Technology for Luddites

Using Email/Microsoft Word to Grade Papers

The benefit of Microsoft Word is that the “Review” program makes it very easy to write relatively unobtrusive, legible comments on the student papers that most closely resemble the old fashioned “write on the paper with a red pen” model that many of us have become adapted to over the years. If some of you are printing out student papers, writing comments by hand, scanning the papers, and emailing them back, this will save you a lot of time, paper, and labor power.

1. I create a folder on my desktop at the start of the semester labeled with the number of the course (e.g. “HMS 101A Fall 2020”).  

 2. In the assignment I give to my students, I explicitly ask students to send me their papers to my Pratt email address, attached to the email as a Microsoft Word document. I ask them to put their last name in the subject heading and the number of the assignment (e.g. “Kissinger Essay 1 Draft 1”).

 3. When I get their email, I click on the attachment and download it to the desktop of my computer.

 4. If the student remembered to send the paper as a Word document, I insert the paper into the folder I created for my class. I make a mental note that I am pleased the student is cooperative and follows instructions :-).

 5. If the student did not remember to send the paper as a Word document, I open it and click on “Save As” and then choose “Word Document (.docx)” as the format.

 6. I save the document in the new format to my desktop and insert it into the folder I created for that class. I throw the paper in the wrong format in the Trash. 

 7. If the student sent the paper in a format I cannot easily convert, I write back to them and remind them I told them send it to me as a Microsoft Word document.  

 8. The benefit of getting papers by email is that you know exactly when the student sent the paper, and whether they made the deadline that you set.

 9. I have also created a folder called “Students” in my email manager (I still use Mozilla Thunderbird) where I insert the student’s email. Later, when I am returning the graded version of the paper with my comments, I will attach the graded paper to this email and use it to reply to the student.

 10. To grade a paper, I open the paper, now a MS Word document, and click on “Review” which is on the top menu bar.

 11. I then click on “Tracking” and turn on “Track Changes.”

 12. I type corrections, comments, and questions directly into the document. Note that typed comments are much easier for the student to read than professors’ handwriting.

 13. When I am done, I click on “Save.”

 14. I usually wait to return it to the student until I have graded all of the papers from the whole class. 

 15. When I am done grading all of the papers for the class, I attach the graded paper for each student to their original email, and write a brief email saying something like “Attached is your graded paper with my comments. Let me know if you have questions or need help. Best, Suzanne.” I will even just write a generic email and copy and paste it into each email to save time. 

 16. I of course keep track of their grades and whether the paper was late in my old-fashioned grade book.

 17. The benefit of this method is that there is no printing out or scanning of papers, there is no writing by hand, students can read comments more easily and correspond by email with you about their papers, and you have a file with all of their papers that you can refer to when doing the final grades.  

 18. This student file also comes in handy when students come back later and ask me to write letters of recommendation, and I can write specifically about the brilliant papers they wrote for my class.

Accessing Class Rosters without LMS

 These steps will allow you to access all of your students’ names and email addresses without getting them from Moodle or Canvas. 

1. Open your favorite browser: Chrome, Safari, etc.

 2. Go to the Pratt Institute webpage, www.pratt.edu.

 3. Go to the bottom and click on “MyPratt.”

 4. Click on Administrative Tools, to the left.

 5. Click on Academic Tools, top row center.

 6. Click on Faculty, to the right.

 7. Click on “Log In” on the top right.

 8. Enter your Pratt Email Address and Password. Click “Sign In.”

 9. Click on Class Roster. You should see a list all of the classes you are teaching.

 10. Click on a one of your classes. This will provide you with the name, ID number, email address, phone number, and class year of all of your students.

 11. If you click on an individual student, this will tell you the student’s major. 

 12. At the end of the semester, you will be able to enter your students’ grades by clicking “Grading.”

 13. If you click on “Search for Sections,” you can search for information on any course being offered during the Fall 2020 semester.