What if we told you that you could use AI to automatically grade your student’s writing assignments? What seemed like a dream is now reality thanks to Class Companion! Class Companion is a website that uses AI to help teachers give instant, personalized feedback on written assignments. It also provides engaged practice for students, time savings and insights for teachers. Teachers can use built-in assignments or add their own. In this blog post, we’ll show you where to sign up for your account, how to create a rubric and assignment, how to get students on (and what that looks like), and how educators have the final say in the grading process.
(Click on any subheading to jump to that section)
What is Class Companion and how does it work?
With Class Companion, teachers can cheer on their students with immediate feedback and tailor their learning to their individual needs. Teachers can also use the AI platform to design fun and challenging assignments, spark students' curiosity, share helpful tips, and track their growth over time. Check out our brief overview of the platform in the video!
Where to Sign Up for a Class Companion Account
You heard, “automatically graded writing assignments,” and you were sold! Now what? Class Companion is free for educators and students. However, both teachers and students will need accounts to use the platform. Educator accounts can be created by clicking on the link here. Heads up, students are required to use an email address. Students are able to create accounts by being invited by their teacher(s) via shared link. To create student accounts and invite them to your class, follow these steps:
Log into Class Companion as a teacher. Locate the Students tab on the top, then click it.
Click the +Add students button located on the top right.
Now, select your preferred method: Copy link to share or Invite via email. The Copy link to share option will generate a private link that may be shared to students. Students will use this link to enter their email address and a password to create their accounts. The Invite via email works similarly, only the link is shared via email.
After using either method, your students will automatically appear in your class.
How to Create a Rubric and Assignment in Class Companion
Now that you have your accounts ready, it’s time to create your first rubric and assignment. Here’s how to create an assignment in Class Companion:
On the top toolbar, click on Assignments.
Now click on “+Add Assignment,” then select either: Duplicate from Content Library, Generate with AI, Import, or Create From Scratch.
Then, complete the steps filling out the information. (TIP: When creating the assignment, we HIGHLY recommend setting the maximum number of attempts to more than 1. Doing so provides an opportunity to edit their work after the AI provides feedback.)
Now, let’s add a rubric to our assignment.
Under Rubric, click Add rubric.
When creating a rubric, you have a choice of the type of format you’d like to use: Paragraph or list, and Table. Select your preferred format, then enter your information in the text boxes. When you’ve finished, click the Create rubric button on the top right.
Your rubric will now be added to the writing assignment. Once everything looks good, click on Save located on the top right. Your assignment will now appear on the student’s dashboard when they log in.
This gets shared to students (student accounts are required) via a shared link or an email.
Students complete their writing by typing out their essay in Class Companion, then submit for AI review / grade.
If you’ve chosen more than one attempt for your students, the AI will coach them through the teacher’s rubric, explaining whether or not the student has met the expectations. The student then has the opportunity to edit their work and try to improve.
When an assignment is submitted, the teacher has the ability to edit the AI’s score to provide a final grade.
How to Get Students Logged Onto Class Companion (and What That Looks Like)
Now that you’ve created a class, rubric, and assignment, it’s time to get your students logged on and working. Have your students follow these steps to find their assignments (note: students must have their accounts created prior to these steps):
Direct students to this link, and have them log in using their credentials.
Once students log in, they will see their assignment(s). They may click on the assignment to get started.
Now that the student has logged in and opened the assignment, they will be prompted according to the directions that you gave when creating the assignment. The students will complete the assignment and turn it in for AI feedback / grading by clicking the Submit assignment button located at the bottom of the screen. Once they submit their work, the AI will produce feedback / grade their work. If you have selected multiple attempts when creating the assignment, the students will have the opportunity to read over the feedback from the AI and make changes to their work. They may repeat this as many times as you have allowed (when selecting multiple attempts). So, if you gave them 8 multiple attempts, they can submit it up to 8 times for feedback.
How to Override the AI’s Grade in Class Companion
Once they’ve turned the essay in, they will be able to see how they performed according to your rubric / the AI. Something worth noting, is that when a student submits their work, you also have the ability to see if they copied & pasted their work. You will see, “pasting” listed next to the student’s assignment status. As the educator, you have full control and are able to edit any scores as you see fit. Here’s how to edit student scores:
Log onto the Class Companion dashboard, then click on Submissions located at the top of the page.
Click on the student / assignment and review how the AI graded the student’s work.
If you disagree with how the work was graded, you can easily edit the score(s). To do so, click on the Override icon (that looks like a hammer or paint roller).
Then, edit the final score. You also have the option to leave feedback or a comment. Once you have entered the information, click on the save button.
The new score will now be reflected!
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For more tips, tricks and lesson ideas for making learning more interACTIVE, check out our books The InterACTIVE Class and Flipgrid in the InterACTIVE Class on Amazon!
