Edmodo for students/colleagues to view. 

If you are not familiar, read this quick description taken from Google's own words:

Create online forms and surveys (if you run a club or committee, you will love forms)
Collect RSVPs, run a survey, or quickly create a team roster with a simple online form. Then check out the results, neatly organized in a spreadsheet.

Get answers to your questions (a great tool for teachers so they can easily assess students)
Create simple or in-depth online surveys either individually or while working with colleagues thousands of miles away. Share them from a link, embed them on your website, or even right inside an email.

Sit back and watch the results come in
All responses to your questions are neatly organized in a spreadsheet, so sorting and analyzing data is a snap.

Access anywhere, anytime
All your form data is automatically organized in Google Sheets and stored in Google Drive. Access them wherever you go, from any device.

Here are some sample forms I am currently using:
1. Unit Reflection
2. Unit Mini Assessment
3. Sign Up Form

In the coming days, I plan to post more ways you can use Google Forms in your classroom. If you want a sneak peek, you should check out Flubaroo (grade student assessments in seconds) and Doctopus (make student submission of Google Docs less time consuming and more efficient).