Make your grading life better! Tips and Tricks for Streamlining Grading and Feedback using Google Tools

How am I going to grade all this stuff? 

If you are having students turn in work digitally (or soon to be), this is the likely one of the biggest questions you have (it was a big fear for me). Thanks to the help of Google teacher pros like Catlin Tucker and Alice Keeler, I have acquired many tips and tricks that not only make grading in the digital world feasible, but better than before.  

Note: For all of these tips, make sure you are first logged into your school google account and using Google Chrome.

Here are my top 6 tips (in no particular order):

1. Shortcuts Save Time!


• Insert a comment → Ctrl + Alt + M
• Confirm a comment → Ctrl + Enter
• To change to editing mode → Right click, suggest edits
(without a mouse, two finger tap is the right click)


2. Creating Automatic Text Substitutes for Extensive & Specific Feedback in Student Writing: See Catlin Tucker’s Blog Post for a screencast of how to do this or read below.
Here are the basics.

• In any google doc select Tools, then Preferences.
• Create a list of shortcut phrases to type that will automatically generate a phrase for students to read.
• For example, whenever I type “mq" the google doc automatically spits out this message: “missing direct evidence from primary source to support your claim”
• I recommend selecting the suggesting mode when grading as the feedback will appear in green and automatically generate a comment for a student.
  
  



3. Preview Mode for Checking, not Grading



• When you want to check assignments for completion and you DON’T want to waste time opening each assignment individually, you can check the assignment in PREVIEW MODE.
• Go to the Classroom Folder in Google Drive and click on the assignment folder. Next, click on the assignment you want to view and select Preview (eye). This will let you click through the assignments without having to open them individually and wait for them to load.


4. Opening Multiple assignments in Classroom


• It’s as simple as CTRL + Click. Hold down CTRL while you click to open many assignments at once, all in their own tabs.


5. Extensions to Split your Screen


• Get them from the Chrome Store
• Tab Scissors: splits your screen at the current tab into separate side, by side windows, making entry of grades that much easier
• Tab Glue: brings your windows back together


6. Feedback in Process


• As students are working on assignments, you can have them share the assignment with you and give them feedback as they work - either as comments or suggested edits.