Engrade

Deliver solid content, crunch data with connected LMS/grading platform
​
Pros: Beyond the grading and reporting platform, there are useful instruction and assessment tools like wikis, flash cards, and quizzes.
Cons: Success hinges on consistent use from all stakeholders, and making the most of all the features can be overwhelming.
Bottom Line: With time-saving tools and accessible third-party content, this gradebook is a solid choice for its extensive, district-level features.

Please feel free to share this if you have a special needs child.  There needs to be more awareness of the disabilities children face today and the effect certain individuals have on them

You may also drop Fred a line and let him know how you feel even if you are not a resident of Volusia County.  

Special Need Parents:

My son worked for Fred Costello.  He suffers from General Anxiety Disorder (GAD).  It was a great milestone to join Fred and his team stretching his “comfort zone”.  Anyone that knows anyone with GAD knows they are hyper vigilant and strive for approval.  But sometimes bad things happen to decent people.

I normally don’t interfere with my son’s employment, but here was a candidate I planned to vote into office.  I certainly didn’t want a heartless individual in its place.  My son worked 3 days feeling self-assured and validated for Fred.  Each evening he came home with positive affirmations.  I happened to meet the campaign manager, Chris, and was informed my son was doing an excellent job.  On the second day, he texted this campaign manager who watched over “the grid” (numerous times) saying he is running late due to a family emergency (that would be me). On that third day, that same manager, recently full of approvals, told him his services were no longer needed.  There was no explanation; he was distant and aloof. 

I wrote to Fred because he is a Christian man.  I knew he would look into the situation due to the circumstance.  I also explained my son’s diagnosis noting he is hyper vigilant and always strives to do his best.  Something was definitely amiss here.  Fred replied with a letter from the mouth of his campaign manager (Chris) with no concessions.  Furthermore, he purported my son never checked in or texted. He felt due to the family emergency that he needed more “observation” and “training” stating Chris had to “follow up and check to see if he was fully following our directions”.  I guess Fred didn’t realize my son shared all his texts with me.  Fred also mentioned that the day of emergency held no justification.   He reported Chris had concocted a map that was in walking distance where he could knock on doors singing Fred’s praises.  This map contained five miles in both directions that would prohibit walking and talking to 80 houses in one day without a vehicle.  The bottom line is Fred didn’t care.  Fred didn’t want to hear the other side.  Fred was propelled more by his emotional justification than his values, ethics, and actions of his campaign manager. 

He expanded by saying, “There is no excuse to be late to work.”  His letter ended, “Hopefully this will be a great life lesson for your son.  I hope this experience has helped him learn that he must fully follow the directives of his boss in whatever job he has in the future or he won’t hold the job for a long time, he must be where he is expected to be…….. no excuses.”

Not even for an emergency, Fred?  Life lessons are apparently more important than the hearts and self-worth of the public for whom you represent. 

Fred Costello For Congress
http://www.electfredcostello.com/
fred@electfredcostello.com

Wiggio is an online tool kit that lets you work in groups easily.  You can send emails, text messages, and voice mails. It makes life easier to share files and poles.  You can also set up video conferences and keep a shared calendar as well as keep track of your group's tasks and resources.

Wiggio is designed to be easy and straightforward, even for the least
tech-savvy members of your group - it provides everything you need to work
productively in your groups, without bogging you down with complexities and
unnecessary features. Wiggio is currently used by over 100,000 groups,
including:

Qtopia is an online learning platform that offers thousands of ready-to-use
activities, motivating games, avatar features, online homework access with
automatic grading, in-classroom review modes, and the ability for educators and academic learning coaches to use 'as is' or completely customize the learning experience.  And, it's FREE.  I used this site numerous times as an educator when I wanted to enrich certain subject areas.

The online learning platform gives students access to thousands of ready-to-use activities, motivational games, avatar features, online homework access with auto-grading, in-class review models, and more.  Judges appreciated the easy teacher and student interfaces.  Just get on, type in a subject area, and learn!

Mindmeister is an online collaborative mindmapping tool with which you can brainstorm with others in real time.  You can create your own mind maps on an award-winning interface or share time with your friends, or collaborate with others to create a map.

MindMeister has been built from the ground up to facilitate collaboration.
You can share any creation easily by inviting users by email, or simply send
them a unique and secure direct link.      

Once shared, you can start a thinking session and collaborate on any mind map in
real-time. Color-coded effects will highlight changes by other users within
seconds, and the integrated live chat will let you exchange thoughts with your
peers directly.    

Users of an iPad, iPhone, iPod touch or Android device can access their mind
maps from wherever they are, using our native mobile applications .      When using the browser interface of MindMeister, you don't even need an Internet connection, provided you've enabled the Offline Mode.      
        
Mind maps are stored securely online, all you need is a standard web
browser. All collaborators access the same version, eliminating the danger of
conflicting versions.