Computer Support Blog

Busywork taking time away from productivity is a problem in many workspaces, but one of the most damaging places this issue pops up in is education.  Teachers waste many hours hand-grading quizzes and tests when they could spend those hours on lesson plans and finding better ways to engage students every semester, both in primary and secondary education settings.  However, the team at Design by Educators, Inc. has developed an iPhone app that they believe could help solve this problem for good.  Quick Key is an application that allows for quick, efficient grading and it only requires a smartphone to work.  In theory, this program could be able to save many teachers’ hours of time grading that they can put back into making the classroom a better space for learning. 

Isaac D. Von Wesep, the President and CEO of the company that makes Quick Key, explained to Rescuecom how the program works.  The app scans what Von Wesep called “quick tickets”, which are free and can be downloaded from the web for printing.  Students fill out their answers on the ticket, which the teacher’s phone camera scans in order to grade.  The grading is nearly instantaneous—1or 2 seconds per answer sheet– and teachers can grade large stacks of papers in minutes at their convenience. Quick Key demonstrated this near-instant grading through a viral video on YouTube that has garnered hundreds of thousands of views. Von Wesep also told Rescuecom that once a teacher finishes grading, the app will show analytic data right on the phone.  The app saves the data to the phone locally so teachers can view stats and trends about their students’ grades whenever they need to do so.  Teachers who are worried about their phones malfunctioning can back up their data to Quick Key’s web client or find out more about options for iPhone data recovery.

Quick grading by scan is not a new concept in education.  Scantron machines have allowed for faster grading on multiple-choice tests for many years.  However, Quick Key potentially offers more convenience and affordability than Scantron systems.  Scantron machines can be expensive and are stationary, usually only kept at schools themselves.  As a simple smartphone app that any teacher can download, Quick Key could potentially allow teachers far more flexibility and convenience for grading papers if it works the way Von Wesep describes.   Scantron also charges for answer sheets, where Quick Key will not.

Von Wesep and his co-founder, Walter Duncan, have plans for official releases on iOS and then for Android.  Those who download it from Apple should seek iPhone support if they have trouble.

About RESCUECOM:

RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.

For More Information, Contact:

David Milman
CEO
david@rescuecom.com
1-315-882-1100

Filed under: apple, smartphone, technology