Chris,
The time stamp is a valuable feature when meeting a deadline is question, good point. Do you use Turn it In when checking for plagiarism? The company recently released a free grading rubric that assesses and grades the quality of internet sources used by students.
Here is a link if you are interested in checking it out:
http://pages.turnitin.com/seer_rubric.html
Theresa Schmitt
I really like to idea of uploading files because you can access them from anywhere at anytime, and it is also time saving because you don't have to spend that additional time collecting papers at the beginning of each class. It reduces the build up of paper which can become overwhelming at times.
Marietta Carter-Narcisse
I have used this method of collecting work for a couple of years now from both my secondary students as well as college students. For the high school students it works very well if for no other reason than just keeping track of the assignments. When I receive them, I return a "got it" message and place a check in my electronic gradebook as received. I can grade it online, add comments and ask for a rewrite for resubmission and shoot it back to them. If it's a quiz, I can grade it online, post the grade and return it to them electronically. Works well for presentations as well.
However, for the college courses I teach it does not work as well. In these courses, the students are required to have a title page (cover page), reference page, in-text citations, etc. It has been a hair pulling experience trying to get students to do all this on one document correctly. They either do not send a piece of the essay (cover page, references, etc.) or it transfers so messed up that I can't grade it.
Marietta,
The amount of paperwork I carry home each evening has reduced significantly since I got into the habit of collecting work digitally. I also scan everything submitted as a hard copy, which converts documents to a PDF so I can email graded papers back to students with my detailed notes. This is especially handy when returning work at the end of the term.
Wishing you continued success in the classroom.
Theresa Schmitt
carol,
Thank you for sharing your experiences with collecting assignments digitally. I would suggest asking students in your college course to submit a copy of their paper that has been saved as a PDF- this is a 'Save as' option within the software. It locks the document, preserving the formatting so you can grade the page set up. If they also attach a Word version, you can use that for your mark-ups.
Wishing you continued success in the classroom.
Theresa Schmitt
This can be a time saver and reduce all the paper. Where I teach we would like to switch to online quizes and work books on thumb drives.
John,
You bring up a great point, the amount of paper saved is reason alone to make the change. Distributing work books and manuals on flash drives does carry the added risk of students misplacing the drive, so having copies available through a secure website is advised as a back up.
Wishing you continued success in the classroom.
Theresa Schmitt
Immediate feedback is a critical component of teaching. Electronic submissions are great if the instructor can edit and respond electronically as well. I have students upload DOCs and then use track changes to correct them. I then email them back to the student and safe a PDF version in their academic file.
This works very well for case study presentations done and sent by the students
Using a document management system would definitely help with all the storage of paper work. Students could also assess what they need at any time and not to try to wait til they come to class.
I feel that a document management is great for students, because it is so much easier for them to keep all their files in one place. It is also helps them in that they do not have to store all their files on various USB drives that they get lost or not work properly. It makes it easier and quicker for the students to upload for presentations and they can use many different resources in their presentations. It also makes it easier for the instructor to upload the students' presentations to grade, instead of having to carry around a lot of USB drives. In a document management, it just makes life so much easier with everything at your finger tips, it can store so much more information and it makes it easy to share with others.
I love the idea of saving paper. Most of the younger generation is moving towards being paperless. I was hesitant at first because I am "old school" and need my hard copies to refer to. But with the ability to work remotely or teaching distant education, not having to lug around all that paperwork is really nice! Using products like Google Drive is SO much easier. I used to waste so much paper just printing the course syllabus for my students. I now just e-mail a digital version to them. They can choose to print their own copy if they want. Much better.
Sherry,
I agree with your summation- I do not miss carrying stacks of papers around one bit! There are some institutions that block document management websites, but I have found most portals used by these colleges support the housing and uploading of papers, including PDFs, Word and Excel files.
Yours in learning,
Theresa Schmitt
It's a time saver a paper saver and most of all you have the ability to look for something quickly. It is so important to be able to look back and find something as quickly as possible especially when your dealing with online learning since time is so precious. It really is the way to go when having students submit work the benefits are the saving of time, which you can't get back once it's gone.
My students turn in all excercises and assignments via digital files, specifically Google Docs. This reduces paper thereby promoting "green" initiatives. Another real benefit is tracking. Students know right away if their file has been sent and if for whatever reason the assignement is lost, the student can simply re-submit.
I love the fact that it documents when or if it was turned in. No more excuses that it was handed in and I must of lost their paper.
Allows students to participate and learn how to speak in front of a group. Facilitates group interaction with questions and discussions.
Using document management systems has certainly made my life easier. I was reluctant to try and use them, but now I am a true believer. I have always hated "killing tree" and find this system so efficient. Sharing the document system with them saves so much time. Students also get feedback sooner and feel more engaged. I love it.
With a document management and media sharing tool, it will allow students to upload their projects quickly and then the instructor can proceed with the day's lesson. It will also decrease the chances of papers getting lost as an instructor transitions or moves around.
It's very beneficial to let students explore and research for a particular topic and then using slide share to be as part of grading instead using hard copy exam.
