Recent data sheds light on the challenges families face relating to online learning and the COVID-19 outbreak. As a result, schools are providing tools to help improve student performance.
Students and teachers will need a tool to enhance communication and foster learning. It is also vital for parents to engage and stay informed in their child's education.
What Is FreshGrade?
FreshGrade is an education technology digital portfolio and assessment platform designed for remote learning. It serves as an excellent means of communication between teachers, students, and parents.
Its mission is to keep everyone connected, collaborated, and to celebrate learning in every context. It's what FreshGrade has always done and it's what they will keep doing.
It is the perfect online platform for education collaboration to happen. The online portfolio is free for all users, although there is an upgraded version. The upgraded version costs $5.00 per student per year.
As FreshGrade continues to expand both within Canada as well as internationally, don’t expect it in universities anytime soon. Their focus right now is definitely K-12.
NAME
DETAILS
Company / Developer
Lane Merrifield and Steve Wandler
Type
Education Technology: Digital Portfolio and Assessment Platform
FreshGrade works in a variety of different ways. What makes the platform most admirable, is that the creators of it don't claim to have all the answers. The changes in learning due to COVID-19 pandemic have been challenging to say the least and moving from in person learning, to remote to asynchronous models. Adapting to how students are developing their own unique learning styles is paramount for FreshGrade. One thing that makes students using FreshGrade so successful is how they are encouraged to take ownership of their work.
As their website says:
Write the strategies and skills you use for each assignment.
Before you begin an assignment, write a comment about your mindset. After you’re done, note how your mood impacted your work.
What are the steps you’ll take when you get stuck?
What are the strengths you will bring to your assignment today. What do you need to improve?
How can your learning environment be improved to help you be successful?"
FreshGrade also integrates Zoom and Google classroom. More and more parents and teachers alike are finding that there are far too many tools to login to, keep track of and submit projects on. With FreshGrade, it's one stop shop for assignment submission and follow ups. Parents are even encouraged to turn their FreshGrade notifications in order to be kept abreast of their kids handing an assignment in.
What Can You Do on FreshGrade?
To list all of the amazing things one is able to do on FreshGrade would be very difficult. Especially seeing as the creators are actively listening to teachers, students and parents and constantly adding to its abilities.
To give you an idea though, let's list the top six.
Capture and Assess - Often times teachers will evaluate a students ability and document their own observations without the involvement of student or teacher. This comes in handy during parent/teacher interviews.
Empower Students - Using the FreshGrade portfolio, students can decide which artifacts they want to post and take the time to reflect on their ideas. At this point, parents may not be involved.
Engage Parents - At this point, the parent will have an account set up and will be able to glimpse inside the classroom and be notified of any changes in their child's portfolio.
Collaborate with Students and Parents - This is the most powerful tool on FreshGrade. Allowing all stakeholders; teachers, students and parents to provide insight and feedback via the platform has proven to enhance the learning experience.
Provide Feedback - Teachers now have the ability to enter their comments and suggestions with the use of Quick Notes. These are customized notes that help teachers save time by not having to type in repetitive feedback time and time again
Track Student Progress - FreshGrade provides teachers with an overall view of how their pupils are doing and what stage they are with their learning. This enables them to provide 1 to 1 support and have detailed information of how home support may be useful.
FreshGrade Login / Sign In
As with all of the other features of this revolutionary educational platform, FreshGrade makes logging in from any device, any time, very simple.
FreshGrade Students Login
Students will find logging into their accounts quick and simple. If you ever need help trying to login into your student account, you can find the information here. Remember to receive your account information from your teacher. You will be able to log into your account on a web browser or within the FreshGrade Connect App for iOS or Android.
From your email account, open your invitation email and click on 'Accept Invite'
You will then be directed to create the password for your student account.
Set a password and click ‘Sign In'
When you want to sign into your Student Account you just need to enter your email address and password here
Note: Make sure you keep this password private!
FreshGrade Parent Login
Logging onto Freshgrage's parent account is simple and provides secure access to the account. Below are the steps for a parent to login into an account.
You can log in to the account by a web browser or by downloading the app within the Apple Store or Google play store.
The teacher will send you a link to your email and click accept an invite. Make sure it is not within the spam folder.
The next screen, you will provide a password to create your account and sign in.
After you provide a password, you will be taken into your account and view your child's information.
Note: If you have several children, you can see each child's class by clicking the 'Menu' in the top left-hand corner of your account and choosing a single child's class. Parents are encouraged to log into their account at least once a week to stay updated on their child's progress and to communicate with the teacher's
My Password Reset
Resetting your password in FreshGrade Connect is easy!
