A Reflection on Engrade, The On Line Grading Site

I really enjoyed using Engrade. I found it very easy to use. I have used teacher ease, another on line grade book in the past. Teacher ease was not free (although there is a free trial period) and I think it is a little more complicated. I was familiar with Engrade’s existence before this assignment and some of its capabilities. However, I never took the time to try it out until now, and I like it. As part of the assignment for teaching with technology class, I created a class of five fictional students, set up a weight scale for the grades, and created a few fictional assignments. I even downloaded a couple of worksheets onto the site so that the students, if absent, could have access to a missed assignment. The fictional class is called Integrated Algebra 109. There are many features that I liked about Engrade. For instance, each time an assignment, quiz, or test is posted (with the date), the post automatically is placed on the calendar. A class calendar with assignments posted is a great communication tool. If the parents are made aware of Engrade from the beginning of the school year, they can verify that their child does or does not truly have homework to do that evening. Moreover, they (the parent) could remind their child to study or quiz them before a test. If more teachers used Engrade, the better the chance that a student or their parent(s) can periodically check on most or perhaps all their grades at one time. Also, I like the fact that a teacher could choose to print out each student’s assignment/grades individually. This feature comes in handy for parent-teacher conferences. I keep folders for each of my students in the class. Instead of taking the time to hand back papers during class, I place the corrected papers in their individual folders as I am grading them and they can each grab their folders as they enter the room and take their seats. The individual print out is something that a teacher can periodically place in the student’s folder as a reminder of missing work or as a status report. After all, we cannot assume that all the students will be checking their grades on line. There are times when a teacher would decide to excuse a student from a missing assignment for various reasons. I like the fact that Engrade allows for a student to be excused from an assignment. Teacher ease also offered this feature. Each time you excused a student from an assignment, a wrapped present would appear (you are giving them a gift – I thought that was cute). I appreciated the fact that the grades can be waited according to the teacher’s desire. There is a discussion tab where the parents or the student may click on to view a particular graded assignment and the regarding said assignment. I like this feature; however, I wish that the program had the capability to automatically (if desired) send out an e-mail to the student’s parent(s) regarding each assignment. The teacher ease site offers this feature. My son’s teacher used this and I found this helpful. A parent may not always take the time to check Engrade (especially for multiple children), but they will probably check their e-mail. Having worked in a building where teachers were using a variety of grading systems. I found that the excel program were among the two most popular methods for grade calculations and organization. Through my experience, I did notice a couple of problems using Engrade. First, when the grades were near due, and many of the teachers were on the computers entering their grades, the system would slow down. I heard several teachers complaining about the decrease in speed during this time. Second, I remember one marking period in particular, the morning that the grades were due the computer system had crashed. Teachers were upset because they could not access their grades from Engrade or enter them into the school site. I didn’t have that problem because my grades were all in the night before (thank goodness). Overall, I like the site because it is free, easy to use, and provides the teachers, students, and parents with a great communication device.