• What do teachers say?
  • I get some very nice letters about PGGP.
• What are the system requirements?

First, let me say, the figures below are what I found when testing PGGP. PGGP will also run on Virtual PC on the iBook. PGGP is actually pretty tidy and I have never heard of a PGGP user running out of disk space or RAM. If the demo will run on your system then the real deal will also.

• Macintosh
  • G3 or better
  • Macintosh System 10.2 or better. (Native OS X Application)
  • 386MB of RAM (Probably run with 256MB but OS X likes its memory)
  • 2MB free HD space
  • Macintosh OS 9 also included (256MB)
• Windows
  • Windows- Win 98 or better.
  • 256MB of RAM
  • 2MB free HD space

• How do I start a new grading period? (All Versions)
  • This is an often asked question. When starting a new class or grading period, I tried to follow the conventions offered by the modern computer interface. With your current class/file on the screen, go to File and choose New as you would with a word processor. At this time you will be given 5 choices that allow great flexibility. You can do everything from Start from Scratch to Start a New year. There are other possibilities, but the point is, if you go to New when your existing class is open, you can move much of the information you want with you to the new situation. This information includes grade formulas, multi-lingual translations and other preferences you have set.

   

• I teach a combination class. How can I keep grades for both grade levels? (All Versions)

  There are two ways to accomplish this:

  • Split the class list into two parts. For example, if you have a 3/4 combination, put the third grade students at the top and the fourth graders at the bottom. Leave several blanks between the two groups to allow for adding students. Now you can enter grades for both groups at the same time. If you give a spelling assessment based on 14 words for the 3rd grade and 25 words for the 4th grade use the Number Wrong entry method. Put in 14 words and let PGGP figure the percentage for the 3rd grade students. Then advance to the beginning of the 4th grade students. Click on the assignment bar and change the number of points to 25 and then give grades to the 4th grade students. The main pitfall of this technique is that if you return to add a late grade, PGGP will have the number of points set to the last group you entered for. It is up to you to make sure you are using the correct number of points for the student.
  • Create two files, one for each class. Then you can switch back and fourth. You can create one first and get the settings the way you want. Then select New in the File Menu and choose Start a New Year with the Same Settings. This will give you a blank grade book with the subjects and formulas you developed for the first class. Type in the names, save as a unique file name and you are ready to enter grades.

   

• Why can't I give grades higher than 100%?
  • You can. Upgrade to PGGP 4. (The $19 upgrade is a good deal.) PGGP 4, go to the Setting Menu and choose Preferences. Click on Set Upper Limit. You can set the top percentage for an assigment to as high as 115%.

   

• How can I give extra credit?
  • Before PGGP 4 I suggest two techniques.
    • Create an extra "Bonus" assignment and give grades only to the students that did bonus work.
    • Give bonus points in an assignment. Kids love this one. The bonus points are never counted against the student. They only work in the student's favor. If a student gets one of the bonus problems correct, it can be used to negate another problem missed in the assignment. I know, if a student get 100% and the bonus, they don't get the extra credit. However most extra credit kids are getting top of the scale grades.
    • Upgrade to PGGP 4 and give percentages above 100%, up to 115%.

     

• Why can't I print Student Summaries for an entire class?
  • I am asked this question about PGGP more than any other question. The answer reflects my having gone to college in the 60's. If you run an entire class after teaching for 7 weeks, it could run between 60 and 100 sheets of paper.
  • PGGP 4 will print Student Summaries merged into letters. This allow you to create a very specific Student Summary, and of course by selecting "Print All Letters" you can then have Student Summaries for all students.
  • PGGP 4.5b allows you to print All Summaries.

