GradeMate Blog

Cloud Files to save us all!

Mike — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 00:25:15 +0000

We’re proud to announce that GradeMate now hosts all files in the Rackspace Cloud! What does this mean? Well, much, much faster upload and download times and a much more secure system for managing all of your files. Best of all, none of your private files are stored on our servers anymore — everything sits behind Rackspace’s secure and private file container system.

We hope you continue to take advantage of GradeMate for this coming school year. Best of luck!

A few updates and we’re listening :)

Mike — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:05:52 +0000

We just updated the site with a few bug fixes and some new features today. You can now enable or disable Sharing and Grades for any of the courses you create. We realized that some users like having lots of features and some don’t so we’ll be gradually scaling back the stuff that was originally enabled by default. This will make GradeMate a little less confusing at first while still allowing anyone to “unlock” all of the features that they want (and hide the stuff that they don’t want). Grades and Sharing for courses are still enabled by default for now, but in the next release (hopefully early next week) we’ll be disabling those features for newly created courses. You can always re-enable then when you want.

Also, the course settings page got a face lift, the course info is now viewable in the “Overview” tab of the course pages, and we want you to know that we’re listening to your feature requests! We’ll be adding course dates and times to the course settings page as well as a few more informational fields for you to use. The next round of features includes a new approach to Discussions that we’ll think you’ll love

New Mail Contacts and Assignment Updates

Mike — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 02:06:07 +0000

We’ve just updated GradeMate to include a new compose mail page, assignment updates, and a slew of bug fixes — most of which you submitted

The compose mail page now allows you to more easily select contacts from any course that you share. We’ll be integrating a user search in the next release so that you can find other classmates, along with a host of related privacy and account settings so that you can always control who can find you on GradeMate.

Assignments are now sortable by date and name (just click the little arrows at the top of your assignments!) and we’ve fixed some annoying bugs regarding completed assignments.

You’ll also notice that Discussions has been temporarily removed. We’ve been thinking hard about how best to do it, and our next release will include a new approach to discussions: a way to share any type of media or content with threaded discussions from classmates. We’ll also be slowly rolling out a public discussions page which will allow anyone to post any media or content for the general GradeMate user-base to view, comment, and discuss it. This opens the door for homework help when and how you want it, and is one of the first steps we’ll be making in growing GradeMate into a platform for connecting teachers and students within the GradeMate network.

We’ll post more about the discussions as we finalize the updates, and provide some sneak peeks into how they’re coming along shortly!

GradeMate iPhone App Now Available!

Andrew — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:53:34 +0000

The new GradeMate iPhone app is finally in the iTunes Store, and it’s 100% free! We wanted to get at least a basic version out there so you could see what it is we’re working on, and plan on offering a bunch of fun new features in the upcoming weeks and months through updates.

One of the more important features in version 1.0 — and one that took us the longest to get right — is the full synchronization between the mobile and online applications. This means that whatever you do with your courses, assignments, notes, or files, those changes can be immediately seen no matter how you access GradeMate. So for example, if you add a course and some assignments online, and then fire up the mobile application, the app will pull any changes you made and update everything, all in the background. And even better: if you add some information on the mobile app — with or without an Internet or network connection, and on either an iPhone or iPod Touch — those changes will get pushed to GradeMate online the next time your device gets connected! Your data is with you wherever you go, with or without an Internet connection.

Right now, you can view your courses, edit their information or settings, and add new ones. Assignments and notes can be added for courses that you made, and you can see all of your existing assignments by course or in a calendar list view, along with their notes and attached files. The Courses tab will also let you go online to your saved links either within GradeMate or on Safari, and you can access your files right in the app as well. And if you have any GradeMate messages (sent or received) you can view those right there in the app too.

We’re hoping to get some feedback on what it is that you guys want to see in the next updates, or just GradeMate features in general, so send us anything through the iPhone app’s feedback form or right here!

GradeMate iPhone App – Sneak Preview!

Jason — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:23:21 +0000

We’ve been hard at work developing the heavily requested, long awaited GradeMate iPhone application, and it’s just a few days away from being submitted to the App Store. Check out the demo below to get a first look at what you can do with the app.

Subscribe to the GradeMate blog to be the first to know when the GradeMate iPhone App is available.

Introducing Pro Support and Course Sharing

Jason — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:56:12 +0000

The latest version of GradeMate was released last night. In addition to a slew of underlying structural changes to help the overall site performance, you’ll notice two new features:

Pro Support - GradeMate Pro users can now submit and track bugs and feature requests. You’ll see every update and comment along the way as you influence the GradeMate experience. Just another great reason to upgrade to a Pro Account!

Course Sharing – Any private course can now be shared with anyone else on GradeMate! You control whether they can add/edit assignments, share it with other people, or view the course material. Don’t worry, they won’t be able to see your grades – only assignments, notes, links, and files can be shared.

We’re taking the next few weeks to focus on incorporating feature requests and fix a few nagging bugs. As always, anyone can submit a feature request or bug report and we’ll be sure to let you know when it’s fixed. Thanks again for using GradeMate!

GradeMate Pro, SMS Reminders, Mail, Announcements and more!

