Engrade

Being somewhat new to technology, I had never heard of the term web 2.O until I was told to write about it last week. I was expecting to read about some new high tec and complicated form of technology that I couldn't relate too. What I found was the complete opposite. Media is moving away from it traditional format and moving more toward social media. With interactive social media your able to create, listen, search, view, comment, communicate and receive almost instant feedback with others. Facebook and twitter aren't just for teenagers and young adults anymore. Businesses are using them too now to promote their company, image, product and most importantly for social networking. With so much information out there people are relying on the feedback and advise of others.. The field of education is no exception and their finding ways to incorporate this interactive technology into their schools.
I was very impressed with all the great free or inexpensive social networking and educational sites on the web to help teachers communicate better with each other, their students, the administration and the parents. One thing that has bothered me during my observations in Chicago classrooms is the lack of parental involvement in their children's education. I witnessed the parents being completely surprised at parent teacher conference time that their student was performing poorly. So I wanted to look for a site that was easy for parents to use and let them know what was going on in their children’s education. Engrade claims on their web that they are a “free set of web-based tools for educators allowing them to manage their classes online while providing parents and students with 27/7 real-time online class information.” I wanted to see if there claim was accurate and being that I often struggle with technology I decided to sign up for an account to check and check out their site. I found that it was very user friendly. If I can figure it out then the majority of teachers should have no problem. The site is set up for teachers, administrators and parents/students. The students and parents are given a special passcode. The passcode is good just to check that students information and protects the privacy of the rest of the class. Once the student is registered and they have their secret passcode they can start accessing their personal information. The students and their parents can check their grades. The parents can see their Childs score, see if the assignment was turned in on time or not at all. there is also an online attendance book that can be viewed along with the teachers webpage. The teacher can post upcoming events and homework assignments so the child and parent wont have an surprised and knows what to expect from the teacher.
The teachers can easily enter their grades and make a class page. They can easily upload files, homework assignments and classroom events. They have the option to average all grades equally, assign different weights for each assignment or drop the lowest score. The teachers can also make individual progress reports for each student that includes there progress in multiple classes. What I like best as a future teacher about this site is that I can enter and update my grades anywhere that I can access the internet. Engrade is a great way for everyone involved in the education process to communicate with one another. There is a messaging feature that allows parents and students to message the teacher if they have any comments or concerns. The teacher can also message the parents if there is a situation that they should be aware of. The administrations and teacher can also communicate with each other this way as well.
When I am a teacher this is something I would like to integrate in my classroom. The students have 24/7 access to their grades so they have complete accountability for them. Students can’t say they didn’t know because its right in front of them. More children are coming from households with two working parents or from single family homes, making parents busier then ever. Engrade allows parents to quickly access their child's information from any computer. Problems can be addresses immediately. If they see something they don’t like or understand they can send their child’s teacher a message and address the situation right away.