1.5.2. MyGradeBook

MyGradeBook is an entirely web-based classroom management tool. In addition to grading tools for keeping track of assignments and student scores, MyGradeBook offers utilities for looking up student information, keeping track of attendance, and building quizzes. Aimed toward elementary and secondary school teachers for personal use, it requires a yearly subscription rate for one user. Teachers create classes, grading schemes, and assignments through HTML forms. Student scores for assignment categories can be presented in a sortable spreadsheet-view. While aimed for teachers, students and parents can view grades and attendance with a special class code and personal password given to each student.

Good Features:

• Individual pages for each class
• Spreadsheet-based with Sutdent rows and Assignment columns
• Spreadsheet view of assignments
• Automatic score averages for assignments for spreadsheet view
• Can sort spreadsheet columns
• Set grading periods (semesters/quarters) for class scores
• Assignments grouped by category
• Assignment categories can be arbitrarily nested
• Set a grading scheme/grading scale
• Can drop lowest scores in some category
• Extra credit categories
• Manually override grades that were automatically determined
• Students can use the tool to view their grades

Bad Features:

• Dropdown-menu based (as opposed to collapsible spreadsheet view)
  • Choose a class
  • Go to Scores Tab
  • Choose a category (e.g. Reading Quizzes)
• Large amounts of features hidden under broad dropdown header categories
• Navigate to separate HTML pages for everything (i.e. viewing scores by student, scores by assignment, spreadsheet of scores all done through individual webpages)
• Have to do HTML submit to save class details, assignment details, scores, etc.
  • Any time data is changed a submit must happen
  • Pop-up warning when you try to navigate away without saving data
• Copying assignments from one class to another requires identical category/subcategory names (Can't save a "template" and import it)
• Provides a text box for teacher to list course "policies" - No automatic handling of policies

Missing Features:

• Support for curving grades
• Histogram/Piechart views of grades
• Historical grade trends for past classes (though one can view past grading periods for a class)
• Late policies
• Grace day policies
• Collapsible columns in spreadsheet view
• Form subsets of students (teams, groups within teams)