Open Beta extended and subscription bonus announced!

I have two important EssayTagger.com updates to share:

Open Beta extended
Our free Open Beta feedback period has been extended to February 10th! That gives you and your colleagues a little more time to try us out as much as you like without committing a single dime. After Feb 10th our $10/month pricing will go into effect.

I'm super-grateful for the valuable feedback we've received during this Open Beta period. So many of your questions, comments, and criticisms have really helped to guide my thinking and have already helped EssayTagger evolve.


Subscription bonus
I think you early adopters deserve to be rewarded. It takes courage and patience to dive into new technology that does not yet have a proven track record.

So I'm pleased to announce our Open Beta subscription bonus: Anyone who subscribes to EssayTagger before the end of Open Beta will receive their first month of service for $1.

Specifics:

• Commit to a subscription anytime before Feb 10th, 11:59pm (CST).
• Your first month will be $1.
• You won't be billed until Feb 11th.
• Subsequent months will be billed at our standard $10/month rate.
• Anyone is eligible--including new users--as long they commit before the deadline.
• See the FAQ for info on canceling, summer break, and group licenses.

Help us spread the word!
Now is obviously the time to try us out. Please help us build a spike of interest in these last two weeks of Open Beta!

Tweet a link to this post, blog about it, tell your colleagues and friends.

And keep that feedback coming!

Hello NCTE 2011!!

As evidenced by the many blog posts here that I don't understand, Keith has been coding like a madman since we started this thing in June. But it's now time for our public unveiling at NCTE 2011 in Chicago!

For those of you who don't know, NCTE is the National Council of Teachers of English and their annual conference just happens to be in Chicago this year and timed perfectly for our launch. So we knew we couldn't miss it, as it represents the single greatest gathering of the target audience for EssayTagger - and it's right in our home town!

Things are just getting started here, but armed with a couple of banners, laptops, and an awesome gift basket giveaway (more on that later), we're ready to show off our hard work to English teachers!

Demo now available!

I haven't had much time time to post here because we're hitting crunch time as we get close to our launch date. But we do have a big announcement: You can now try out our innovative essay grading tool for yourself!

The demo is available from our homepage at:

www.essaytagger.com

The demo is fully-functioning. The only limitation is that it is preloaded with two fake assignments (normally you would customize the assignments and rubrics yourself).

The demo loads with a basic five-paragraph essay rubric. It's not the most exciting thing ever, but it uses the language that teachers and writing instructors are most used to seeing.

What's more exciting is that the demo also has the option to load our "They Say / I Say" rubric. I've been working with Gerald Graff on the early stages of this rubric that is a companion to the blockbuster composition book by Graff and his wife, Cathy Birkenstein. We're really excited about continuing the work on the "They Say / I Say" rubric and sharing it with the book's huge following.

The site will launch with a small library of rubrics, including the "They Say / I Say" rubric, that you can take and customize however you like. I'm working with other teachers to develop rubrics for AP English Language, AP Literature, and others. You'll always be able to create your own rubrics from scratch if you prefer; these pre-made rubrics are just to give you a head-start if you want it!

Check out the demo and let me know what you think!

Source code control on the cheap: Assembla

A solitary developer at a tiny startup can use Drobox as a poor man's source code control system. In fact, that's what I started with to use as a just-in-case code backup. It's also super-convenient for syncing work between multiple computers (see my extended post on Dropbox). Not so great for team-based coding though.

Pretty soon though you'll want to incorporate a real source code control system--CVS, SVN, take your pick.

Latest addition to the team: Mike, Visual Designer

I've tapped Mike, a former co-worker, to be our visual designer for the interactive Flash portions, the Website look-and-feel, and the EssayTagger logo!

Here are a few samples of his work:

Print work for Sony

I almost worked for these guys (or their parent company) in Austin, TX!

Mailer for the company where I met Mike: AlphaDetail, Inc.

Check out the rest of Mike's online portfolio here: mikegracedesign.com

I have reasonable aesthetic sensibilities (I am, after all, a photographer), but I really don't have the chops to be a full-blown visual designer. Having a professional visual designer of Mike's caliber working for us is a huge win; we'll look much more established and impressive than we would if it was just me hacking elements together in my spare time.

That being said, we're still a tiny organization. I'm the only full-time employee. Mike has a full-time day job and is contributing what he can in his free time. Since Mike is a friend of mine and a believer in the project, we've been able to work out an arrangement where his compensation will come in the future. This preserves our tiny cash reserves while giving Mike incentive to see us be successful; he'll profit as we profit.

