Vantage Learning, a provider of online essay scoring technologies, has rolled out the newest version (3.0) of its MY Access! online writing instructional technology. Since it’s Web based, My Access is cross platform and runs on both the “classic” Mac operating system and Mac OS X.
The program provides students, teachers, administrators and parents assessment and instructional technology that allows students to continually practice their writing online and have essays scored. The essays are returned along with feedback for improvement. The online assessments take place in the classroom, while students are working at computer terminals or any place where they have access to a computer and an Internet connection.
Teachers can monitor the students’ writing process no matter where the practice is taking place. Students will receive feedback within three to five seconds after submission, according to Scott Elliot, COO of Vantage Learning.
MY Access! also allows teachers to compare student writing proficiencies against state and national standards, leaving more time for instruction. The product is based on the experience and knowledge from panels of human scorers who review sample essays and create a profile against which submissions are assessed, Elliott said.
Version 3.0 contains several enhancements, including a variety of writing tools to help the student. Some examples are planning tools, a writer’s checklist, spell checking capability, grammar checking capability, a writer’s notepad and writing instruction keyed directly to the analysis of the students’ writing. For more info, and the pricing structure, go to the MY Access! Web site.
Earlier this month Vantage Learning released VanGuard for Mac OS X, a solution that delivers a student assessment system over the Internet.