Grading in a Snap!
I’ve noticed that there are quite a few homeschoolers in internet land searching for homeschool grading software. The sad thing is, there’s really nothing in this category targeted towards homeschoolers. I’ve been on my spiel before but I have to do it again, with the amount of homeschoolers there are today and with that number only growing…you would think more people would pay attention to us! But no need to mope because I believe I’ve found a solution. Just bear with me and all will be revealed!
Standard Features
First off let me begin with what grading software (aka gradebooks) are designed to do. Their standard features are as follows:
- A student log with various information such as id, email address, and parent’s contact information
- An attendance log
- Class seating arrangements
- Ability to split the year up as you please (i.e. in quarters, semesters, or terms) and view grades as such or cumulatively
- Create an unlimited amount of subjects and track assignments and grades within them
- Choose your own grading scale and assignment weights
- Produce report cards and progress reports
- Allow students and parents to log in and view the students’ information online.
As you can see, for the average public school teacher all these features are great but completely unnecessary for the homeschooler. I find it highly unlikely that you need special software to log parent contact info considering you (the parent) are the teacher. And it seems a bit unreasonable to have seating arrangements specifically marked for your own children (but hey, if you do, I’m not judging).
All You Really Need
There are certain features that can make our homeschooling life a lot simpler. In my opinion, anything that saves time and requires less effort is a bonus!!! I would love to have an organized place to track all subjects and assignments with grades. I also think it would be nice to view and print out a report card for my child even if its just for his own encouragement. The great thing about using grading software is that reports, cumulative grades and class averages are automatically computed.
This all sounds well and good, but the thought of dishing out mucho dinero to get software loaded with unecessary features doesn’t quite jive with me. However, as I said earlier…I solved the problem, free grading homeschool software (that is actually worth something)! The free versions are the basic editions but that’s perfect for us homeschoolers, even the basic edition provides more than we need. I have found 3 gradebooks with free editions and have tried them out. The first one, Grade Genie, really isn’t even worth mentioning as it was AWFUL…really, don’t even search for it, it’s not worth your time or hassle. The other 2 were excellent, Think Wave and Snap Grades. I personally prefer SnapGrades because it is web based and I found it very user friendly. It has slightly less features but in this case less is better since most homeschoolers won’t find use for them. You should check them both out for yourself.
I will be posting a comprehensive overview of SnapGrades, detailing its features and usability. But hey, if you can’t wait, check it out for yourself now. It’s free so you have nothing to lose and its so easy to follow you will have no trouble getting started…guaranteed.
If you are already using a gradebook or have used any of the ones I mentioned, leave me a comment and let me know about your experience. I would love to hear about it.
Super Easy, Time Saving Homeschool Software
I don’t consider myself an organized person but I definitely like to organize, if that makes sense…Ok, let me explain a bit more, I like having lists even if I don’t necessarily get them done. But I’m sure you will agree that, as a homeschooler, having lists and ticking them off is definitely necessary! The last thing you want is the ‘school year’ coming to an end only to realize you haven’t completed half of the curriculum. This is imperative for your own sanity but more importantly it’s a necessity if you live in a state or province that requires a portfolio be turned in at the end of the year. This is why record keeping homeschool software is a must-have when homeschooling.
At the basic level, your record keeping homeschool software should be able to track:
- Short & long term goals - A form where you can loosely detail all of your current year’s plans. This is important to ensure you are not homeschooling aimlessly.
- Courses - A record of all courses for the coming year along with what textbooks and other curriculum materials used.
- Assignments/Lessons - You should be able to input all assignments and view them by day or week.
- Evaluation & progress forms - A place to record your child’s progress during the year.
Again, those are the bare bone requirements for decent record keeping homeschool software. It is also helpful to have:
- Report card forms - Easy to fill out forms that provide your child with a grading assessment (that is, if you do grade your child(ren)).
- Grading sheets - This is an assessment form filled out for each particular test/exam.
- Reading lists - A list of all the books read during the year.
- Field Trips - A log of all field trips taken and the learning experience.
- Extracurricular activities - A log of all the extracurricular activities your child(ren) are involved in.
I can hear you thinking, “I can do all this on my own, why should I buy software for this?” But let’s be honest here. Can you really remember to record all this in an orderly fashion as the year goes on and as things get more and more hectic? Not unless your name is Super Mom. For most of us the days are jam packed…making lunch, preparing dinner, cleaning the house, diaper here, poo poo there, scrapes and screams - keeping track of our marbles is hard enough. Aside from Super Mom, we need something fast, easy, and organized.
