Author: David Jones

We’re excited to announce a significant upgrade to our writing assessment platform: a robust, automatic versioning system. This change is designed to eliminate the anxiety and frustration caused by unexpected browser crashes, internet connection drops, or power outages.

This system ensures that if your computer fails, you can recover nearly every word you’ve written.

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1. How the System Works: Two Tiers of Protection

We’ve implemented a two-tiered saving system that balances constant crash protection with efficient storage of long-term history.

Tier 1: Crash Recovery (Every 50 Seconds)

Our primary safety net remains the quick, frequent autosave.

• Function: Every 50 seconds, your application sends your work to our server.
• Purpose: This aggressively updates the main copy of your essay on the server. If your browser crashes, the most you can lose is the work you completed in the last 50 seconds.
• Where it’s Saved: This content is saved to the primary database record, which is what your instructor sees.

Tier 2: Historical Versioning (Every 5 Minutes)

This is the new feature that protects against data loss and provides a long-term audit trail.

• Function: Every 5 minutes, a separate, dedicated process takes a full snapshot of your essay.
• Purpose: This snapshot is saved as a complete, new record in a separate History Vault. If a crash happens, you now have a series of historical versions (from 5, 10, 15 minutes ago, etc.) that you can use to piece together your lost work.
• Storage Efficiency: To avoid using up too much server space, the system is smart. It only keeps the last 5 versions for immediate recovery.

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2. Using the New Essay Recovery Tool

If your browser or computer crashes, you’ll find a new recovery button when you reload the writing task. This process allows you to retrieve a specific version and append it to your current working document.

Step-by-Step Recovery:

1. Relaunch the Task: Close your browser and reopen the writing assignment. The system will load the last successful Tier 1 save (up to 50 seconds before the crash).
2. Click the “Recover Version” Button: A new modal window will open, showing a list of available historical snapshots.
3. Review the Snapshots: The list will show the time and date of each of your last five saved versions (e.g., “Saved at 10:15 AM,” “Saved at 10:10 AM”).
4. Select and Append: Click the “Append to Essay” button next to the version you want.
   • The system retrieves that entire version.
   • It automatically inserts the recovered text to the bottom of your current essay, clearly marked with a timestamp (e.g., --- Recovered version (10:10 AM) ---).
   • You can then quickly cut and paste the recovered sections back into the body of your essay.

Why Append?

We use the “append” feature to prevent accidentally overwriting good work. This method gives you full control, allowing you to manually review the recovered text and integrate it precisely where it was lost.

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3. Best Practices for Test Takers

While this new system offers powerful protection, you still have a role to play in preventing crashes. The vast majority of work loss incidents are caused by an overwhelmed computer.

To ensure a smooth, crash-free experience, please follow these rules before starting your assessment:

1. Close All Unnecessary Tabs: Close all social media, streaming video services (YouTube, Netflix), and other assignment tabs.
2. Minimize Background Applications: Close file downloads, large games, or other applications that consume significant memory.
3. Ensure a Stable Connection: Although the versioning system protects against brief internet drops, a stable connection ensures your 50-second autosaves are always successful.

This system is now live and ready to keep your writing safe! Happy writing! ✍️

We know that a browser crash—especially a memory-related issue on a device like a Chromebook—is the last thing any student wants to deal with during an important test or assignment.

We’ve designed our online assessment system with a robust, multi-layered data saving architecture to make sure that a client-side crash results in minimal, if any, lost work. The result? At worst, you might lose only the last few seconds of work on the single question you were answering.

Here’s a look at how our system ensures maximum resilience against unexpected interruptions.

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1. Answers Save Instantly (Per-Question Saving)

We don’t rely on a single “Save” button or a large, infrequent auto-save. Instead, we use a technique called asynchronous saving that pushes your answers to our secure server the moment you make a change.

• Multiple-Choice & True/False: As soon as you click an option, that selection is immediately sent to the server and recorded. Data loss for these question types is virtually impossible unless the crash occurs mid-click.
• Short Answer & Essay: When you are typing, your response is saved frequently and on critical events (like clicking out of the answer box). This means the work you’ve completed on previous questions is secure, and only the latest few seconds of typing on the current question might be lost if the crash happens before the final save request completes.

