EdTechTeam has ended development and support for Checkmark, and it has been removed from the Chrome Web Store. The extension remains functional for existing users on an ‘as is’ basis for a limited time.
As a grade 5 teacher, I am always looking for ways to help make the editing process easier for my students. I have many reluctant writers, and asking them to edit their work often turns them off of writing even further. Then, I found CheckMark by EdTechTeam. No longer was I having to rewrite the same comments for multiple students, several times throughout each of their documents. My students didn’t have to worry about whether their peers would understand their feedback. CheckMark makes all of that easier.
When I used CheckMark to help my students edit their work, I was able to very quickly point out errors. I actually managed to edit documents for my whole class in about 10 minutes – a process that can typically take closer to an hour. By simply highlighting the error, and clicking a button on the CheckMark keypad, I could automatically generate comments for my students. This left me more time to help kids that needed it, and to conference with them to develop their next steps. I didn’t have to wait until lunch or that evening so that I could set aside time to edit everyone’s work. Instead, I could give them on-the-spot suggestions, so that they could fix errors while the assignment was still on their minds.
After finding the process so easy, I decided to let my students give it a try for peer editing. It was a huge success! They were able to read through another student’s work, highlight errors, and quickly add a comment. Prior to trying out CheckMark, they were doing this same process manually. It always took a huge chunk of our time because they wrote and rewrote comments over and over again. They were always worried that their peers would not understand what they were trying to say, and they wanted to make sure that the comments themselves didn’t have errors. This left very little time for giving feedback on the actual content of the work, because they were so focused on the mistakes. When they used CheckMark, they were able to point out those mistakes quickly, with pre-generated comments that make sense. This left more time for them to work on giving constructive feedback and suggestions about the topic and writing style.
CheckMark offers many canned comments that would be helpful for any student or teacher. Since my students are only 9 and 10 years old, they didn’t need the entire CheckMark keypad. To make it easier for them, I created a guide that includes keys they would find most helpful when editing. We post this in our Google Classroom, and it is on the wall as well, so that students can use the same ideas for paper tasks. After several days of using it, it is slowly becoming a common language in our classroom. For teachers who are looking for new ways to streamline their workflow, CheckMark is a great addition to the classroom toolbox
Stephanie Signer
Grade 5 Teacher
York Region District School Board
(Ontario, Canada)
@mssigner
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Jeannie says
I know some teachers that would LOVE to give this one a try! However, when I go to add the extension, the confirmation text says this extension can “Read and change all your data on the websites you visit.” What does that mean exactly? In a district that requires approval for all extensions, that text might mean the extension will not be approved for use.
Chris Craft says
Hi Jeannie,
I am going to check to see why that permission says that. Rest assured, it only works on Google Docs, but I can see how that verbiage is concerning. Keep your eyes on the Product team’s Facebook for a possible update, and thanks for letting us know!
https://www.facebook.com/edtechteamproductdev/
Chris