MyAccess - Good in theory, not in practice

MyAccess is a writing program created by Vantage Learning. This program provides writing prompts and assessment to enhance composition skills. While its best application is in assisting writing development in the areas of grammar and punctuation, I am really not a fan of the program at all. If I was not mandated to use it, I would avoid it. It is, however, a favorite of some supervisors.

Before I address the elephant in the room, I will begrudgingly admit its upsides. MyAccess has numerous prompts from hundreds – if not thousands – of topics from which you can select. Topics can be thematic or novel related. Although it is sometimes difficult to find a writing prompt that precisely fits the topic you’d like to assign, you do have the option of creating your own prompt.

Once the account is set up for you, there are multiple avenues you can take in terms of assignment creation. You can choose a 4 or 6 point rubric, you can determine a due date, times the students are allowed to access the prompt and choose a number of submissions. When we do the latter, the “tutor” will suggest ways to improve the scores for each draft.

It also grades using a holistic scale/rubric in five categories. I also like it because it gives immediate feedback upon submission. It informs you of the readability and grade level of the writing. And shows a score for each of the five categories in addition to providing a cumulative average score.

MyAccess fails because technology (at least in this program) has not achieved a level where it can grade for content. MyAccess claims it uses artificial intelligence to help score the prompts (only specific ones already in the system). However the AI really only functions by identifying keywords in the students’ writing. I have proven this to be impractical and immaterial. If I assign a persuasive essay about school uniforms a student a student will receive a score for it. The grammar will be checked as well as mechanics. However, I can also submit a short story about how a child came to a new school where he had to wear a uniform, and it will score it similarly. These are two completely different forms of writing and the program is unable to differentiate the two. And quite frankly, that is a monumental problem. If a student receives an excellent score on one paper, they can resubmit it for another prompt and receive another good score even if it has nothing to do with it. And while a teacher should always check the writing before assigning his or her own score, the grade from the program is not always accurate or indicative of the writing that has been submitted.

If; however, the teacher uses the program as a way for the students to improve his or her grammar, then MyAccess has advantages. It can also look for diction and conventions which are important while making suggestions for how to improve.

But even with this program, nothing replaces the eye of a teacher.

Website: https://www.myaccess.com/myaccess/do/log

Edmodo - The Classroom Facebook

I first learned about Edmodo in the 2011-2012 when my school implemented a 1:1 initiative with iPad tablets. The iPads brought many challenges, but the use of technology became a learning experience for both students and teachers which was exciting. The school encouraged us to use the technology and “try” to cut down on paper. It was – surprisingly – a welcomed challenge. I heard about Edmodo as “Facebook for the classroom” and was intrigued by the concept. I do like social media in moderation because I do believe that it does have educational application.

I like Edmodo because you can create groups for your individual classes. You can post assignments online and while it does save paper, what is also does is save time. As a classroom teacher, you can download a mobile app, use a laptop, tablet or desktop to access it at any time. Normally, with a classroom assignment, you’d need to either wait for or make copies yourself either during school or at a local copy store. This eliminates that step.

It also has a degree of accountability. If I post an assignment, It shows the date and time I did so. Therefore, while a student may say they “did not see it,” you can show that you posted it. One thing I used to do with Edmodo was whenever I posted an assignment, I would always end it with “make a comment so I know you have read this.”

I also liked it for extra credit. I may not always post an assignment on Edmodo, but I would tell the students to check the site at least 2x per day: before class and when they get home. So where I would typically inform them when I posted an assignment, I could hold them accountable even if I did not. I did this often with an extra credit assignment. So if they were vigilant and attentive enough, they could take the opportunity of completing a task for extra points.

Because an iPad is a tablet and not a laptop, my students did not have Microsoft Word available to type. This was never really an issue though. I could post an assignment with a Microsoft Word attachment and the students could still see it on his or her iPad. Then, the students would complete the assignment on the Apple equivalent word processing program such as Pages and it was never an issue.

The students love the social networking aspect of it, and I enjoy the interaction and communication with the students. It fosters a better learning environment.

Highly recommended.

Website: https://www.edmodo.com/

PowerSchool - The Great Replacement

PowerSchool (sometimes referred to as PowerTeacher) is a student information system which includes grading and communication mechanisms accessible electronically. If I remember correctly, PowerSchool was introduced in my district, Elizabeth, in 2008. PowerSchool became a one-stop for multiple functions – attendance, communication, grading, progress reports and documentation.

As with many things, the implementation of the program was met with hesitation because we felt that the school district now had administrative access (and oversight) to our grades where they could alter them if need be.  While perhaps marginally paranoid, the ability to potentially override or overrule our professional decisions was worrisome for the faculty. However, as with most things, the collective belief became that if you do your job, you probably have little to worry about.

Programs such as GradeKeeper and Genesis have similar functionality and common in many school districts. What I like about PowerSchool is the ease of navigation among different functions.

The first function I truly enjoy is gradebook. I can easily set up categories in my gradebook (Homework, Classwork, tests, etc) and determine what weight each of them are for calculation of averages. I can calculate the weights of everything. I also have the ability to marking an assignment late, exempt and make comments for each individual assignment.

The school also generates student progress reports. The comments that the teachers make (for the quarterly grade – not the individual assignments) end up being what is on the progress report. Teachers have a choice of premade statements from the comment bank such as (classwork satisfactory, in danger of failing, etc) or have the ability to add a customized comment such as “efforts do not match abilities.” I also use that comment section to write “grades modified as per IEP” for any special education students. 

Power School permits me look at the attendance and be able to excuse or mark them absent as a result. With this, I can also look at my students’ attendance in all of his or her classes. This serves two positives: I can see if they did not attend my class or I can see if I made an error in my attendance and fix it later.

My last function I enjoy is the “log entry” section. This where I can make comments about anything and the students and parents are unable to see it. If a student misbehaves I can document it. If I contact a parent or vice versa, I can document it. If I hold a conference with a student, I can document it. Now, if another teacher wishes to make comments about that same student, they may do so, but only the teacher who submits the comment is able to see what they wrote. On the other hand, an administrator or guidance counselor is able to see all comments made.

PowerSchool really does make everything exponentially easier.

Website: http://www.powerschool.com/powerschool-sis/