Now imagine this. Record keeping homeschool software that also has daily logs for your normal household activities. Wouldn’t that be, dare I say, heavenly? Well, there is one particular planner I know of, that does this. You have most likely heard of, or even subscribe to “The Old Schoolhouse” magazine; well they have introduced a homeschool planner that does everything mentioned above as well as keep track of cleaning schedules, grocery lists, menu planners, and chores. The list goes on and on, but you can check it out for yourself. There are even monthly modules you can purchase alongside it that provide short lessons, a resource list and recipes. A new proverb is born, “Sanity, Sanity, all is Sanity.”
So, if you want to be a sane homeschooler this year, I would look into getting your hands on this great record keeping homeschool software.
What is “Subcribe” and RSS?
Mozilla
Ok, so I have to admit, I thought I was completely hip and tech savvy. I mean, I’m only 24 (gasp) and that by nature means I’m hip and tech savvy right? Well, apparently not because I also had no clue what it meant to subscribe to a RSS feed. Worse yet, I didn’t even read blogs (how did I survive, I’m not quite sure?)!!!
However, now I am on the blog bandwagon and am subscribing to many. RSS feeds are a huge time saver and if you visit any blog on a regular basis and want to stay up-to-date on it, this is what you do.
On website
I won’t go into any technical details, so basically, to subscribe to a blog means to receive automatic updates of the blog’s latest posts. You can subscribe by clicking the RSS icon on a blog or the RSS icon on your browser.
There are a number of ways you can read your RSS feeds. My favorite reader is Google reader. For a number of reasons:
- I already had a Google account so set up was easy
- Google reader integrates nicely with all the other Google features
Internet Explorer
- You can view your feeds in list view, making it easy to sort through all the posts
- And it’s easy to organize via folders, starred and shared items.
I know another popular feed reader is bloglines, however, I have never used it and therefore, cannot tell you how it works.
Whichever feed reader you decide to use, make sure you choose it as your default reader. You do this by first going to your browser and then selecting: Tools > Options > Feeds > Select your reader.
If you decide you do not want to use a feed reader but you still want to stay on the pulse of your favorite blogs, you usually also have the choice to subscribe vie email. This option simply emails you the latest posts.
Now that you have a grasp on what subscribe means, you can subscribe to my blog here.
Homeschool Software - An Introduction
This is a new blog (as you can tell) and so I thought before I dive straight into blogging, I should write a little intro. So here I am, writing to you to tell you my hopes, dreams and aspirations for my little blog!
Its focus is obviously on homeschool software. In writing this blog, I plan to:
- review homeschool software
- provide relevant information and news on homeschool software
- and build a community where all of you homeschoolers recommend and critique homeschool software.
Therefore, for my dreams to be achieved, I need YOU to comment and provide feedback on posts! I hope I didn’t put too much pressure on you! 
Why Homeschool Software?
So you may wonder why I want to spend so much time and write a blog on just homeschool software. Well…
- Currently there isn’t any good information out there
- I find many homeschoolers (new and old alike) are always asking what is the best curriculum and software, so I hope that this will be a place that will answer some of those questions
- and as soon as my munchkin gets old enough, I will begin homeschooling so I hope the information gained will also benefit me (there’s always a selfish motive, isn’t there?).
Benefits of Homeschool Software
Here’s a few reasons that I find incorporating software into your homeschooled child/children’s curriculum could be beneficial.
- It can make it easier for those homeschooling multiple children, most educational and homeschool software do not need an instructor. Therefore, as one child is learning through the software, the other can be taught by you.
- It can help tackle subjects that you are less familiar with.
- It helps accomplish tasks that may not otherwise be done from home (for example frog dissection).
- Homeschool software usually finds creative ways to make learning fun and therefore, reinforces skills learnt as children play the games.
- For those who aren’t so keen on television watching, it provides another way to occupy your children.
So what do you think? Can homeschool software be benefical to your homeschool curriculum? Do you have any other reasons why it is beneficial? Do you currently use homeschool software?
Homeschool Software & an iPod - What’s the link?
I found this article entitled, “All a Kid Needs is an iPod with a Great Educational Software”. As you can imagine, I was interested, confused and skeptical all at the same time (to say the least)!
When does an iPod become a learning tool for our children? Can it really boost our children’s reading comprehension and speed and increase their attention span as it claims it does? Well, I’m sure learning may be a bit more enjoyable and interesting for some children. However, It isn’t all fun and games, the iPod software offers exams that can be printed off or taken on the computer. A progress report is also provided for parents.
There is homeschool software available for the iPod from preparing for kindergarten to mastering high school math and the SATs. I guess it could be a good tool as a supplement to our other homeschool software and curriculum. But I believe it will really shine when traveling…imagine your child(ren) still being able to learn through software while on the road. You might even experience a bit of peace and quite while driving…that alone could be worth it!
I would love to hear from any of you who have used the iPod for learning purposes or who simply have an opinion on the matter! What do you think, could homeschool software on the iPod benefit our children’s learning?
-
Recommended Resources
-
Follow Me on Twitter
Polls
Loading ...