Gradefinity (https://gradefinity.com) is a kind of Blackboard + Scantron LMS alternative that is really targeted in terms of what problems it intends to solve (in-person and online tests, gradebooks, and communication).
Full disclosure: I built it-- I'm very receptive to feedback and feature suggestions though and am looking for pilot schools if anyone is interested in shaping the platform/knows someone who might be.
Some questions: does Gradefinity have the ability for teachers to publish learning modules for collaboration purposes? And orchestrate tasks among themselves? For example two teachers both writing up 200 vocabulary words to make a 400 vocabulary words quiz - can that be merged? Sharing content both between teachers and between classes is extremely important and seems to be underserved by Blackboard. Also do you model classes as being able to span terms, i.e. a two-semester class is a single entity?
In its current form, no-- but the content collaboration and task management you're describing seem reasonably straightforward to implement.
Courses as they exist now are unaware of semesters or terms, and are only tied to the students enrolled. So if the students enrolled in a particular class don't change (or change very little) between two semesters, you could continue use the same course for a 2nd semester if you wanted, or you could import your students into a new class and name the new class "Class Semester 2" for example.
I'm happy to work on features to fit your use case if you're interested in offering suggestions or are looking for a better solution than your current one; my email is brad [at] gradefinity [dot] com and I'm generally pretty available to talk about features/suggestions/demo stuff, etc.
Moodle is a popular open source LMS (learning management system) written in PHP that could use a ton of improvement, especially on the front end. It's not necessarily bad, but it is very outdated compared to offerings by private companies.
Gradefinity is a testing solution/micro LMS which accommodates online and in-person testing: https://gradefinity.com
It was primarily built to serve as a Scantron replacement, so classroom management features are limited to online testing and course announcements.
Full disclosure: I work a full-time job (at least for now, save for any layoffs) so support would be somewhat limited. I can also take down the paywall for as long as needed for any schools affected by Covid-19
Other free options:
- Moodle (more technically involved, needs to installed/hosted by someone and setup can be challenging)
- Canvas (I haven't personally used this, but it seems to be growing in popularity. From what I understand it is somewhat similar to BlackBoard)
So get a volunteer from non-TSA employees who work at the airport in whatever capacity and clear it with their boss? I agree that this is a bit skeevy.
There are all sorts of alternatives. I'm just noting why they might not pick a local staff who has interacted with the dog.
I find the story interesting, but also it seems unlikely these guys are trying some real frame up job with a coat that their target is seen in the airport not wearing, and the security person carrying around. If anything it sounds like some guys goofing around.
The "aaaahh man!" reaction seems way too casual/jokey for a criminal setup that could have serious consequences for everyone involved. If I realized my scam target wasn't playing along, I'd probably nervously pretend that's completely fine and thank them for their time (something like that).
I built this because I was shocked at how inefficient the process of grading and entering grades was during my time as a teacher's assistant in college. If you've ever taken a multiple-choice test at a high school or university in the U.S., you've likely used Scantron forms before. These are handy for automatically grading multiple choice questions, but once they're graded the task of getting these grades into the school's LMS (i.e. BlackBoard, Canvas, Moodle) remains. As a TA, I would spend hours looking at grades printed on Scantron forms, then manually hand-keying these grades into the school's learning management system for dozens, if not hundreds of students a night. If you've ever entered grades before, you know that entering grades is a long, tedious, process.
Gradefinity makes grading easier in several ways:
1. It can be used with a regular office printer and scanner, so no specialized equipment (i.e. Scantron grading machine) is needed.
2. Each bubble sheet is pre-printed with a student ID number. When bubble sheets are uploaded, Gradefinity uses OCR to match the students' bubble sheet answers to their identity in the database, then enters the grades for the appropriate students.
3. Gradefinity also captures open-ended responses from students and displays this in an Assignment Review page for instructors to review, along with multiple choice answers. Instructors can leave feedback on these open-ended responses for the student to review later using their student log in credentials.
It also supports online testing and has quiz building tools as well. Grades can also be exported to .CSV from the online gradebook for further editing in the instructor's spreadsheet program of choice.
I'd be super grateful if any teachers or professors on HN were to make an account and provide some feedback. The site is still pretty new at the moment, so despite relentless testing I apologize in advance for any bugs that you might run into.
Hi Brad, the site is down right now but this looks really interesting.
From the video, it seems like you are also using some visual recognition to match the correct answers on the scan.
How are you doing this?
Are you calibrating the position of the sheets with some markers or are you expecting specific coordinates?
Is there some AI involved? How accurate is your technique with real-life students filling in the boxes?
Is there some way to correct individual answers (and is there some feedback mechanism involved to do better next time)?
Anyway, congrats on shipping, looks super interesting!
Full disclosure: I built it-- I'm very receptive to feedback and feature suggestions though and am looking for pilot schools if anyone is interested in shaping the platform/knows someone who might be.