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Here’s a story that’s embarrassing to tell. But, as Neil Gaiman says about writing, “the moment that you feel, just possibly, you are walking down the street naked, exposing too much of your heart and your mind…That is the moment, you might be starting to get it right.” So, it’s a story I’ll tell:The grading period was just about to end, and I had a stack of student essays about the play Inherit the Wind. After a quick pass through them, one thing became apparent to me: none of the students’ work surprised me. The students who typically did well in my class did well on this assignment. The students who had struggled all year long struggled on this assignment, too.So, I looked at each student’s current average, and placed that grade on the top of the paper. For students who were on the threshold of two grades (the ol’ 89.9) I gave the student the grade that he or she needed in order to be bumped up. My face is getting red with embarrassment as I type this.Now, there are two things that come out of this story for me:That was wrong to do. That being said…The assignment, and my assessment practices, did not lead me to feel motivated to read the papers and see the student progress that has occurred.This leads us to where I am today. In three of my classes, which are three sections of freshmen academic English (think College Prep), I did not put a grade on a single assignment this year. No grades on pieces of writing, no grades on presentations, no graded homework and no graded formative assessments (that is something I will never go back to, as it is clear to me now that putting a number on a formative assessment removes any right that the assignment has to be called formative). Anyway, no grades.The exception to this was the interim report and end of marking period times, when students receive a grade. I’ll get to how they get those grades later in this post.How did I hear about this idea?One day, scanning the Interwebs, I encountered a hashtag, #TTOG. It led me to scroll through more tweets, until a man named Mark Barnes mentioned something about a Facebook group called “Teachers Throwing Out Grades.”Hmm, I thought. Interesting. Grading is my least favorite part of teaching, and it never feels meaningful to the learning process. So, in my effort to explore further, I checked it out.Immediately, I knew I had found an important community. In this group were teachers committed to student learning instead of numbers. The basic ethos of the group was that learning was difficult or impossible to measure, and that traditional grading systems hinder learning by putting the emphasis on symbols like letters, numbers and percentages instead of meaningful feedback loops. In theory, I think this is something that lots of teachers would agree with: Everyone seems to care more about grades than whatever it is they are getting grade on.The deep realizationI came to after perusing posts in this group was that this required a radical change. This was not something you just do, like trying a new website or printing out an article for your students to read. This was a commitment, and one that that required deep planning, preparation and communication with everyone involved in the learning process of your classroom.How did it start out?The most important part of this process happened before I ever began it with my students. That was the conversations I had with administrators before the school year started. In order to make what some consider a radical shift in my classroom, it was important to communicate my plans and rationale with the administrators in my school, and to make sure that they understood that I had a plan, and I wasn’t simply trying to shirk on my responsibilities.To prepare for this, I gathered all the research and planning I could and developed a proposal to share with my supervisor and building principal. Much of the ideas and structure of this proposal was inspired by a similar document that Starr Sackstein wrote for her school. Here’s the document:What did I do to prepare?I was nervous about starting the year with this new policy. Of course, there were visions in my head of total parent and student mutiny. Teachers sometimes have a tendency to envision the worst case scenario when they are trying something new in the classroom. So, partially motivated by the fear of starting this new program, I set out to prepare myself.The personal learning network (PLN) is an acronym that is often thrown around on social media. When I decided to make this change, my PLN became the go to resource for transforming the assessment policy of my classroom. Specifically, I’d like to thank a few people who shared their time and experiences with me:Steve Fergusson, an English teacher in New Jersey and fellow TCNJ alum, who shared his experienced with a hybrid of traditional and standards-based grading. Talking to a teacher I already knew made this whole process feel doable.Joy Kirr, who curates one of the most valuable educational resources on the Internet, her Live Binders, helped me both through her reflective blog posts (like this one) and through many interactions on Twitter.Starr Sackstein talked to me on the phone about how to use a traditional online grading portal to implement a feedback instead of grades system. Again, I recommend reading her book, Hacking AssessmentMark Barnes and the entire Teachers Throwing Out Grades Facebook group answered many of my preliminary questions about how to go set up and sustain an English class without using traditional grades.Farrah Krovoza, a middle-grades teacher in Hawaii, shared her experience with standards-based grading with me.Sometimes, just following the ideas in a book and implementing them is good for personalized PD. But in this case, with so many questions to ask, being able to reach out to these people was so valuable. Thank you all.How did it work?I refined the process throughout the year until I came to three main components of the no grades