Student getting instant feedback on his test with GradeCam.

Were making final preparations before heading to Orlando for FETC next week.  The Florida Educators in Technology Conference is one of the largest education technology conferences in the world, and we’re looking forward to coming back again.  Our developers have just finished our newest version of GradeCam.  It’s slicker than ever, and if you’re coming to the conference you need to stop by and see it in action.  While you’re there we can sign you up with a FREE version of GradeCam that’s great for quick formative assessments.  We will be looking forward to seeing you at booth 1037.

If you would like a free exhibit hall pass for FETC next week, please click on the link below.

FETC 2012 is the content-rich conference that brings education leaders and technology experts together to exchange techniques and strategies for teaching and learning success. Known worldwide for its outstanding program, FETC provides educators and administrators the opportunity to explore the integration of technology across the curriculum—from kindergarten to college—through hands-on exposure to the latest hardware, software and successful strategies. FETC offers a wealth of information for all education professions—teachers, principals and deans, district administrators, curriculum designers, media specialists, technology directors and others.

Usually the reaction at conferences to GradeCam is one of temporary disbelief  and excitement, but on two occasions the response actually involved tears.   The first was at TCEA in Austin where a man’s eyes welled-up as he told me that GradeCam was going to save his marriage.  He went on to explain that his wife spent every minute outside of the  classroom grading papers or stressed about how much she had to do.  Apparently, the lack of fun and pleasure had begun to take it’s toll and he saw quickly how GradeCam could markedly improve their lives and their marriage.   Another especially emotional reaction came from a female teacher at FETC in Orlando.  After showing her how GradeCam works, she told me that while driving to the conference she had been talking to her husband about quitting teaching because  her work load was so overwhelming.  As she continued, she started crying as she explained that for the first time she could see how she was going to be able to manage the endless paper part of it and continue to teach.

We’re headed back to Orlando in January for FETC (Florida Education Technology Conference) where I know we will see more excited reactions.  But you don’t have to find me at a conference to share your story.  We all really appreciate hearing from teachers whose lives have changed for the better because of GradeCam and, if you’re one, we would love to hear from you.  You can contact me at rick@gradecam.com.

Teachers in exhibit hall

GradeCam Scoring in Action

Ding, the sound of grading success! For many years I have been the proud owner of a Gradecam. Students, parents and fellow teachers marvel at the grading genius on my desk. I love to teach, I love the kids, I love my subject area… I do not love grading. Grading homework causes me to sacrifice time with my family or sacrifice time that I could spend creating higher quality lessons. It’s paperwork, and it isn’t fun. Gradecam however is fun. It is grading BLISS. Students receive instant feedback that their assignment has been graded, I know immediately who has and hasn’t completed their work and can make parent emails to ensure that parents can support me, I am able to focus on the student and the assignment rather than the paperwork and the best part is that it magically zaps into almost any gradebook.

Students fill out a Gradecam score form with their student or class ID and then grade their work against a rubric. Students scan in their score while I review the assignment. This gives me time to make meaningful feedback to students, to mark on their paper and give it right back to them. I do not have a pile of papers on my desk. Blissful freedom to leave at the end of the day rather than deal with paperwork.

If you will be attending the NSBA 2012 conference, please come see us at booth 512.  We will be showing teachers how to save time, increase student learning with instant feedback, and make data driven decisions by using a simple camera to correct bubble tests (multiple choice).

T+L Conference

While 2010 was the last year of the T+L Conference, the National School Boards Association is pleased to announce that technology programming will be enhanced at our Annual Conference so that a larger number of school board members and education leaders can gain the knowledge they need to establish policies and align resources for an increasingly digital world.

Programming and registration information will be announced soon for the 72nd Annual Conference, to be held April 21-23, 2012 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in Boston, Mass. Please visit www.nsba.org/conference for details.

 

 

These cameras have all been sold–sorry!

Photo of one of our cameras.

Brandon Wisloski was the winner of our ISTE coupon drawing in Philadelphia.   Brandon’s entry form was drawn from hundreds of entries on Wednesday afternoon at the close of the exhibit hall by one of the ISTE staff members.  He won a one year subscription for all the teachers at his school to GradeCam  plus four ClassCams.  Brandon’s is the tech facilitator  at  St. John’s School located in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA,.

Congratulations Brandon on winning!  We were thrilled to see you wearing one of our t-shirts when you came back to collect your prize.

Brandon Wislioski, the winner of our drawing at ISTE

Below is a picture of the GradeCam team in front of our booth in the exhibit hall.  Our t-shirts were a show hit.  We capitalized on the fact that we were in Philadelphia and used the slogan “GRADECAM:  FREEDEOM FROM GRADING OVERLOAD” underneath a graphic of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.  Tami wanted it to read, “FREEDOM FROM GRADING TYRANNY,” since tyranny can mean a cruel and oppressive condition, but she was over-ruled.  Most of the team thought it was melodramatic.  (Jake also liked the tyranny slogan.)

GradeCam team at ISTE

With 18,000 attendees and 500 exhibiting companies, we’re in in crunch mode preparing for ISTE 2011. This is going to be exciting! We have some big announcements coming at the conference that we can’t wait to share.

We took some time rethinking Stuff We All Get (SWAG). Most of the time SWAG is poorly designed, cheap junk (we should really call it JWAG). Since it’s useless beyond the thrill of being given something free, often it makes it no further than the hotel room and inevitably winds up in a landfill.

That said, people love getting free stuff. We wanted to give out GradeCam T-Shirts and I’m sure tons of people would want a free t-shirt even if they never wore it again. Instead, we made Philadelphia/ISTE/GradeCam T-Shirts commemorating the liberty bell, the city, and the conference. I designed it in the hope that the shirt was actually something that someone would consider wearing after the event.

GradeCam Tutorial – Part 1

Creating an exam key and aligning it with state standards.

GradeCam Tutorial Part 2

Printing GradeCam forms and scanning them into GradeCam.

GradeCam Tutorial – Part 3

Item Analysis

How to Export Grades from GradeCam to PowerTeacher

How to Export a Roster From PowerSchool for Upload to GradeCam

How to Import Rosters into GradeCam

How to run a report to print grades for a given exam.