As a wordsmith for 40 years and an English teacher since 1991, online grammar checking programs annoy me by all-too-often offering students a false reassurance.  Popular programs which have everyone talking have, in my experience, missed glaring mistakes and suggested invalid corrections. They don’t bring value to the table, even when they are paid programs.  That was my default position until I met GradeProof with AI in November.  GradeProof was so good that I used it on first drafts for my doctoral class and it caught errors that the graduate writing lab even missed.  I turned my students onto it two days later and have recommended it to everyone. GradeProof with AI nailed the correction process and offered unexpected bonuses.

GradeProof is available on its own or as a Google Doc add-on.  Working in a Google school, the add-on option is perfect. My middle school students rolled forward with this product after roughly three minutes.  While Google offers internal grammar and spelling checks, students often ignore them (foolishly). GradeProof, as part of a process before essay completion and submission offers an intentional verification step which is far better than a peer review because other students don’t have the sophistication and confidence to catch and address every flaw.

Markups include spelling, grammar (basic mechanics), advanced grammar (syntax), and eloquence.  Instantaneously, a variety of analytics also present themselves on the first analysis, including character, word, and sentence count; average syllables per word and words per sentence; readability percentage and grade level; and approximate time to read silently or speak aloud.  After one use, my students were “dialing up” the quality of their sentences to increase their grade level stats. Chalk up a win for the writing class!

• Ed Tech Tools