classroom:PortfoliosThese were digital, and they allowed students to reflect on and gather their best work from the marking period and the end of the year. We used Google Drive and Google Classroom, so students could easily go back through the previous work they did and drag and drop their best work into a portfolio folder. For written work, students used the built in camera on their chromebooks to take a snapshot and add the photo to a Google Doc. That looked like the photo below. It wasn’t always the easiest text to read, but it provided a record that the students had done the work, and allowed me to follow up by reading the students paper work and talking to them about it in person.Self-Assessments and reflectionsAt the end of each marking period, and often at the interim report time, students completed a self-assessment checklist based on the skills we had practiced during the recent quarter. Students reflected on questions about their best work and wrote about the areas that still needed improvement.ConferencesWhile conferences happened nearly daily in the classroom as students read and wrote, the end of marking period conferences were focused specifically on students’ accomplishments during the marking period, and where they thought their work left them in terms of a final grade.What were some of the struggles?The number one struggle of this system was having students complete assignments on time. I try to leverage intrinsic motivation and student choice as much as possible in my classroom by allowing students to read, write, research and speak about the topics that they care about in life. Still, at times I found students openly describing to me that they would do work for other classes first because they knew that those assignments would be graded the next day, and they were concerned with their numerical averages falling in those classes. Each teacher does what is best for his or her students, so I place no fault on other teachers. I need to work on making this system function better within a school that, by and large, uses traditional assessment methods of points and averages.Another struggle was getting students to fully understand how the system changes the nature of the class. Primarily, it was difficult to get students to lose the fear of punitive grading. Even later in the year, some students would still ask if they would lose points for making a certain error in a writing assignment, or not demonstrating a certain public speaking skill during a pop-up debate (thanks, Dave Stuart Jr.)A practical, day-to-day challenge was figuring out what to put in the online gradebook. My students completed plenty of reading and writing activities, and I aligned these activities with the specific skills (standards) that we focused on in each marking period. So, I wrestled with the idea of putting the assignments in the gradebook and leaving feedback comments next to those assignments, or putting the standards/skills in the gradebook and leaving comments about how students were progress on those skills. This is something I’m still wrestling with.What did students think?I asked students to give feedback on the feedback instead of grades system on their final self-assessment survey. They answered these questions:What do you think about the grading system used this year? Why? Be honest and specific.Looking back, the question could’ve been posed better. I did use the word “grading” right in the question, because the students still view classes in terms of grades, and so asking them about the assessments or feedback in the class would’ve been less direct. Students understand that there are no grades on their assignments in this class. Their responses were predictably wide-ranging, and they were very valuable for how I might modify my plans moving forward. Here are some highlights (I focused on the extremes, both for and against the system:This grading system was great. – -allowed me to worry about the work rather then the grade -less stress -gave me an end goal to strive forI don’t like not physically seeing my grades. It makes me slack a lot. When I dont [sic] see a grade in I think that I have time to do the work later and then eventually all my work piles up and I don’t do most of it.Honestly I loved it. I felt much more comfortable being graded on effort than being graded on completion. As a young writer who writes based off of feeling its so hard to write with rules. Its stressful knowing I’ll get a bad grade because I didn’t complete a 5 paragraph essay. Its not that I was procrastinating and didn’t get a chance to finish, but its because I put all my creative energy into writing 3 paragraphs and rather not have two crappy paragraphs chucked in there. This grading system was comforting and actually made me want to improve for myself rather than for a grade.I didn’t like it. I didn’t like not having individual grades for assignments because I couldn’t see my progress throughout the marking period. Seeing my progress helps me know how much I need to work on to improve my grade, but I couldn’t see that with this grading system.At first, I absolutely hated it. But then after getting to know it. I realized it was a smart idea. It gives students abilities to grow and learn when they don’t understand something rather than doing poorly on it would give them at bad grade. I really wished all my other teachers used it.The grade system was a new way to get grades. I thought it was a good way of going it. If we made a mistake we could just go back and fix it rather the teacher just giving us the first grade. It will help us learn from the mistakes and learn.I felt that because of the grading not being directly on the grading form, this class didn’t seem that urgent. One, if u go on to grade portal, you don’t see a grade however, if you went on grade portal and saw an F (45%) instead, you would want to try harder in class. But I also understand the main goal of this system, its not so much about a straight forward grade, but its based on