Simply click on the 'Reset Password' button on the page where you enter your password when logging into your account
Access your password reset link in your email inbox. Click on 'Reset Password' and follow the prompts to update your password
FreshGrade Students
FreshGrade allows students to challenge themselves to help reach their educational goals. Teachers provide guided instructions on the platform through documents, videos, audio, and links. Students will no longer feel lost while attending school online as they will be able to easily connect with their teachers through the platform.
According to data, online learning enhances retention rates by 82%. As opposed to one-on-one tutoring retention rate is between 8-10% This is due to students being able to revisit their studies and having more control over what to process.
Students will enjoy the benefit of learning at their own pace and asking questions when arise. The learning content also allows students to gain valuable feedback enhancing their education. Take the time to explore the platform to learn how it can enhance your joys of learning.
FreshGrade Teachers
Teachers will find FreshGrade to be an effective tool to encourage students to develop their learning styles. As well, the learning platform can provide fast and practical feedback to students.
You can deliver high-quality education to your students and maintain parent involvement with learning activities. Below are some of the ways teachers will find FreshGrade a valuable tool for students.
Remote Teaching & Learning
Teachers can document and assess students' learning no matter where they are. If you're out of the office or the park, you have access to use every feature as long as you have internet access.
Through the use of robust portfolios, teachers can empower their students and feel confident about their work. Also, with FreshGrade portfolios, students can be proud of their achievements and reflect on their work.
Teachers can connect a parent's account to the FreshGrade portfolios to stay engaged and communicate. Also, parents receive instant notifications on the Freshgrade app. The quick response provides a glimpse into their child's learning material and work.
FreshGrade helps teachers support specific learning objectives created for each student. Also, the online platform makes learning fun by allowing students to express themselves in creative ways. For example, students can explore science through virtual labs and videos created by teachers.
Teachers can also bring history to life by creating portfolios on historical figures through varying resources. Some of the resources teachers can use are documents, links, and files. In addition, the tools and resources allow teachers to support their lessons to connect students to their learning styles.
It allows students to upload homework content in Google Docs, audio files, and video files. As soon as students upload their work to the platform, the teacher can add comments to help them reflect on their work. Parents can also take the time to view the project from the teacher's perspective and see where there should be improvements.
Design Lessons, Activities & Posts
Teachers will find FreshGrade a valuable tool in helping them quickly plan lessons. The platform provides tools that can integrate with Google Drive and OneDrive. Teachers can create as many classes, schedules, and assignments as they like.
Teachers will find it easy to attach diverse media to assignments within FreshGrade. So, teachers can align their lessons to meet educational standards without double-checking.
Capture & Organize Student Work
In FreshGrade, teachers can use a variety of media to capture students' learning. Using photos, videos, audio files, documents, and links, teachers can engage students through learning.
Personalized assignments can help students stay focused on work and gain knowledge that works for them. Students can also use FreshGrade's custom labels to organize specific pieces of work and group projects together.
Teachers can view these details in the Gradebook with the help of filters. FreshGrade also features a unique learning journal to motivate students to discuss specific activities.
Assignments, curriculum development frameworks, and topic studies can help teachers achieve this goal. Teachers can assign group projects to students to promote collaboration. Many teachers found this an issue in the past with online learning but the platform allows them to achieve this.
FreshGrade's communication tools allow students to express their needs for learning in an in-depth manner. Videos and comments allow teachers to document students' progress and give feedback. Furthermore, students discuss assignments with teachers to better understand their mistakes.
For students to show their learning, several educational apps are available. For example, "App Smashes" combine multiple applications to complete a task or complete a project. By doing so, you can increase student engagement, creativity, and enjoyment in the classroom.
FreshGrade supports direct uploads from several iOS apps, including Google Drive, Skitch, Explain Everything, and Book Creator.
Assess Progress Your Way
FreshGrade evidence-driven grade book allows teachers to determine entries by considering multiple data points emphasizing the most recent data and providing evidence to support their determination. As a result, students can have various opportunities to practice standards independently through homework and other classwork.
FreshGrade provides standards-based grading to help focus on learning and increase achievement. These approaches are often combined with updated instructional practices and culture to increase student engagement and foster a positive work environment. However, you do have the option to choose a score-based or anecdotal gradebook for students' assignments.
FreshGrade assessment tools connect learning to regional learning standards and support either standard or score-based evaluation. Assess every aspect of your activities based on multiple metrics using a variety of assessment scales or customize your own.
Connect & Engage Families
Freshgrade's CEO created the company to bridge the communication gap between teachers, students, and parents. The platform provides real-time insights into assignments, grades, and tasks.