   

• Can I carry my grades to school on a floppy disk?
  • PGGP 4.0: Yes. However, I suggest that you keep the grades on the hard drive of both computers. PGGP should be installed on both computers, using the installer. At home, work on the hard drive. Then when done with your work, save to the hard drive. When you are ready to transport the grades, Macintosh and Windows computers act slightly in different ways. When using Mac, put the Mac floppy in after you choose Save to Windows. It will take a second or two, and the floppy will appear in the save dialog. When using Windows, put the floppy in before you choose Save to Macintosh. This technique is also a handy way to make backups even if you only use one kind of computer...just use the Open From Macintosh or Open From Windows to retrieve the file. Remember, there are two types of computer users. Those who have not lost information because they keep backups and those who have not lost any information yet.
  • PGGP 4.5: PGGP's files are now 100% compatible between platforms. Many teachers like the USB Flash drives for carrying grades between home and school. Remember to save on the hard drives of the home and school computers. Your flash drive may or may not make it through a full wash cycle.

   

• Do I need to buy two copies of PGGP if I want to use it at home and school?
  • No. A single copy is licensed for the purchasing teacher to keep grades for his or her classroom. If a you and your spouse are teachers and you buy a single copy, both can use it and enjoy...my gift to long and happy marriages. Site licenses are for keeping grades for students attending the licensing school, including working at home. If your spouse is using your school's copy for students at another school that has not purchased a license, then there is a violation of agreement.
  
  
• What do you mean, I can keep Behavior records in 3 Minutes per Day? (Version 4) Full Explanation
  • Teachers find they go from total "Behavior" confusion to total love once a couple of things are understood. It is possible to keep an accurate account of general discipline problems in less than three minutes per day. To do this, make several general behavior categories using Behavior Definitions, found in Settings. These need to cover generic types of behavior problems. In this example, I am going to use Talking and Disturbing as two categories. When the students leave for the day, sit down at the computer. Open Classroom Behavior. (Use the calendar to choose a start date.) Click the column number above the date you want to record. (This will bring up the Grade Entry Screen. You want to use Criterion Entry.) Hold shift, and click the column to the right of the name of any student you remember bugging you by talking. When you have selected all you can remember, let up the shift key and click the column to the right of any student already selected. In the next dialog give them 1 click for "Talking" and select Done. You have just given your talkers a demerit for the day. Repeat for those who were "Disturbing" others or your teaching. The trick here is to make the demerit penalty stiff, as you are giving 100%to everyone who does not irritate you enough to bother giving them a click.
  
  
• How can I split my class using the Alphabetization routine? (All Versions)
  • If you have a combination class, or perhaps teacher a Special Day Class, you can group students quickly by "tricking" the Sort Routine. In this example, I am going to assume a 3-4 combination. After you have entered all students, click on the first student, to bring up the database. Add a 4 in front of the last name of all 4th graders and add a 3 to the front of each 3rd grade student's last name. Put a 4 by itself as a last name for two or three blank students. Now, Close the database and go to Settings and select Preferences. Click Last Name, First Name near the top. Click on Sort the Class. Choose Alphabetize. Go back to the top and chose the name order you prefer (if you don't want Last Name, First Name). Close the Preferences box. Now your students are arranged, with several blanks between 3rd and 4th grade. Click on the top student to open the database, and remove the numbers. You may want to set the number of students to include number of the last student listed in your class.
  
  
• How can I slow down the Calendar in PGGP Mac?
  • If you are having trouble with the calendar reacting too fast when changing months or years, try holding the mouse down while selecting a year or month.
  • PGGP 4.5 uses a new calendar and it seems to always behave.
  
  
• Why can't PGGP post grades to the Internet?
  • It can. As of the fall of 2005, PGGP can post grades on the Internet. It is seamless, quick, functional, secure and safe. 
• What about Standards-Based Grading?
  • PGGP 5 does everything PGGP always did and makes the shift at any time to Standards Based Grading with almost no setup. It just takes care of it... automatically. PGGP 5 will keep track of as many as 40 standards in as many as 16 subjects. Even I am pretty impressed with how well this turned out.
  • Click Here to find out more about PGGP 5.0
  • If you don't want to upgrade, users have done some interesting tweaks for rubric scored grading.
  • If you are not tired of reading often lengthy comments, here are some musings about Standard-Based grading.

If you have questions or some clever solutions, write to me. I am always ready to learn.

If you would like to talk to George, you can call 559-674-7848.

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