Sixth grade teacher Emily Diotte realized early on that Edsby could do far more than her district was asking of it.

When Edsby was first introduced to our 4,500 staff and 35,000 students, we were only intending to use it for attendance tracking. From the first time I was exposed to Edsby, however, I saw the potential that it had.

Fast forward a few months, to a new school year, and an opportunity to be involved in a small Edsby learning group. Its potential was revealed to me and has changed my teaching life!

Edsby eliminated the need to make phone calls home, saving me TIME.

I never felt like I knew how to properly organize a gradebook until Edsby came along. I would have to say the gradebook is my favourite feature and usually the first thing I teach to colleagues and new teachers. I LOVE that curriculum can be tracked along with formative and summative assessments. I was initially reluctant to give parents and students access to my gradebook data, but gave it a try and won’t turn back. Parents loved that they could see up-to-date assessment data, along with feedback, and whether or not work was submitted. This was a simple way for parents to feel “in the know” and eliminated the need to make phone calls home, saving me TIME!

The class walls are my second favourite feature. They’re a place that I share pictures of anchor charts for each subject, ask students questions that they can respond to electronically (hello, saving paper here!), share links for students to visit, and track upcoming assignments through the calendar for each subject. An added bonus is that these posts are always there, and students who may be absent can follow along with our learning, not missing a beat.

Edsby groups are the best! I belong to several groups at our district level, but I have also set up and used groups in my class, and for sports teams I’m coaching. In my class we’ve used groups for Literature Circles. This group allows students to share about their reading with their group, ask questions, make predictions and more. Sports teams groups are a great way to share the schedule, keeping students and parents informed about practices, games, and photos from our games and tournaments.

Creating rubrics in Edsby is easy.

I’d like to talk a bit more about assessment, mainly RUBRICS! Creating rubrics in Edsby is so easy, and saves time when assessing. I’ve found that I can use many of the same rubrics throughout the years, and I’m able to assess student work more efficiently, helping me to bring less work home. The rubrics are easy to edit, and again, save on paper.

Lastly, student and parent engagement is what Edsby has provided for me in my classroom. Students absolutely love that they can interact with our class online, creating a safe place to learn about social media norms. Students are also able to ask questions after hours, that other students offer to answer as well as myself. I would much rather clear up a question about something as soon as possible (even after hours), rather than letting a student worry or question their thinking on a home assignment.

I encourage all educators to try out just one new-to-them Edsby feature this school year. It can seem overwhelming, but starting with one can transform your classroom, teaching, and just maybe save you some time! For this reason, and others, our district is now making far greater use of Edsby than we originally intended.