what each of us can do and how much we can improve ourselves.What did this student feedback help me realize?Some students never made the connection between feedback, improvement and learning. They still tie their progress only to a number. And, when there are other seven classes and all of the classes before this year have relied on numerical grades, this is understandable. Still, I take ownership of not explaining the system clearly enough to those students who thought that they couldn’t track their progress unless their work was numerically graded.Some students fully realized the benefits of the system as I intended. They were able to “grow and learn” without focusing on grades and made them “want to improve for [themselves] rather than for a grade.” When students mentioned that they had clear goals to strive for, were able to focus on reading and writing instead of stressing on grades, and were able to make mistakes without worrying about the punishment of a bad grade, it makes me think that the impact that this system had on those students makes it worth it.What did parents think?Overall, parent response was positive. I attribute this to the fact that I thoroughly explained my reasoning during back to school night, I shared my proposal letter with parents via email and I maintained opened communication with all parents who had questions about the system.For the parents who were deeply involved in their children’s educations, my hope was that this system would allow parents to get a more clear sense of the actions their son or daughter could take to improve. Theoretically, it removes one step in the conversation about school work. So, instead of:Mom: What’s your grade?Kid: 75Mom: Why?Kid: I got a bad grade on a quiz.Mom: What was the quiz about?Kid: Angles.Mom: How can you bring up your grade?Kid: We have another quiz coming up next week.Mom: What do you need to work on.Kid: I’m not sure.Ideally, it would go more like this:Mom: I saw in the grade portal that your introductions are strong but you need better evidence in your essays, have you worked on revising?Kid: Uhh, no… I guess I better get to work.And of course, that is a utopian ideal, but the principle is hopefully clear: by putting feedback directly about student performance in the grade portal, it tells parents and students exactly how the student is doing, instead of using a symbol (letter or number) that must be interpreted.What will I change for next time?More in class conferencing and keeping records of in class conferencing. Record conferences notes in the grade portal as feedback, make audio comments of conferences.Collect even more of what students create, so it can be used to demonstrate learning and be used as meaningful assessments for me and the students (record small-group discussions, have students capture their writing with cameras, take pictures of their independent reading books, etc.)Use posters around the room to remind students of the skills that we are learning, refer to them more in conversation.Make end of the year portfolios a bigger deal, follow more of the sage advice from Mr. Jim Mahoney and my colleague, Mr. Erik Petrushun.Overall, using a feedback instead of grades policy was the most informative, reflective and yes, stressful, process I’ve undergone as a teacher. It was extremely rewarding, and I look forward to building on the system for next year.Read more here.

Udacity is the best app !SalesForce 1The Salesforce1 Platform is an industry standard PaaS solution that’s used by thousands of major businesses worldwide. SalesForce1 allows you to develop your own Android applications to help improve sales and efficiency within you’re company. This can be anything from analytical tools, to tools to enhance the way your sales team work out in the field and apps to improve customer support. Its not aimed at beginners though and you’ll need to be a developer that is a member of Force.com and Database.com in order to use it.Try SalesForce 1CanvasCanvas is most commonly used to develop Android applications for field service workers that are constantly on the move and filling out paper forms. Some of the fields where Canvas is regularly utilized are Oil and Gas mining safety inspections, daily reports for construction, logistics, HVAC, plumbing and roofing.Any company that deals with form-filling tasks could see improved efficiency with applications developed in Canvas that allow workers to edit checklists, inspections, work orders, surveys, invoices and inventories on their Android device.Try CanvasField SquaredField Squared is cloud-based and allows you to create customizable native mobile apps and back office tools for field business services. The idea of Field Squared is to help field employees work more efficiently on tablets and phones and remove the need for paperwork.Apps developed on Android in Field Squared can also be used to improve the efficiency of your company’s activities via such uses as job status tracking, route optimization, and asset tracking. You can use apps developed in Field Squared online and offline, protect communications with AES and SSL encryption and use 2-way data sync. You can also integrate GPS into any services you develop on your Android device but if you do choose to use this, it does kill the battery very quickly.Try Field SquaredJScramblerJScrambler’s focus is developing secure Android applications and markets itself as one of the most secure solutions out there. JScrambler is aimed more at advanced Android programmers and gives you lots of different JavaScript source code transformations including function outlining, string obfuscation and also provides several code locks other security features that keep your valuable Javascript code safe from being stolen.Try JScramblerZengineZengine is a cloud-based platform that’s aimed at non technical users to build custom business applications for Android. For more seasoned developers, you can also extend the application through the use of integrations and other complex