Sheryl has supported GradeCam and Gradient at Springboro schools since 2016 as the Secondary Educational Technologist. In her position, she has had the opportunity to work with both the curriculum and technologies department. As a long time partner with Gradient, Springboro Community schools have transitioned and grown right along with the development of the Gradient platform.

When Sheryl joined Springboro schools, she was tasked with finding a new solution as the district was transitioning away from their current program. The previous system was entirely reliant on getting and processing scans from the copier, so finding that Gradient allowed for any camera to be used for collecting responses was particularly exciting for Sheryl. She knew this functionality would make it easier and more efficient for teachers to collect and grade assignments.

Building Teacher Buy-In

In order to support Gradient’s initial implementation, Sheryl worked closely with teachers to discuss and demonstrate how Gradient would work within their own classrooms. She met with lead teachers and tech-savvy users, but she also made a point to share with less tech-experienced teachers. Given the wide range of skills, this helped to showcase how Gradient could support a whole group of educators despite their diverse needs.

Sheryl knew some teachers might hesitate to embrace a new solution that they feared might be taken away, so she focused on gaining buy-in from users that may not be as tech-savvy. Ultimately, these teachers became the leaders and were able to showcase how they used Gradient with their own curriculum. Sheryl really wanted the Gradient solution to be teacher-driven rather than pushed by her as a district leader.

“They saw how cool it was and how much time it would save to grade… and that really helped with the buy-in.”

Gradient’s ability to save the teachers time and allow them to grade on the go without having to carry a bunch of papers was game-changing. For the high school, teachers could instantly complete and grade their end of term exams and they were no longer spending hours going through to grade each individual assessment. This gave them more free time and freedom to enjoy it.

Training and Solution Partners

Springboro has a close training partnership with the GradeCam. At the start of each school year, Sheryl teams up with the Customer Experience team to provide training for teachers. She is able to focus on the basics for new teachers and others getting started, while GradeCam’s trainers work with the more experienced teachers to share new functions or develop skills for more impact.

This partnership has allowed Sheryl to support the growth of Gradient use by utilizing the available training resources without demanding more of her time. By purchasing training for the past couple of years, she has been able to focus on other district needs, confident that basic and ongoing training has been handled. Then, she was able to provide follow-up or more specific training when requested. And as different groups of teachers gained experience they were able to present and train others on district professional development days.

This valued partnership between the district and Gradient has grown, both in how it is used as a solution and in the feedback it provides to GradeCam’s development team for enhancements. Sheryl and her team of educators provide insights into relevant and valued functions so that Gradient can continue to meet the needs of educators.

Simple Solution that Allowed Teachers to Do More

To help with management and support of Gradient each year, Sheryl recommended using a roster-syncing option like Clever or ClassLink. This streamlined necessary management by a Gradient admin and it prevented extra work for the teachers setting up their classroom rosters. Teachers could simply get started using Gradient within their classroom.

“A teacher’s time is priceless. If we can get them something automated and off their hands, they can use that time to focus on their classroom and their students.”

Having a tool that could quickly collect and share data allowed teachers to actually administer formative assessments more often and provide more benchmarking. Gradient allowed teachers to get the data and actually look at the data right away, where previously so much may have been missed while they were trying to manually collect and calculate assessment results.

As another bonus, teachers were able to use the reports and data collected within Gradient to meet state requirements for demonstrating how teachers were using data to adjust instruction. The teachers used their own curriculum to create Gradient assessments which provided easy-to-access reports for teachers to discuss student performance.

Gradient was a Triumph

For Sheryl, Gradient was a triumph. Because teachers loved Gradient so much when Sheryl first shared the solution, it actually helped build trust and belief that she was bringing valuable solutions to educators. As a new district leader, offering this truly valuable tool helped teachers realize that Sheryl had their best interest at heart.