{"id":2361,"date":"2011-11-01T08:01:00","date_gmt":"2011-11-01T08:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/?p=2361"},"modified":"2026-10-19T10:10:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T10:10:41","slug":"grademark-socio-technical-change-in-mediated-writing-assessment-tools-a-call-for-critical-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/?p=2361","title":{"rendered":"GradeMark: Socio-Technical Change in Mediated Writing Assessment Tools A Call for Critical Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Originally published on:<\/strong> November 1, 2011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new academic year can present opportunities for faculty to investigate and implement electronic teaching and learning resources that may assist with one of the most time-consuming aspects of instruction \u2013 assessment of our students\u2019 written work.\u00a0 In Rhetoric and Composition and in other disciplines, formative assessment tools are frequently used since our students are engaged in the \u201ccomplex performance of writing\u201d (Kalantzis et al., 2011), which is an integrative process involving the presentation of arguments, reasons, evidence, and consultation with theories for research purposes.\u00a0 This \u201ccomplex performance\u201d also means our students are producing written products across a variety of subject areas that require working in \u201ccommunities of practice\u201d or \u201cdiscourse communities\u201d (Lave et al., 1991) to achieve higher-order thinking skills (Etkina et al., 2005).\u00a0 A technology-mediated assessment tool capable of canvassing such an academically rich environment is yet to evolve.\u00a0 Turnitin.com\u2019s GradeMark, PeerMark <\/em>and WriteCheck <\/em>are some of the digitized tools that have become prominent fixtures in higher education.\u00a0 As these mechanized teaching resources proliferate, we must consider critically to what extent they are improving the assessment process while also fostering an environment in which our students are learning. Emphasis should be placed on the type and quality of feedback students receive for their written work.\u00a0 Accordingly, in what ways can digitized writing assessment tools provide clear learning objectives while also interpreting student performance? Are digitized assessment tools presenting false expectations for instructors and students? These are valid concerns that appeal to various stakeholders.\u00a0 In this increasingly digitized environment, many instructors have moved away from paper and pen assessment, but where are we going? As educators, it is our responsibility to investigate assumptions about digitally mediated writing assessment technologies to determine what these resources can actually do to promote learning and critical reflection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This fall, I became reacquainted with GradeMark, <\/em>a Turnitin.com application that has removed the drudgery of downloading and saving papers as MS Word files to my computer\u2019s hard drive.  GradeMark<\/em>\u2019s digital environment allows instructors to access a student\u2019s paper as well as comment and assign grades in one location.  Some of the other highlights of this electronic assessment tool include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n