Instructors often take some time at the end of a course to view grades assigned by students and determine whether there are any issues with these grades. This is an important step in supporting students, but it also takes time away from other grading duties that instructors may still need to complete before the end of a term. To help reduce the time needed to support students, instructors need to make sure that they are backing up grades each night.
Why Every Teacher Should Be Backing Up Grades
Every night, instructors should back up their grades in a safe place. Here are four of the biggest reasons why you should never forget to back up your grades!
#1: Avoid Losing Your Data
The most obvious reason to back up your grades is to avoid losing them! A power surge, a computer crash, or some other technology malfunction could be catastrophic. If your grades are not backed up on a separate hard drive, you may lose all of the data that you have spent time collecting over an entire semester! Electronic gradebooks make this even easier as they already have a built-in backup function!
#2: Keeps Your Work Organized
When students ask questions about their grades, it is easy to find the information you need when you have taken the time to organize your data. Keeping your grades organized and backed up will allow you to access this information quickly and easily. This organization also makes it easier for future instructors who take over your course to continue following this approach.
#3: It Is the Law
Instructors are required by law to maintain records of grades for at least so long after the date on which grades were submitted. If you do not back up your grades every single day, you may lose these records! This could result in penalties or even a lawsuit from a student. Utilizing printable gradebooks is another good way to make sure you always have a backup, even if it is a physical version!
#4: It Is Better for Student Success
One of the most important reasons instructors should back up their grades is to support student success. Students need to know where they stand in a course before signing up for another one and backing up your grades can help you provide this information quickly! This will allow students to make sure that they are making the right choice in their future academic pursuits.
These are just a few of the many reasons that instructors should back up their grades every single night. Remembering to do this is fairly straightforward—all you have to do is set up your backup process once, and then it will happen automatically! By making sure that your grades are always backed up, you can support student success and avoid the hassles of trying to recover lost information.
3 Ways to Back Up Grades with an Online Gradebook
Now, it is time to learn the top three ways to back up your grades using an online gradebook!
#1: Set Up an Automatic Backup Function
One of the best ways to back up grades is by utilizing an electronic gradebook that has a built-in backup function. This will ensure that your data is safe and secure, even when you are not around! Be sure to take advantage of this feature, as it can add additional pieces of organization and support throughout your gradebook. For example, you can use the automatic backup process to organize your grades by student or assignment!
#2: Make Use of Regular Backups
Many instructors forget to take advantage of making regular backups, but this can be one of the easiest ways to maintain good organizational habits when it comes to grading. Each night, take a few minutes out of your schedule to ensure that you have backed up your grades. If you are working with a large number of students or assignments, this may take some time the first couple of times until you get used to which grades need to be entered and where they are located!
#3: Print Out Your Grades
For instructors who prefer to keep a physical backup of their grading information, printable gradebooks may be the best option for you! With this type of online gradebook, you will have the opportunity to download a PDF version of your gradebook that can be printed out and maintained in a three-ring binder. This makes it easy to organize your data by student and assignment, just like with the automatic backup function.
Moving forward with grading can be tough but having a good organizational system in place is essential to success! By utilizing printable gradebooks and taking advantage of an automatic backup process, you will be able to support student success and maintain organized grading records easier than ever before!
Make sure you keep these three top ways to back up grades with an online gradebook in mind! By utilizing these three methods as often as possible, instructors will maintain good grades and organizational habits. Even if you don’t use a computer all the time for grading, remember that printable gradebooks can give you a physical backup of your grades, should you need it!
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