Rubistar, Trackstar, Big Bus

I found each of these very interesting as technological grading tools.
RUBISTAR
I found the Rubistar helpful for it gave the student clarity on how the grading process was accomplished. For instance I chose a newspaper for a couse subject and there were several categories such as Layout, Columns, Articles, etc. There were total points assessed against each of these given the turned in content matched the description under the column for those points. I would really find this site helpful when developing measurement material, especially for higher education content requiring more analytical assessment. I got exposed to a measurement tool such as this for the first time when recently taking a college class. After reading each subject description closer, it helped a lot with improving my grades for I began to realize that there was less subjectivity with grading than I initially thought, and as long as I focused on satisfying the criteria, I knew exactly I would receive as a grade.

TRACKSTAR
I liked the trackstar but really wasn't that impressed with it. It would prove helpful as guiding students in their research efforts, yet I asked in what conditions would this really be necessary. Many students are very familiar with using internet search engines and if it's just a matter of telling students specific sites to use, that could be accomplished in a word document format. So I really didn't get a lot of gee whiz from this one.

BIG BUS
I did really enjoy this one, especially when giving students practice tests to be used ahead during their own time or with the aid of the teacher. I put together a little quiz about fruit, designed more for 2nd and 3rd graders but this tool would be great for just about any grade, or secondary education.

Each of these are helpful during a course evaluation process, while during the lesson or when summarizing at the end of a course, but I found the Rubistar especially worthwhile.