Teachers can enter assignments, track students' progress, and share it with the family instantly. In addition, the connections of the account allow parents to share and reflect to enhance the student's learning.
Support
Sometimes technology will fail us at the worst moments, although FreshGrade is well prepared when the situation arises. Teachers and parents can find answers to the most common issues at our Knowledge Center tutorials FAQs or troubleshooting page.
Continuing education for teachers is also vital for their professional development. The professional development courses can enhance the teaching skills of teachers so that students achieve their goals. Please remember there is an added fee for the development courses.
IT Admin
FreshGrade's IT Administrators work hard to ensure students' privacy and data security. Our IT Administrators are always on hand to monitor the security of our network and provide support if any issues arise. You can contact our IT Admin for support here.
FreshGrade Parents
Upon receiving updates about their child's progress in education, parents will enjoy the quick response. In addition, families can participate in a child's learning journey by receiving learning snapshots from teachers. In particular, this is positive for parents who travel frequently or have multiple children in the home.
A teacher must send an invitation to the parent to create an account and be a part of their child's learning material. You can gain access to your child's digital portfolio here after accepting the invite.
By setting up your parent account and engaging on the platform, you can monitor how your child is doing within the classroom, promote discussion over their studies, and assist them when they need it.
FreshGrade Classic
Students learn best in their unique way; every teacher knows that. With Freshgrade Classics, students can work on their education in their way. Students will receive the right tools to help them discover their learning styles.
In a recent survey, 89% of teachers said it is best to teach students in their preferred learning style. The learning styles theory suggests students learn better when instruction matches their preferences.
In Freshgrade Connect, students have access to various tools to help them in schoolwork. The online platform gives students a unique approach to promoting a visual learning style.
Students can upload their learning content in different formats such as photos, videos, and audio. Once students upload their assignments, teachers can organize the work through custom tagging and filtering.
FreshGrade App
The FreshGrade app allows students and teachers to easily capture and enhance learning in a way that revolutionizes learning. A student is able to capture rich media artifacts of student learning in real time—through recordings, pictures, videos, audio, links, documents and anecdotal notes.
FreshGrade for Students App
On the FreshGrade student app, students can only view their own portfolio page. The app allows students to comment on their portfolios and upload their own materials. A notification is sent to teachers when there is an activity in a student account and to students when a teacher uploads a newly created class document.
Student Fresh Grade is available for download on the Google Play and the iOS store.
FreshGrade for Parents App
FreshGrade for Parents gives you a virtual window into the classroom, providing visibility into your child’s academic progress. View your child’s full portfolio, make comments on posted learning moments, and collaborate with his or her teacher on how you can support your child’s learning.
FreshGrade for Teachers App
FreshGrade for Teachers allows teachers and students to quickly and easily capture artifacts and create portfolios to communicate student learning. Capture rich media artifacts of student learning as it happens—through pictures, videos, audio recordings, links, documents and anecdotal notes.
FreshGrade Connect App
FreshGrade Connect has the most powerful student portfolios, perfect for remote and in-class learning. FreshGrade’s digital portfolios encourage student ownership and engage families in timely communication that actively supports learning—from everywhere.
FreshGrade Reviews
Fresgrade takes pride in helping educators, parents, and students in keeping learning fun and simple. They also take pride in building the communication bridge, so no one is in the dark about how a child is doing in their education. Within this section, you will find how teachers, parents, and students find Freshgrade a useful and valuable tool.
Educators appreciate the platform's capacity to help them communicate with parents and keep them in the loop about class activities. For example, the snapshot sections provide parents with a quick understanding of the standards and content being taught to their children. Furthermore, teachers like the capability of keeping detailed records for each student in the portfolio section and the ability to print report cards for parents and students.
When it comes to their child's education, parents enjoy finding out more about what their child has to say. In addition, parents appreciate receiving daily emails detailing the achievements their child has made throughout the day.
Parents appreciate not waiting until the end of the year to find out what their child is struggling with. As a result of being constantly informed on their child's progress, parents can assist them before they're too late.
Students enjoy not having to wait long on a teacher's response to their assignment. They found the feedback from their teachers to be valuable and enhances their learning experience. Students also enjoy the different ways the platform helps them explore learning and find it fun.
View some of their case studies if you would like to read more about how Freshgrade helps students learn.
How to Get Started with FreshGrade Today?
As you can see, Freshgrade is a robust online portfolio for students, teachers, and parents. Users can easily understand the platform's functions and get started using it right away. Sign up for free and create an account here.
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