2. Time Used is Tracked and Recovered

For timed assessments, losing time due to a crash is just as frustrating as losing answers. Our system actively tracks and saves your elapsed test time to ensure a fair recovery.

• Periodic Time Logging: A small, background function logs the total minutes you’ve used to the server at regular, short intervals.
• Seamless Resumption: If your browser crashes, simply closing the crashed tab or restarting your device and logging back in will resume your test. The system immediately retrieves your last logged time, deducts it from your original limit, and starts the countdown from your remaining time. You will see a “Resuming” message before you continue.

3. What Isn’t Saved (And Why It Doesn’t Matter)

While core data like answers and time are continuously saved, some non-critical, client-side items might be lost:

• “Mark for Review” Status: Any questions you had flagged for later review will need to be re-marked upon logging back in.
• Window State: Settings like “full-screen mode” will revert to default and will need to be re-initiated.

These minor losses have no bearing on your score or the integrity of the test. Our priority is making sure the data that counts—your answers and your remaining time—is secure and waiting for you when you log back in.

Well, the advent of AI in 2022 was both a boon and a bane for Innovation Assessments LLC. As a boon, it was an opportunity to incorporate AI into our apps. As a bane, it meant the main source of our income, sales on marketplaces like TeachersPayTeachers and TeachSimple, were reduced considerably. I closed both accounts last week.

The effort to make Innovation a “going concern” has spanned 30 years under different names. FrenchRegents.com. MultiLilnguae.com. JonesHistory.net. TeachersWebHost.com. The idea was to develop a subscriber base to my applications, software built to meet real teachers’ needs, not what programmers imagined teaching to be like. I never had the capital to launch properly in a crowded marketplace.

I am retired from teaching now. My career ended officially in 2023. I continue to teach remotely a few hours a day August to May because it is a pleasure to teach. My blog posts hence will come from that direction now.

If you want to subscribe to Innovation, you still can. But I am no longer engaging in marketing to promote it. Hey, I gave it a good go! Last spring I made a pitch to a virtual school I work for. Having not heard back from them, I surmise that my impressive Teams presentation was not enough to sell the service. It’s okay. They did me a kindness to hear my pitch.

I started coding classroom apps in 1993 when the closing Air Force base in Plattsburgh, NY donated a dozen or so IBM 286’s to the Crown Point Central School, where I was working. I learned QBasic and wrote simple programs for practicing verb conjugation for French (I was a French teacher then).

In the late 1990s, I was coding in C++ using a Borland compiler. I coded a messaging app, a drill and practice program, and even a security app for Windows 95! I was part-time technology coordinator for the school.

In the early 2000’s while active on a forum for foreign language teachers, I was contracted by a school on Long Island to code a web app for their classes in a “smart classroom”. From there I developed FrenchRegents.com and then SpanishRegents.com and even GermanRegents.com. I made some profit, until Barron’s Regents review made their test banks public, so I shuttered that business.

In 2007, I closed down and frankly foreswore trying to make money coding. It wasn’t until 2011 or ’12 that I tried again. By then, I had switched to teaching social studies (2004 I made the switch). JonesHistory.net was born.

The pandemic really supercharged my coding. I needed apps for teaching remotely. This was shortly after I moved from TeachersWebHost.com to InnovationAssessments.com after consults with a small business specialist. The limited liability company was formed in 2023.

After I retired from Schroon Lake Central School in 2023, I started teaching online part-time for LanguageBird and for Proximity Learning. These continue to be a source of enjoyment for me and an inspiration for app development. Both let me use my own enormous library of teaching materials spanning 30+ years.

A few weeks ago, I did some research and concluded that, if Innovation was to have a future, it needed to be re-coded in a new architecture. I worked for a short while in Python and then in Laravel Blade (a PHP implementation). Oy. The learning curve was steeper than I was able to tolerate. Add to this that I really didn’t have a reasonable expectation of any commercial success for my efforts, I abandoned the effort. It was kind of hard, actually. I have been working to build this, one way or another, for something like 30 years. It’s not easy to switch gears, admit defeat, let it go. But as a matter of principal, I value letting go when necessary.

