30 Nov
If This Works, English Teachers Will Cheer
Posted in Grading, Teaching Tips, Technology, Writing on 30.11.09
“My Access” Helps Students Write
I have my doubts about this new program that reviews student writing and offers suggestions for revision, but I really hope it works. Imagine how much help such a program would be for English teachers who drown under stacks of essays. Although I have my doubts, an English teacher interviewed in the article states:
“It’s important that teachers go back and explain that the score is not necessarily reflective of their overall writing,” said Warren, who teaches advanced placement and honor students. “As far as the mechanics go, it’s dead-on with the spelling and grammatical errors.”
Actually, if the program can check and teach grammatical and mechanical errors so teachers can narrow their focus to teaching the content of papers, I would be ecstatic.
I just wish I had the money to give “My Access” a try!
2 comments on this topic
2. December - 9:52 pm
The idea of “My Access” is indeed exciting from the grading aspect; although, I have difficulty believing my regular and some honors high school juniors would truly benefit from the software since they currently disregard the Spelling and Grammar check Microsoft offers! But then again, who knows? With the instant feedback, they might be willing to actually rewrite their rough drafts.
3. December - 9:48 am
I have heard from several teachers who have used the service and do NOT like it. According to their accounts, My Access teaches kids to write formulaic essays, and these teachers found that kids very quickly learn how to beat the grading. Maybe in time we will see improvements that will make it a much better system to use. Thanks for commenting.