Fast Feedback

My new guideline for myself is that I don’t give an assignment for feedback unless I know I can get to reviewing it by the next day.  Within two days max.  Weekend at the very, very latest.

There’s several ways you can give feedback when you’re using Google Classroom.  You can use Goobric (and tutorial video.)   You can use the new Google Keep Notepad to add in pre-written comments.  (See this brilliant post from Eric Curts at Control Alt Achieve.) You can also just use the regular old comment feature in Google Docs.

Here’s the thing:  My Novice Lows aren’t writing enough for me to justify all of the time it would to open each student’s document, click, click and then click to add comments, close, then click and wait for the next student’s document to load.  Instead I use the private comment section of Google Classroom.

Use the Preview Button

First, in Google Classroom click on the assignment name and find and open the folder with all of the student work. 

Next, select one student’s work and then choose “preview.”  (It’s the eyeball.) This will bring up a preview mode where you can click an arrow to go to the next student’s work.  The student name will appear in the top left corner.

Now, move your tabs side by side.  (I use Tab Resize to do this automatically.) Not quite done though, you may need to make the Google Classroom window slightly bigger so you get the list on the side of all of the students.  It’s ok if your windows overlap a bit.  Toggle back and forth between the student work and the classroom.  When you are ready to add in the private comment click on the student name on the left and type your comment down at the bottom.

The Twist- Video

I knew I was going to be encountering the same errors and the same issues for most of the students, so I wanted to create a general comment with a review video for the students.  First, I spent too much time on YouTube looking for something that would work for me, then I got smart and used my Snagit to make a quick review video and explaining to students what I wanted them to do in the rewrite.  The video is short.  (You can use any screencasting software.) Less than two minutes.  In the video I asked them to do some color coding so that I could easily see what changes they made.

Always Have a Rewrite

For assignments that are about improving skills, giving feedback without asking students to do something with it is a waste o’ time.

Upload the Video

Upload your video and share it as “Anyone with the link can view”.  Write a general comment and include the link to the video.  Mine said “Good start! Watch the video to review -er verbs and then make the appropriate changes before resubmitting. <<copy link to video here>>” . For the 30 students whose work I looked only two didn’t need to review and I gave a different comment.  For everyone else, I added in something personal after “Good start.”  Click “post” as you finish with each student then click over to the work, click on the arrow on the right in the middle of the page to go to the next student and repeat.

Always Have a Rewrite

Before I returned the work to the students I created a new assignment called #025b and gave directions for resubmitting their work.  I always mark rewrite assignments in the with a “b,” so that students can reference the original assignment.