Here at Teq, we have the opportunity to meet tons of new people everyday.  In speaking with a participant in a recent summer PD course, it was suggested I check out a site called GradeCam. At the end of the session, I went back to my desk and checked this site out.  I was blown away!

GradeCam is a tool that will allow teachers to instantly grade assessments using a document camera or any device with a camera built in. Imagine walking around your classroom at the end of an assessment and scanning students’ answer sheets with your iPad, Surface, phone, etc. and having each and every grade instantly!

Here’s how it works:

There are a few flavors of GradeCam. Insight Basic is GradeCam’s free version. This will allow teachers to grade assessments with up to 10 questions. I have found this great for quick quizzes, do-nows and exit tickets. The Plus and School/District site license are paid versions which will allow up to 100 questions per assessment along with many more additional features. Once you have your account set up, you can get started by adding classes and students to your account. Each student will need a unique ID number between 3 and 10 digits. Because GradeCam can be accessed on the web (gradecam.com) I found it easier to enter my classes on my desktop rather than on my iPad.

Once you have your classes set up, you will then create answer sheets for your assessments. GradeCam is strictly a scoring tool and does not generate the assessments for you. Answer keys can either be made by clicking on multiple choice options or by scanning a previously made answer key with your camera. While creating your answer key, you also have the ability to tag each question with a Common Core standard.

After setting up your answer key, you will need to print out an answer sheet. Clicking the “Forms” button will allow you to customize the answer sheet and choose different printing options. Once printed, students will enter their ID numbers and their responses. When students are finished, answer sheets are ready to be scanned either using a document camera or a mobile device. The system will identify the student’s ID number and the choices they selected. Grades are instantly generated for immediate feedback.

Student data is stored within the system and can be exported as a CSV file for upload into other record keeping systems. Furthermore, student and class reports can be generated and printed.

GradeCam is one of the coolest new tools I have seen recently! It’s user friendly interface and time saving technology are sure to make your time grading tests much more enjoyable!