Mike — Sun, 02 May 2010 20:13:17 +0000

It’s been about 2 months since our last update to GradeMate and we’re very excited to announce that we’ll be launching GradeMate Pro and a whole slew of new features tonight. While you can expect some downtime tonight as we upgrade the software, here is what’s new with this release:

GradeMate Pro
There are now two types of GradeMate accounts: Free and Pro. Free accounts have a 3 course limit (only on created courses, not joined courses) and restrictions on the amount of file space you can have. For $50/$5 (teachers) or $20/$3 (students) yearly/monthly you can get unlimited courses, 1GB of file storage, access to new features early, and full support. We’ll be adding live chat to this support plan in the coming weeks.
*All current users will get free GradeMate Pro accounts for life. This is our thank you for using GradeMate.
SMS Reminders
Reminders can now be set up to be delivers to your mobile phone or email account. Just add your mobile number and carrier to your Account Settings.
GradeMate Mail
You can now send mail messages directly to other users inside GradeMate. Navigate to the Mail tab and just start typing your teachers’ or students’ names.
Announcements
For teachers. from the Mail page simply type in your course name and enter your message. When you click Send it will be delivered to each student in that course (or courses) and it will show up on their Dashboard as an Announcement.
“Add New” Button
We’ve added an Add New button conveniently in the upper right hand corner of the application. Here you can quickly add courses, mail messages, or reminders.

Not only that but we’re moving GradeMate to a brand new server at the Rackspace Cloud. We’ve noted much faster page load times and much fewer down time with this host.

That’s all for now but thanks again for your continued support for GradeMate. These next couple days might see surprises or bugs crop up that we didn’t catch so we’d greatly appreciate any feedback or bug reports. Thanks again!

How Can Education Groom the next Generation of Thought Leaders?

Jason — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 03:14:09 +0000

At the kickoff to World Entrepreneurship day at the United Nations on April 14th, four panelists provided their perspective on the role of education in breeding the next generation of thought leaders, specifically within the United States. The panelists included lifestyle mogul Marc Ecko, author and venture capitalist Leonard Brody, children’s entertainment creator Don Moody, and the Treasurer of the Harlem City Success Charter School John Petry.

Despite their rather diverse backgrounds, all four individuals expressed similar concern over the state of the educational system, specifically with regard to the definition and measurement of success, the achievement gap between schools, and meeting the needs of all children in our schools.

Ecko began the discussion describing his early days of airbrushing t-shirts and painting graffiti. He cites this time as when he discovered his “narrative” in life, which now drives his internal motivation. He developed a passion for the artistry, and channelled his energy to this obsession. Unfortunately, as he described, the current school system and government imposed mandates do little to support this type of path.

“When you’re tuned out in 8th grade, it’s a wrap. You’re done.”

- Marc Ecko

Brody echoed the sentiments, citing his controversial belief that we’re a tremendously different and varied population than we were when the educational system was designed. According to him, “the house just doesn’t fit the people who live in it.” He points to the Israeli educational system, one that despite having few natural resources, a population the size of Manhattan, and constant conflict, continues to generate world renown thought leaders and entrepreneurs. He attributes this success to the encouragement of focused development dictated by the interests of children at an individual level.

The focus of the discussion turned toward the use of technology in the classroom. According to Moody, an inherent bias seems to exist within the classroom against technology. Moody blames content, rather than technology, as the culprit behind this bias. Administrators fear the potentially negative content available, whether of a lewd or distracting nature, and seek to limit the exposure of their students to technology as a result. His solution to this problem centers upon developing content that is safe and beneficial for the classroom, specifically at a young age. He strongly believes that preparing children before they enter the educational system – regardless of the system – is imperative to driving success in future years.

The panel concluded with the following question: how can innovation change the educational experience of our children? Petry put it simply: empower parents and enhance the flexibility of the system. He refers to the budget cuts forcing new teachers out of schools in New York simply because they’re the newest, regardless of the quality of their work.

Brody complemented Petry’s point on flexibility, encouraging educators to allow kids to focus on what motivates them, and how to avoid a terrifying fear of failure. Failure in something is inevitable, and we must teach our kids to embrace the experience and improve.

With GradeMate, we want not only to reduce the amount of administrative and menial work involved in the learning process, but to improve the quality of the extra time afforded. By providing tools to empower and connect students, teachers and parents we can strengthen and personalize the relationships between these individuals and improve the quality of education received.

Reducing the strain on students created by practices of the past will allow them to use their time more efficiently to pursue their own interests. If one overall theme resonated above all during this discussion, it was the need to let children pursue their passion. Our vision is to allow GradeMate to act as an enabler for just that.

The Innovative Educator

Alex — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 02:12:42 +0000

There are a number of great resources we can access online to find information about how advances in technology are being introduced to classrooms. One such resource is The Innovative Educator, a wonderfully written blog that touches on topics including why social media curriculum is critical in schools, the introduction of online tools for math students, and an examination of new technologies such as the iTouch in education.

Innovative Educator has been nominated by Edublog as one of the best individual blogs and was voted as a top 50 education innovator. The blog has an active and engaged following, and with an archive spanning back to 2008 it is a wonderful source for those interested in technology and education. It even has a companion social network, wiki, and Twitter feed designed to support and reinforce its contents.

GradeMate is an online organizer and tool for students and teachers. We realize the internet has the potential to help introduce efficiencies and maximize learning. However, the medium is ever-changing, and a base understanding in how technology meets education is needed to best utilize online tools in the classroom. The Innovative Educator provides content and perspective for those looking to educate themselves in this space.

Blogs and Technology in Education

Alex — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 12:16:16 +0000

Over the past few months we have identified a number of blogs that focus on learning, technology and education. It has been particularly interesting to follow current events in the education sphere through the eyes of major media outlets while simultaneously feeling the pulse of the blogging community.

Although blogs as a medium cannot always compete with major outlets as publications that can provide unwavering professional, fair and immediate reporting, when monitored in its assorted entirety the drumbeat of blogger responses represent a quality of news that somehow fills in its professional holes with sincerity and individual purpose.

Please find a list of the blogs we have been following. To better understand education and its changing relationship with technology we all need to first listen before we speak; these blogs are a great place to root our understanding as we begin to take steps forward.

Learning Technologies

Teachers Teaching Teachers

The Innovative Educator

TomMarch