GradeMark Adds Voice Comments

  • By Tim Sohn
  • 05/17/12

Turnitin has added a new feature to GradeMark called voice comments that lets teachers provide personalized feedback to students using digital audio. The beta version can now be used in GradeMark.

The new feature is designed to save instructors time and provide a more direct and personal way to provide feedback, according to the company.

The Web-based tool also includes the ability to leave custom comments or editorial highlights via print.

Other GradeMark features include:

  • Dragging either custom or standard marks, as well as comments, onto the students' assignments;
  • Custom rubrics, which let the teacher change weights, scales, and criteria any time;
  • Student performance tracking, which includes statistics and graphs to find out where students are having trouble; and
  • Functionality to shift between reports in GradeMark, OriginalityCheck, and PeerMark.

"GradeMark has increased the quality of my feedback on student papers while reducing the time I spend grading by 50 percent," said Summer Dittmer, English instructor at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, CA. "The addition of Voice Comments gives me broader options to engage more deeply with my students."

For more information, visit turnitin.com.

About the Author

Tim Sohn is a 10-year veteran of the news business, having served in capacities from reporter to editor-in-chief of a variety of publications including Web sites, daily and weekly newspapers, consumer and trade magazines, and wire services. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @editortim.

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