functionality.Zengine’s makes things easier with pre-configured templates (such as CRM, Project Management or Recruiting) and then a simple​​ ​​drag and drop form builder to create applications. ​Alternatively, i​f you already have data in a spreadsheet or other tool, you can import it into Zengine and you can contract the developers to create an app for you.Try ZengineWorkXpress Build from ScratchWorkXpress is designed for building Android apps for small or large businesses and makes it easy enough for anyone to get started with. There’s no programming knowledge or complicated setup procedure so its definitely suitable for beginners to programming on Android.WorkXpress is still pretty powerful and features include search and replace, undo and redo, and on-screen keyboard helpers. If you’re new to programming on android and need an easy place to start, WorkXpress is worth checking out.Try WorkXpressComoComo is another user-friendly platform that simplifies app creation on Android and helps you create feature rich apps. Como has a particular focus on e-commerce and makes it easier to create apps for selling goods on Android devices. It also includes tools to help you market and promote any apps that you create on it.Try ComoKnackKnack is another Android programming app aimed at non-technical users to build online database apps. You don’t need any prior programming or IT background and there’s plenty of online support if you get stuck.Knack aims to help novices build their own off-the-shelf applications that are difficult to reproduce in standalone solutions although it obviously lacks some of the power features of programming applications designed for pro. The nice thing about Knack though is that it actually manages to make learning Android programming fun.Try KnackZoho CreatorZoho Creator is an easy-to-use Android programming app which aims to get your application and database rolled out ASAP. Zoho takes care of security, uptime, backups and upgrades so that you can focus on creating your app. One good thing about Zoho is the pricing model because its a pay-as-you-go service with no long term contracts. You pay monthly, quarterly or yearly and you can cancel at anytime which is more flexible than most similar app. You can also create unlimited database applications with Zoho creator and share the account with up to 3 users.Try Zoho CreatorOutSystems PlatformOutSystems Platform is designed to help you develop and deploy apps in the cloud, on-premises or in a hybrid model. Although you can develop on Android, it’s designed to produce something that can be deployed in the Cloud for all devices to access and use. It’s suitable for developing User Interfaces, Business Logic, Business Processes, Databases, Integration Components, Web Services, Security Rules and Scheduling activities.OutSystems Platform uses an attractive and easy to follow visual development environment to rapidly develop and change mobile and web applications. OutSystems Platform helps you sketch out what can of app you want by letting you assemble all the components necessary to define mobile and web apps before you have to write any code.Try OutSystems PlatformCaspioCaspio is not for those new to programming. It’s quite complicated for those new to programming on Android and is aimed more at power users than those looking for an attractive looking IDE.Amongst the many things you can create with Caspio are Online Forms, Embed Anywhere Deployment, Basic and Advanced Reporting, Map Mashup, Easy Data Import/Export: Excel, Access, TXT, XML, CSV, SSL Deployment, One-Click Language Localization, SEO Deployment, Password Protection and CAPTCHAS.Try CaspioSnappiiSnappii aims to help you create feature packed native mobile business apps for Android but with no coding knowledge. It’s designed to help you design, build and deploy enterprise grade secure mobile business as quickly as possible rather than having to hire a dedicated development team. Snappii allows you to integrate your apps with the Cloud and also shows you how you can connect apps you design in it to your enterprises’ back-end systems for more secure data transfers.Try SnappiiiON InteractiveiON Interactive is all about trying to grab user attention by helping you create interactive content on your Android device. iON Interactive is a good choice if you want to create an app that’s going to be heavily involved in social marketing, email marketing and advertising campaigns.iON’s is most commonly used to create assessments, quizzes, ebooks, interactive white papers and other marketing tools that try to increase engagement, boost sales and improve conversions.Try iON InteractiveBizness AppsBizness Apps is another ready-to-go Android programming app with lots of templates, designs and tutorials to help you create your own apps. Bizness Apps includes tons of useful features that you can easily add to your apps including GPS Directions, Advanced Push Notifications, Tell-A-Friend, Food Ordering and Mobile Shopping Carts.You can also add Mobile Reservations, Music Player, Loyalty Card, Custom Email Forms, Video Integration, Event Attendance, Bizness CRM tracking tools, Event Listings, Business Information, Points of Interest, GPS Coupons, Fan Wall, Mailing List, 3rd Party Social & Tool Integration, One Touch Calling and more.Try Bizness AppsWebflowFinally, if its not programming your want but a spot of web design on your Android device, take a look at Webflow. Webflow is actually a WYSIWYG visual website builder that’s not about building apps, but about using your Android device to build websites. Webflow is designed to create professional, responsive sites suitable for enterprises large and small and customers include Groupon, MTV, Pinterest and IBM. Although you can code with it if you want, no coding knowledge is required at all to create sites on your Android device. You can either design a site from scratch or use one of the many business templates available to create a site as quickly as possible.Try Webflow