With most instructors now teaching remotely, gone are the days of paper shuffling and red pens. Consequently, there’s a high demand to find the best online grading software.
While grading tools have always existed and the technology is not new, remote learning has pushed remote grading software to the forefront in 2020. However, as an educator, it’s tricky to know which ones are the most effective.
Fortunately, we’ve taken the time to compile a list of what instructors should be looking for in digital grading software and how you can choose the best one. Keep reading to learn the benefits of college grading software and how you can integrate one into your teaching methods.
Benefits of digital grading software
Now that most of the world’s education has moved to an online learning platform, both teachers and students must adapt. While the learning environment may have transformed, many instructors may feel stuck in the dark ages of email submissions and paper exams.
Fortunately, the progression of online grading software has made waves in education worldwide, offering new hope to students and instructors alike.
Using a grading app streamlines the grading process. It makes each step easier for the instructors, their assistants, and their students. With digital grading software advancing at lightning speed, it can be hard to determine which option is best for your class.
We’ve broken down the main benefits of grading apps and the best online grading software’s essential features.
Here’s what instructors should look for in a grading app:
- Accessibility: Your online grading software should be accessible anytime from anywhere, as long as you have a smartphone and internet connection. Accessibility anywhere is especially vital for your students. They’ll need to access submission and feedback tools from whichever devices they use—also, instructors who wish to work on-the-go, without being tied to physical desk space will need easy access.
- User-friendly: Online grading software should be user-friendly and easy to understand for both instructors and students. A program you’ll be utilizing all the time means it has to be easy-to-use for all demographics. Consider doing a trial of the grading software you’re interested in to make sure it works well with your class.
- Accuracy: One of the most significant benefits of electronic grading software is the unparalleled accuracy it offers. A grading app automatically calculates grades, reducing the chance of human error in the grading process. No more paper shuffling; no more red pens! Most importantly, no more mistakes.
- Efficiency: College grading software should be quick and efficient, giving teachers the ability to provide students with their grades instantaneously. With online grading software, instructors can submit students’ grades so students can receive them automatically. This way, students don’t have to wait for their test results anxiously, and instructors don’t have to stress about delivering the news in a timely fashion.
- Versatility: College grading software should offer a level of versatility, allowing students to submit various forms of work. The best digital grading software will support written assignments, exams, diagrams, and more. A grading platform can even include scanned artwork and visual presentations.
- Student-Teacher interactions: Once an assignment is submitted, regardless of the medium, instructors should be able to provide in-depth feedback along with the grade. Feedback is mutually beneficial for students and teachers, allowing them to develop stronger interactions. The biggest take-away from this point is that the feedback should be meaningful and well-written, rather than a simple red or green mark.
Once you’ve understood the benefits of online grading software, you can start shopping for the right one for your class. Choose which of these features is essential to you. If you answered all of them, we suggest learning more about Crowdmark!
Read about how Crowdmark “provides a better learning experience for students in online courses.”
Why Crowdmark is the best grading software of 2021
“Replace your fragmented tools with one simple software solution for exams, homework, labs and quizzes. Grade student work 3× faster while leaving richer feedback for students. Gain unique insights into student performance with our advanced analytics.”
Used by thousands of instructors and students worldwide, Crowdmark is already gaining popularity on five continents. Crowdmark is the best grading software for instructors who are interested in an all-inclusive teaching and grading experience.
Our digital grading software is one-of-a-kind, offering each benefit we’ve listed above and more:
- Grade anywhere, anytime: With Crowdmark, educators can grade assessments with ease using any internet-connected device from anywhere they like. As long as the instructor or student has access to the internet, you can submit assignments in a click. Students without computer access or who rely on smartphones for their submissions can still use the Crowdmark app.
- Collaborate with ease: Instructors or teaching assistants can grade assessments on a question-by-question basis, seeing results and each other’s comments in real-time. Crowdmark makes it easy for teacher’s assistants (TAs) and instructors to grade the same assignments simultaneously. Collaboration is vital in offering useful feedback.
- Provide rich feedback: Instructors provide rich feedback with scores, graphical annotations, hypertext comments, and mathematical notations. This versatility allows instructors to grade assignments from every medium, offering limitless possibilities. Frequent comments can be added quickly using copy and paste for ease-of-use. Plus, instructors can add in-depth analysis and submit it instantaneously.
- Automatically calculate scores: Assignment and exam scores are automatically calculated and easily exported with Crowdmark’s online grading software. An instructor can see potential errors in the grading system and fix them with a click. As mentioned above, this replaces the messy red pen grading. Automatically calculated scores also ensure that the student’s overall grades remain accurate and available to both the instructor and the student.
- Analytics and overview: Instructors can see a quick snapshot of their class and which students need more assistance than others. These analytics help instructors keep track of their students’ progress and focus individual attention on struggling students. The analytics overview can be easily exported for reporting purposes and used to track your class’s success overall.
- Return grades quickly: Students get their results faster with Crowdmark. With a single click, you can email results to students. Rather than waiting days or weeks for results, you can also return assessments with rich feedback in hours-a game-changer for students who don’t want to wait and stress about their final grade. Our digital grading software also streamlines the instructors’ process.
- Learning Management System (LMS) integration: Crowdmark is compatible with Canvas, Brightspace, Blackboard, Moodle, and Sakai, so it integrates with pre-existing teaching tools or web-based/cloud-based apps. For institutions that already use this software, instructors can simply connect the platforms. This LMS integration makes it easy for instructors and students to transition to using Crowdmark’s software without changing a pre-existing operation.