I'll see if I can get Mike to occasionally post here as he develops and refines the visual design for EssayTagger.com!

Teacher Tech Tip: Cloud storage via Dropbox.com, pt3

Cloud storage via Dropbox.com, pt1
Cloud storage via Dropbox.com, pt2

Part 3: How I set it up

Creating an account at dropbox.com is trivial. You can figure that out yourself. Then I had to have our tech folks install the Dropbox application on my school laptop for me (we're not given the adequate permissions to install software ourselves). They said that they could not "officially" support Dropbox--meaning that if anything went wrong, I was on my own. They also knew that I was uber-tech-savvy so they trusted me to not make a total mess of things. The point is: it may take some convincing, but Dropbox is super-simple; you're really not taking on a huge risk here.

Installing the Dropbox app creates a Dropbox directory on your computer.

Dropbox integrated into the MacOS Finder

Then I organized ALL of my school files under the "Dropbox >> Public" directory. I did this because I knew I'd want certain files to be public--like my assignment writeups--so for simplicity I kept everything under that directory (reminder: despite the name "Public", the files I chose not to share were still perfectly safe and protected).

All of my directories that lived under the Public folder

I created a directory for each prep and then organized all of my files inside that directory. Here's a look inside my Senior English directory structure (notice the breadcrumbing links that show each level of the directory hierarchy: Dropbox >> Public >> Senior English >> Q2 >> Sir Gawain):

Note: These screenshots are of Dropbox's Web interface. But the easiest way to organize all of this by just creating folders and moving files around on your actual computer, under the Dropbox directory. The only reason I used the Web interface screenshots is because I already wiped my school laptop so that I could return it to them.

Then just make sure that every file you create for your class goes in the appropriate place under the Dropbox folder. And, voila, you have instant cloud-based backup working on your school computer!


So let's put it to the test. Want to see what I make the kids do in those Sir Gawain Reading Questions assignments? Here's the public link to the Reading Questions for stanzas 1-33. Enjoy!

Then, if you'd like to sync your files at home: install the Dropbox application on your home computer, link it to your Dropbox account, and it will immediately begin syncing your files between work, home, and the cloud.

Pretty damn cool stuff, eh? Toldya.

Update: They have larger referral bonuses for accounts from a .edu domain! You and your referee get bonus free storage space. This double-incentive referral system is actually a big part of their massive, sudden popularity.

Teacher Tech Tip: Cloud storage via Dropbox.com, pt2

Cloud storage via Dropbox.com, pt1  

Part 2: What are the cool things you can do with it?

Sync to other computers
You can set up Dropbox to sync your files not just to the cloud but across multiple computers. Anything that is in your Dropbox account on one computer will be automatically synced to all of your computers.

Start writing up an assignment on your work laptop. Save the file in your Dropbox folder. Leave the laptop at work. Go home. Guess what's waiting for you on your home computer? That's right, the file that you created at work. Keep refining the assignment at home. Go to work. There it is. Mind-blowing.

Access from anywhere on the Web
You're meeting with a colleague and you need to bring up an assignment but you don't have your laptop with you? No problem. Open a Web browser and login to your account on dropbox.com. You'll see the exact same directory structure that is on your laptop. Click on the file you want to download and view it. Done.

And you can upload any file you want to your Dropbox account through a Web browser. And once it's uploaded it will instantly sync with your other computers. Upload via Web and it'll be synced to your school laptop the next time you open the lid.

Access from Web-enabled mobile devices
Out at the club and want to impress the ladies with your amazing Shakespeare PowerPoint presentation (hey, it could happen right?)? Take out your iPhone/Android/whatever and fire up the free Dropbox mobile app. Navigate to your Dropbox directory and download the file to your phone.

Or, more likely, you see a sweet grammar error on a huge outdoor billboard. Snap a picture of it with your camera phone and then "share" it to Dropbox (that option automatically appears once you install the Dropbox app on Android). It will deposit your image in your Dropbox account and you can pull it up at school the next day to show to your kids.

Share files without actually emailing the files
This one really blew my mind. Dropbox automatically creates a "Public" folder. Anything you put in there can be shared with anyone on the Web (don't worry, by default no one can see anything in there). You just ask Dropbox to generate a public link to that file. Anyone with that link will then be able to download the file.

Here's the mindblowing part: The recipient will download only the latest version of your file.

I sometimes find it necessary to tweak assignments. Usually it's to clarify an instruction. But once the kids have the assignment, it's usually too late to change things. But now I can post the public link to the assignment instructions (I have a class moodle site) and I can make changes when necessary. When a student clicks on the assignment link, she will see the most up-to-date version.

