As an educator in the digital age, I’ve often found myself exploring the diverse landscape of EdTech tools, each promising to revolutionize the way we approach learning and teaching. Being at the forefront of this evolving domain and running an EdTech blog, I’ve had the unique opportunity to test, experiment, and scrutinize a multitude of grading tools over the years.
Grading – a task often viewed with trepidation, is one of the critical aspects of the teaching-learning ecosystem. An efficient grading tool can streamline the grading process, provide comprehensive feedback, and encourage positive learning outcomes. But with a plethora of options available, choosing the right one can feel like finding a needle in a haystack.
In this blog post, I am sharing with you some of the best grading tools that I believe can genuinely enhance your grading experience and create a positive impact on your students’ learning journey.
Whether you’re a teacher seeking to minimize the hours spent grading papers or an educator looking to implement technology that provides clear, actionable feedback to your students, I’ve got you covered.
Grading Tools for Teachers
There are many types of grading tools available for teachers. Here are some popular ones that you may find beneficial.
1. Google Classroom
This platform is free for schools and offers an integrated system for online learning. Teachers can assign, collect, and grade assignments directly within the platform. It also allows for easy feedback and communication between teachers and students.
2. Turnitin
Best known for its plagiarism checking capabilities, Turnitin also includes a grading system. Teachers can provide feedback and grade assignments all in one place.
3. Kahoot!
While Kahoot! is primarily a tool for creating interactive quizzes, it can also be used for grading. Teachers can view the results of these quizzes in real time, allowing for immediate feedback.
4. Quizlet
Quizlet allows teachers to create study sets and quizzes for their students. The platform automatically grades these quizzes and provides teachers with detailed reports on student performance.
5. Socrative
This tool lets teachers instantly create quizzes or polls and can provide immediate grading. It also has the capability to visualize student and class understanding so educators can easily identify areas of concern.
6. Edmodo
A social learning platform where teachers can post messages, discussions, assignments, and quizzes. It has an integrated grade book that allows teachers to easily track student progress.
7. Gradescope
Allows teachers to grade paper-based exams, online homework, and programming projects. It offers AI-assisted grading and provides useful statistics about student performance.
8. Moodle
A widely used open-source learning management system. It has a comprehensive grading system where teachers can create and manage activities and assignments, and grade them using various methods.
9. Formative
This digital platform allows teachers to provide live feedback, track student progress over time, and grade assignments quickly. Teachers can view student responses in real-time, helping to guide instruction and provide immediate feedback.
10. Nearpod
This interactive lesson and formative assessment tool allows teachers to create engaging lessons with quizzes, polls, and assignments. It also provides real-time feedback and post-session reports.
11. Showbie
his tool combines all the essential features for assignments, feedback, and communication in one easy-to-use platform. Showbie’s suite of tools makes it easy to give rich, differentiated feedback to students of all learning abilities.
12. Seesaw
Seesaw is a digital portfolio tool that allows students to save and submit work digitally. Teachers can give personalized feedback and keep grades organized in one place.
13. Flubaroo
A Google Sheets add-on that can grade multiple-choice or fill-in-blank assignments in under a minute. It also computes average assignment score, average score per question, and flags low-scoring questions, and shows you a grading distribution.
14. ZipGrade
This tool allows teachers to grade paper quizzes with their phones. Simply print out the answer sheets, scan them with your phone and the app will grade them for you.
15. ThinkWave
A comprehensive gradebook tool that supports weighted grades and custom grading scales. It also allows teachers to comment on individual assignments and generate reports.
16. Crowdmark
This collaborative online grading tool and analytics platform accelerates grading of exams and assignments. It enables teachers to provide better feedback, track student progress, and predict future performance.
Final thoughts
Through my journey in the EdTech world and the hands-on experiences with these various tools, I’ve witnessed how they not only simplify grading but also enrich the feedback process. Tools like Google Classroom, Turnitin, and Kahoot! have redefined the boundaries of classroom interaction, making grading a more integrated and insightful part of the learning process. Platforms like Quizlet, Socrative, and Moodle have brought a new level of precision and personalization to assessment, catering to the diverse needs and learning styles of students.
