If you’re concerned about the flu virus and you haven’t moved to electronic grading, now might be a good opportunity to start.
Managing email. As soon as I get an assignment, I hit reply, type “Got it,” then hit send. This eliminates follow-up emails from students asking, “Did you get my assignment?” In my email program, I keep a folder called “Grade these.” All student assignment emails are moved there so they don’t get lost in my inbox. (SimplyFile makes this easy to do with the click of one button. See this post for more information about SimplyFile.) After I’ve emailed students their graded assignments, I move their emails into the “Graded” folder.
Outlook folders:
Managing the documents. The papers themselves are saved to a “Student papers” folder in “My Documents.” Each file I save is renamed with standard nomenclature: Student last name, assignment, and whether the assignment was turned in late. For instance, if Alan Ladd turned in his second reaction paper on time, I would name the file LaddRP1. If he turned in his experimental design assignment late, I would name it LaddXD-Late. After grading the assignments, I move them into the “Graded” folder located in the “Student papers” folder. (UPDATE 10/10/09: See a more recent blog post on EZDetach for an easier way to save files from email messages.)
My Documents:
Once I’ve sent a graded assignment back to a student, I move the file into a “Sent” folder.
Attaching files to Outlook email: A tip. You can drag and drop files into open emails to attach them. (You can also drag attachments out of emails that have been sent to you into folders or onto your desktop.) See this video:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxrpGIPvAJI&hl=en&fs=1]
Using MS Word 2007 to grade assignments. Select the “Review” tab. Click “Track Changes.” Any change you make shows up in red. Deletions are struck-through; additions are underlined.
To add a comment, with your mouse highlight the text on which you’d like to comment. Click “New Comment,” then type your comment.
When you’re done, save your file, record the grade, and send the file back to the student. That’s it!
TabletPC users. On the Review tab, select “Start Inking.”
That produces the “Pens” toolbar. Just write like you normally do.