Consider another file that often changes: my gymnastics team roster. As the season goes on, kids inevitably quit or sometimes we actually gain a few kids. The activities office needs updated rosters at various points in the season. Instead of emailing them multiple versions of an Excel spreadsheet, I can just send them that one public link to my roster file. I update it on my school laptop. Dropbox syncs the new version to the cloud. The activities office can click on that same link week after week and will get the most up-to-date version of the file each time!

This totally avoids the confusion of, "Wait, you sent me three versions... which one should I look at?"

Amazing. There's no reason to ever email a file as an attachment again. And, as an added bonus, you don't clog up people's Inboxes with large attachments.

Next: Part 3: How I set it up

Teacher Tech Tip: Cloud storage via Dropbox.com

Cloud storage will make your life easier by giving you fool-proof file backups and super-useful new ways to access and share your files! Invaluable for teachers and, well, everyone.

I assure you I'm not a corporate shill (well, other than for my own company, that is), I just like to spread the word when I find a service that I like. Well here's a service that I LOVE:

Dropbox.com is free cloud storage. It's awesome. I used it during this past school year and it kind of changed my life.

Why is cloud storage a big deal and why should you care?
At a basic level cloud storage is a super-easy and super-reliable way to backup your files. But once you've backed up your files to the cloud, there are many awesome new ways to access and interact with your data. It's kind of mind-blowing.

I'm a tech geek and it took me a few weeks to really wrap my brain around what was now possible thanks to cloud storage. It's more than just a backup; it's a massive paradigm shift.

This post is written for teachers but it's also tagged "startup" because anyone building a business could benefit from what cloud storage / Dropbox has to offer.

I'm going all-in!

As of today I have resigned from my teaching and coaching positions. Building EssayTagger.com will be my sole focus for the foreseeable future.

I agonized over this decision for months, but it essentially boiled down to the push and pull of two factors.

The first was that it was becoming clear that I could not function to the best of my ability in my current environment. I loved everything that was going on inside of my classroom, but--as most teachers are well aware--the frustrations outside of the classroom can become toxic and unbearable. I was working way too hard to be that unhappy.

But I don't want to dwell on past frustrations. This space is about looking ahead, working toward an exciting future.

And that's where the second part comes in.

A friend's photo, but a familiar sight. Poor Jess!

My mentor told me that grading essays was by far the worst part of being a high school English teacher. I'm sure you teachers out there know well where he's coming from. I certainly felt that pain when I had 102 Senior English Lit synthesis papers come in on the same day.

While crawling through those papers I began to dream of ways to make grading more efficient. And then a killer idea crystalized.

As the days and weeks and months went by it became more and more clear that I needed to pursue this idea. It IS the future of grading essays.

As a result, I'm pushing forward with an incredible amount of excitement that far outweighs the frustrations of the past.

I hope those of you who are teachers will forgive me for stepping off the front lines. But I believe in this product that we're building and I am confident that it will improve teachers' lives (how exactly will EssayTagger.com help you grade essays more efficiently? Well, we're still in stealth mode so you'll have to wait a few more weeks to find out).

So while I may no longer be directly impacting students, I am hoping to directly impact teachers (and, let's be honest, make a modest profit along the way!).

I also knew all along that this company would require my full attention; there was no way that I could build it in my free time and still teach and coach. I mean, "free time"?! What free time?! This was always going to be a full-time commitment.

The future looks bright
I am, by nature, a very risk-averse person. I hate gambling. I generally focus more on avoiding the worst-case scenario than shooting for the best-case scenario. It's not very exciting or sexy, but I play it safe.

And yet I have resigned from my job and am launching this startup company with zero fear. I am not up late at night, biting my fingernails, wondering if I'll default on my mortgage. Maybe I should be. Maybe I'm a fool.

18"?! Just give up!

But I know the pain that teachers feel when grading papers and I know that this product we're building can be a huge help. I know that the technology hurdles are daunting--especially since I'm about five years out of date on the latest programming tools and trends!--but I'm confident that I can overcome them. And, as you'll see in the coming weeks, I have access to some incredibly gifted and resourceful people that will be involved in the business.

I'm too optimistic and too excited about all of this to be nervous or scared. The opportunity here and the possibilities are so great that they've overridden my conservative, risk-averse nature.

