FreshGrade Classic is an app- and web-based portfolio platform that helps educators and learners easily capture, document, and communicate student learning. A combination of a grading program, a portfolio site, and a learning management system (LMS), it enables educators to create standards-based assignments, monitor student progress, and provide feedback or grades. Teachers can choose from a variety of assessment tools, including effort, learning progression, mastery, anecdotal notes, and conventional grades. While working on the activities, educators and learners can use their mobile device to capture photos, video, audio recordings, and other notes. This data can be linked to individual learners, groups, or the entire class. Learners can review the teacher-collected data and comment on it, and they can assemble the information into a digital portfolio to document learning.

It can also generate progress reports or summary reports, and educators have access to extensive data via the dashboard. Teachers can use push notifications to share information with parents and learners, and classroom announcements can also be pushed out to families. Parents can view their own child’s portfolio and leave comments. Separate versions of the mobile app are available to serve educators, parents, and learners. The tool’s developers heavily promote its ease of use, and it’s definitely highly usable for educators; learners may struggle a bit, but with some coaching, they’ll get the hang of it.

Even if educators are required to use a specific learning management system or grade book, the FreshGrade Classic dashboard and reporting tools could help create a more comprehensive view of student achievement. Teachers can use FreshGrade to keep track of grades, monitor student progress and mastery of concepts, document daily classroom activities, and communicate with learners and parents. Assigning activities that spark student curiosity and give meaningful feedback encourages growth and self-reflection. Plus, different types of assessment increase the chances that learners will view learning as a work in progress rather than doing something simply to get a good grade. It’s also a great way to keep channels of parent communication open. Snapshots of daily work coupled with the ability to see progress over time give parents a more comprehensive picture of their child’s learning.

FreshGrade Classic enables educators to easily assess student learning and provide instant feedback. Learners almost always benefit when offered the opportunity to get timely feedback and reflect on it. Learners, educators, and parents can enter into meaningful dialogue based on photos, video, and audio, and educators can work with learners to curate and add their own work to the portfolios. Selecting pieces to add to their portfolios and reflecting on these pieces can help improve self-evaluations. These student-created portfolios provide a sound basis for student-led conferences; they also help learners set goals and track progress.

The student experience would benefit from more built-in tools for creation, such as voice recordings, drawing capabilities, and perhaps a text-to-speech feature for developing readers or learners who have a visual impairment. For educators already required to use a grading platform or more robust LMS, it may create more work and duplicate efforts educators are already putting in elsewhere. Still, this is a great way to visually capture, monitor, and share student progress.

Website: http://freshgrade.com/

Overall User Consensus About the App

Student Engagement

Makes the often tedious task of documenting student learning easier. Teachers can share engaging multimedia data with learners and parents, and all can comment and reflect on learning.

Curriculum and Instruction

Learners curate unique digital portfolios using video, audio, image, and text, creating powerful learning opportunities and giving parents a window into the classroom.

Customer Support

The site includes an up-to-date blog, FAQs, professional learning courses, ebooks, and case studies. Additional accessibility features, such as text-to-speech and drawing features, would aid learners.