Grading Essay Exams with GoodReader

My first goal for my new iPad was to be able to grade my Intellectual Property Survey exams using the GoodReader App.  I was able to quickly locate and download the GoodReader App.  The next step was to be able to load my students’ exam answers onto my iPad inside the Good Reader App.

Students at the law school began using ExamSoft this semester to take their essay exams.  ExamSoft results in digital files uploaded to a secure server.  For all classes, our TIPS (Text and Image Production Services) department then prints out those exam answers in hard copy for grading.  The essay answers for my class ranged from 15 to 25 pages, double-spaced.  In big classes with 60 or 70 students, my ability to grade digitally will save, literally, reams of paper.  This is important to me personally and also to the law school that has one of the leading environmental law programs in the country.  Last year the faculty adopted a sustainable paper policy, which aims to “reducing overall paper consumption” at the law school.

ExamSoft can generate a pdf file of each exam answer – with the push of a button.  Indeed the software can generate a zip file of all of the answers for a particular class in seconds.  I asked one of our TIPS wizard, Andy Marion, to generated a zip file for each of my two classes and email me the file.  Then all I had to do was figure out how to get those pdf files onto my iPad.  I decided to use dropbox to transfer files.  After unzipping the files on my PC and loading the pdf files to a designated folder on dropbox, I then was able to sync that folder with GoodReader and begin grading. 

I want to provide my students with feedback on their exam essays.  I decided to use two main ways of providing feedback.  First, I used a basic color coded highlighting for generalized feedback:  Green highlights means the statement is an accurate and good statement in the context of the exam question.  Second, I used the comment box function to insert typed comments.  The color of the comment box also was similarly color coded. 

GoodReader provides lots of different annotation tools.  For this “first time out” I used only two:  the highlighting and the pop-up boxes, although I experimented with lots of the tools.  Below is one page of an exam retrieved in Adobe on a PC that shows the use of many of the annotation tools available in GoodReader:

 

The red and yellow triangles indicate an embedded comment.  When you put your cursor over the triangle, a box with the comment appears – see the yellow triangle example at the bottom of the above page.  GoodReader also has a function that will let you “flatten” the document so that each triangle is numbered and the contents of the comments appear at the end.  I tested the annotated files in both Adobe Reader and Adobe Pro, and both permit the pop-up box to show, so I don’t see a need to “flatten” the documents.

The first time you seek to add notations to a pdf file in GoodReader, you will be asked if you want to save the annotated file under a different file name, and where you want to save the file.  I had to think that through a bit because, ultimately, I need to be able to “hand” back the exams to the students.  This is just something to think through when you start using this method of grading.  Students email me asking to review their exams and I am able to email them back the annotated pdf of their exam answer, along with a short note about the color coding I used.

I also needed to keep track of the scores for each of the seven questions that were on the exam.  I started out by having a separate pdf file that is my detailed score sheet.  This didn’t work too well as I had to keep switching between the two pdf files for each exam.  After grading the first two questions this way, I switched to a paper print out grade sheet for each exam.  While I was disappointed to not be able to complete my grading entirely digitally, I was, overall, quite happy with the experience!

Overall, the experience was a very positive one.  I was able to take what would have been a heavy and HUGE stack of papers with me as I traveled Washington D.C. for the annual AALS conference during the semester break.  I got a lot of grading done on the airplane – all I needed was my iPad!

Annotating the Syllabus - Live in Class

Like many teachers, I treat my course's syllabus as a contract with my students.  The syllabus contains a variety of pertinent information that students will need to know throughout the course.  To make my presentation of the syllabus more engaging, I decided to annotate it using the GoodReader app live in class.  This app allowed me both to highlight and free-draw directly on a PDF of my syllabus.  I used this as a tool to focus student attention on some of the most crucial information in the syllabus, like my office hours, late penalties, and the attendance policy.

I also found this to be a fairly low-risk way to get use to projecting the ipad in the classroom.  Projection using the "laptop" setting on the tower worked seamlessly and automatically.   I did, however, have some trouble importing my file using webdisk.  Does anyone know if this is possible?

In response to Daena's query about other PDF annotation apps, I haven't used the others so I can't make any comparisons, but I can say that GoodReader also has the ability to "flatten" files so they can be easily distributed.

I plan to use the iPad to support my Interpersonal Media course.  It is an introductory course in our department that is organized around the question:  Do basic interpersonal communication processes change when we do them through electronically mediated channels instead of face-to-face?  Our classrooms are one place where interpersonal communication takes place, so by experimenting with different media for classroom communication, students experience first-hand some of the issues we study in class.

An iPad will give me more personal experience of integrating digital tools into my own everyday life.  I suspect I'll become more familiar with social media if I have the iPad with me as I go through my day. I also hope it will make it easier to utilize digital tools in class, including Skyping in experts, annotating PDFs, and doing more lurking and commenting in the Moodle forums I ask students to use.  I am replacing reading response papers with student blogs (and I'll be keeping my own blog related to the class) so instead of carrying around a stack of response papers to grade when I have a spare moment, I'll access their responses on the iPad.  The convenience and portability of the iPad will make it easier for me to do all of this--up to now, finding the time has been a barrier to a lot of ideas I've had for using technology in the classroom.

Today, I started looking into annotating PDFs.  I assign some original scholarly articles in the class and I'm curious if I can improve student comprehension and discussion by inserting into the PDFs sticky notes with questions or comments (e.g., asking them to stop and reflect on a question, think of an example, play devil's advocate, or notice a connection to another reading or idea).  I'd also like to highlight some key passages they will be expected to discuss or that might appear on an in-class quiz.  So I'm investigating how to annotate PDFs and then save them in a format that students can read using plain old Adobe Reader.  I have been reading some online reviews and comparisons of GoodReader, PDF Expert, and iAnnotate.  So far, it sounds to me like PDF Expert is the most versatile and flexible. A big issue is that the files I annotate must be readable by students who are likely to use the free version of Adobe Reader.  One of the blog comments I read today suggested PDF Expert will let me export an annotated PDF in a "flattened" format so that other versions of Adobe can read it. 

I plan to purchase PDF Expert with the iTune cards we were given.  I'll post a review as soon as I have a chance to experiment with it!

Daena

Getting started...

Well, I'm excited to start participating in the iPads in Education program at Lewis and Clark College.  This is a bit of a test post, since it is my first time using Blogger, but  I will use this as an opportunity to introduce myself and how I hope to use my iPad this semester.

I'm a biology professor in my 14th year at Lewis and Clark.  This semester I will be teaching one of my favorite courses: Animal Behavior.  The course includes many field trips to local natural areas where students have the chance to observe wild animals in their native habitats.  Topics we will explore include animal communication, habitat use, mating systems, and patterns of parental care.  With the iPad's ability to record and play back video and sound, I look forward to being able to share and review observations with students while in the field... something I've never been able to do before.  So, look for updates here as the semester gets under way.  As we move forward, any suggestions for useful apps or other feedback would be much appreciated.

Ken