I know that our profession needs as many dedicated, talented people it can find. I'd like to think I was one of the ones that fit that bill. And I am sorry to leave the ranks. But if I--if we--can make this project a reality... well then we'll all have reason to celebrate.

The plan
Obviously we are already a few weeks into this project. Luckily I've got my brother-in-law on board to help with the business side and I've been reaching out to people I know who can help out on the technology side.

We are tentatively planning a modest round of financing in mid-August to cover operating expenses for the first seven months. That's also the target for a working demo or site beta so we can show the investors what it is they're investing in.

Early September is the target for the actual site launch. We would likely begin with an open beta period for a month or so as we polish off the rough edges and continue implementing more features.

By October we should be fully up-and-running, focusing hard on spreading the word and attracting new users.

We've already figured out how to run the company for a ridiculously tiny amount of money. mostly thanks to crazy advances in technology and the fact that we'll only have one full-time employee: me! A small additional financing round will probably be necessary in March to bridge us to the point where we're making a profit.

I would like to give this company at least a year to see where we end up by September 2012. Because of the low costs of the operation, we don't need insane adoption rates to reach the break-even point. Our initial goal is to hit 1,000 paid users within the first 12-18 months; by Web terms that's just a drop of water in the ocean. There are about 125,000 high school English teachers in America, 114,000 Social Studies teachers, and untold tens of thousands of university instructors and professors that might benefit from our product. And we're just looking to nab 1,000 of them, initially.

I like our odds.


One final pic: At the peak of her insanity, Jess posted this photo with this caption:

"I r helpin u grade, cuz my grammer iz better than theirs."

And no, cats trained to grade essays is not the solution I have in mind. Though I think maybe Flynn here should be our mascot!

A Big Decision: Use a traditional Web host or commit to Google App Engine (GAE)?

Oh tradeoffs, why must you torture us so?

 
The dilemma:
One of the hundreds of things on my to-do list is to figure out Web hosting. For what we want to do a Virtual Private Server (VPS) or cloud VPS seems like the best option. A standard Tomcat host environment won't work because our current designs rely on having OpenOffice installed as a service that we can make calls into. A VPS solution essentially gives us a fresh server that may or may not even have an OS installed on it yet and we can install and configure it however we like.

A VPS setup gives us that freedom and a cloud-based VPS gives us scalable horsepower. Awesome.

But what happens when the server instance crashes? What happens when the database crashes? Presumably a VPS (and certainly the cloud variety) would have redundant-enough distributed/RAID data storage, but what happens if we do suffer data loss?

Any half-decent dot-com needs to have recovery strategies in place to handle any possible calamity, regardless of how unlikely they are.

And here's our first problem: I'm not much of a hardware guy. I really do NOT want to muck through all of this.

But even if we had the world's greatest server admin, we would merely be in good position to recover from disasters when they happen; no one--no matter how good--can make server disasters disappear altogether.

And a VPS--or any Web host or colo option--requires too much machine/environment maintenance and disaster recovery.

The solution(?): Google App Engine
The best way to offload these concerns seems to be to run your code off of Google App Engine (GAE) instead of a traditional Web host/Web server.

Corporate email accounts via Google Apps

I set up the EssayTagger.com email accounts today through Google Apps. I already use Gmail for my personal mail and my school district transitioned to Google Apps-hosted services last semester.

As far as I'm concerned, Google Apps for your organization is a no-brainer. My overall philosophy for EssayTagger.com is to leverage as much outside expertise as possible--which is another way of saying: offload as much as possible, wherever practical. Yes, I know how to do a whole lot of the tech stuff on my own, but there's a lot of it that I shouldn't be doing on my own because other people can do it better and more cost-effectively.

Domain name purchased!

It's hard coming up with a good domain name these days. We decided that our domain name should:

• Describe the service.
• Be professional and appropriate for both teachers and students.
• (no goofy, random names--like google, moodle, GoDaddy, etc.)
• (and nothing that suggests teacher laziness: FasterGrading, EasyGrading, etc)
• And yet still be at least a little memorable.
• Be reasonably easy to spell since students may be typing in the URL.
• Last, but not least: be available for purchase!

In the early phases when I was first playing with this idea I grabbed WritingBrilliance.com. But I think you'll agree that it's too long and too prone to misspellings.

After a lot of brainstorming and a lot of registrar lookups we ended up with: EssayTagger.com.

It fits all of the criteria reasonably well and, as you'll see in the coming weeks, it really does describe our service.

I went with Register.com as my registrar. I've used them for most of my other sites and I've been happy with them. I'm put off by the flashier registrars and their marketing campaigns.