So, I continue to upgrade the Perl scripts to suit my needs for teaching remotely. It’s a pleasure and it’s easier now with AI assistance. But even ChatGPT, in analyzing my old code, noticied the antiquity. Today it made a a joke about my coding being “like Netscape 1999”. I laughed out loud and I lamented a little that a robot could jest about outdated code.

Reader, rest assured that despite that “ancient” nature of the code, I have secured it against dangers and if you are a subscriber you may be assured of security.

Reader, a lot of this is tied up in being 57 years old and seeing things fade away and change. At this point, I suppose I am grappling with that.

Innovation Assessments LLC is closing its marketplace stores at TeachSimple.com and TeachersPayTeachers.com.

Our “Test” app has been upgraded with more features to promote academic integrity and meaningful student engagement in assessment. These features grew out of my own and other teachers’ experiences teaching remotely, but they are extremely useful in-person as well!

Secure, Student-Specific Access

Our online testing platform ensures that each session is tied to a specific student account using secure cookie-based authentication. Teachers can limit access using single-use access keys, making it easy to prevent unauthorized retakes or sharing.

Time Limits with Built-In Safeguards

Teachers may optionally enable time limits, and the system tracks how long students actually spend on each task and each question. When a student saves their work, a timestamp is logged, and if they refresh the page, the system preserves the time already used—eliminating the common workaround of resetting time by reloading. This ensures that time-limited tests remain truly time-limited.

Live Engagement Monitoring

During testing, our platform provides real-time insight into student behavior. Teachers can activate a live Monitor View to watch students progress through the test as it happens—seeing their answers appear, tracking save actions, and viewing timestamps per question. In parallel, a proctoring log records key events like switching tabs, pasting text, refreshing the page, or periods of inactivity. This dual-layer system offers both high-level behavioral tracking and direct visibility into what students are doing during the assessment.

AI-Powered Integrity Insights

After the test, our AI-based analysis tool reviews the proctoring logs and flags any unusual patterns. Teachers receive a concise summary of potential integrity concerns and engagement issues—making it fast and easy to identify sessions that may require follow-up. Combined with the live monitor, this provides comprehensive support for maintaining academic honesty, even in remote or hybrid environments.

A Practical Approach to Proctoring

With all these tools in place, teachers need only one responsible adult in the room to ensure no outside devices are being used. The system handles the rest—recording, analyzing, and reporting on student behavior for a fair and secure testing experience.

I’ll be the first to admit that I have always been fascinated by new technology and computer innovation. But I know not everyone shares my enthusiasm. I have come across a number of friends and acquaintances who do not share my welcome of AI or enthusiasm for its potential.

A number of valid criticisms emerge from articles on AI, especially in education. Student abuse is a primary concern. This is worse than the old days where some students had an older sibling who wrote some of their papers for them. AI assistants are freely accessed on multiple devices and are experts in every field. Students who use them to do assignments for school are doing a “cognitive offloading” that means they may not learn what is intended. Honestly, I believe that there is a huge crop of new graduates who are getting away with this in this time period during which educational practices are trying to catch up. Can firms really trust any diploma granted between 2022 and whenever? I teach online and solving this problem has occupied an enormous amount of my prep time.

The natural resources necessary to run AI are enormous. In typical insensitive capitalist fashion, in some places large tech firms are sucking in vast amounts of electricity and water to support AI data centers at the expense of their neighbors and the environment.

I have seen articles from students who are angry that their teachers are using AI to grade their work or that the powerpoint and class materials were AI-generated.

But I am still not scared.

Socrates lamented the invention of writing because students who become literate will fail to develop their memory. (Plato, Phaedrus 274c-275b).

In the 15th century, an Italian scribe Filippo de Strata railed against the new printing press technology. He said it was a threat to the artistry of manuscripts and potential for moral corruption (Latin address to Doge Nicolò Marcello, written between 1473 and 1474). So too was Abbot Johannes Trithemius worried it would foster idleness among monks and diminish the spiritual benefits of hand-copying (In Praise of Scribes).

When I was in middle school in the late 1970s, handheld calculators just became kind of affordable (my first one, a birthday gift, was over $100!). Older people said this was cheating and that kids would lose the ability to do math in their heads. (Okay, so for those of us already bad at math, this was either prescient or irrelevant.)

