Learning & Leading Through Technology

Evaluating student work can be tedious and time consuming. You may be able to quickly correct true/false and multiple-choice tests, but grading essays takes more time. Checking the grammar, spelling, and formatting is straightforward, but evaluating a writer’s organization and the use of logic, compelling statements, style, and tone are more subjective. Documenting feedback for the student is another step for teachers.

Can machines take over any or all of these tasks? Word processors can quickly check for spelling and grammatical errors, but that’s typically where the functionality ends. The tools listed here focus on helping teachers grade essays. They also provide a way for students to improve their work during the writing process.

Tools of the Trade

Essay Tagger is a cloud-based application that inserts reusable comments for organization, style, and mechanics. Teachers can customize pop-up rubrics and easily analyze data about student performance.

T. A. Toolbar is a downloadable application that floats a small toolbar over a Word document. When the teacher notes an error, the app inserts a URL with an explanation of the error. A customizable comment generator addresses the five default competency areas of thesis, organization, development, style, and mechanics.

Writing Roadmap 2.0 uses comments and URLs to address narrative, informative, descriptive, and argumentative essay styles. It also includes specific strategies for working with English language learners and struggling writers.

Criterion includes an extensive library of essay assignments and planning templates to enhance an existing curriculum.

BUYER’Sguide

Company

Educational Testing Service

ets.org/criterion

EssayTagger

essaytagger.com

Vantage Learning

vantagelearning.com

T. A. Toolbar

tatoolbar.com

Turnitin

turnitin.com

CTB/McGraw-Hill

goo.gl/AyfV4

Turnitin is best known for its ability to scan millions of documents to help teachers identify plagiarism, but it is also a powerful tool for adding voice comments and inserting customized edits.

Looking Forward

Teachers can evaluate a paper as a whole, absorb its impact, and make suggestions for improvement. They can assess the effectiveness of an argument and the emotional, suspenseful, or thought-provoking effect. Can a software program do this? Most of us would say no, but surprising new technologies are coming closer to doing just that.

IntelliMetric uses artificial intelligence and “natural language processing” to detect sentences that are off topic or lack proper development. It models a human rating process and employs multiple automated scoring systems based on previously scored essays. Its cognitive model of information processing is also known as “brain-based” processing.

EdX, founded by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, offers tuition-free courses online and uses artificial intelligence to develop an even more sophisticated “auto-grader” with instantaneous results and lofty claims. Critics abound, but results are promising.

The combination of teacher and machine is a powerful alliance. Essay grading software is getting better at scoring the mechanics of writing and providing teachers with time-saving comment generators, built-in rubrics, and URL references to help students learn from their mistakes.

So far, though, even the most effective tools can’t appreciate an insightful and creative departure from an accepted writing convention the way a human teacher can.