In the year before I retired, I had a parent conference with a mom and her kids who had been homeschooled up to then. She spent a lot of time extolling the virtues of good penmanship that she had instilled in her children and chided the schools for no longer teaching cursive. I smiled and nodded whilst thinking that once outside the family foyer these kids will never pen anything longer than their signature.

I know, this is a good place for an eye-roll emoji. The reader may feel that an accusation of Luddism is hyperbole. But I think the analogy is apt. New technologies call into question old practices and it is tempting to hold on to them because we have already mastered them, because we have already invested so much in mastering them, because we value them for that reason. Instructors who have been teaching for years have their favorite assignments and projects that worked for years and now are unworkable because students will have an AI do it. They will have to let those go.

My experience last semester teaching AP French for an online school offered me many lessons in this very thing. When I took over the course from another instructor whose schedule had changed, I discovered that the students had been using translators for all of their work and not being challenged on it. I made it my mission to thwart AI abuse in that course (see related blog posts), so I truly sympathize with the reader who thinks AI will destroy education.

But I’m still not scared of AI.

Like virtually all other technologies that radically transform, the transformation period is stressful. Where is this going? How will this affect me? My job?

This technological transformation is coming, like it or not. Like writing, printing, calculating, and similar “cognitive offloading” tools, this will come because it is too good to too many people for it to be just dropped. At first, because it’s new, there will be an adjustment period. But society will adapt and evolve and rebalance because that is where our interest lies.

I don’t think AI is scary. I think AI is powerful.

And like any powerful tool, what matters is who wields it, and how.

Innovation‘s framework for harnessing AI encompasses a set of strategies to maximize the new technology’s practical value. Few teachers just want to set their students loose on a chatbot! Innovation’s chat is corralled by important guardrails: interactions have a pre-set limited number, chats are recorded for later viewing and evaluation, and the AI response style is pre-set by the teacher. This provides the important bridle for the AI’s responses, setting age group and purpose for the chat.

Our company name “Innovation Assessments” is a little archaic to be sure. It dates back to a time when we were just a test generator site. That being the case, it should be said that evaluation still plays an important role in all our applications. This week, we added an AI grading assistant to the chat evaluations.

Imagine an assignment to a tenth grade social studies student to chat with the AI or with another student on the causes of the French Revolution. How well did they complete the task? Was their time chatting with the AI time well-spent? Did the student try to generate insightful responses to the AI’s questions and challenges? Did the student use the prompts wisely?

Imagine a student of French, CEFR level B, practicing with the AI to order a meal in a restaurant and to solve a problem with their order. Same questions: how well did they use their time with the chatbot? Did they achieve the objective of the dialogue?

Two applications exist for evaluating student participation in a chat. The main individual scoring application is found from the playlist controls for the task under the Task dropdown. Choose “Score”.

The build-in rubric lets teachers assess the quality, etiquette, appropriateness, and form of the student’s work. Click “AI Score” to get the AI’s suggested score.

Like all of the AI assistants at Innovation, the application is designed to present AI work product for teacher approval before being saved or presented to students.

The original scoring mode is still installed. Teachers run the chat program from the course playlist and then click Scoring Mode from the buttons on the left of screen.

Each chat is organized into a thread with a nickname (the name of a world capital city). This feature is useful for scoring chats between students in the class and that was how it was originally developed. The AI scoring assistant is installed here as well.

At Innovation Assessments, we believe in empowering teachers with tools that not only streamline their work but also deepen their understanding of student progress. AI-Assisted Chat Scoring is a testament to this commitment, transforming how you evaluate conversational learning while ensuring you remain in control. We’re excited for you to experience how this new feature, alongside our existing robust evaluation tools, will revolutionize the way you foster engaging and effective student interactions.

At Innovation, we know where we fit — and just as importantly, where we don’t. We understand that tools like Google Classroom, Schoology, and Canvas have become the backbone of digital learning for many schools. Districts invest in these platforms for their compatibility, reporting features, and teacher training.

And that’s fine with us.

Innovation is a full-featured learning management system in its own right, but we don’t expect to replace the LMS you already rely on. Instead, we complement it. Our design philosophy is simple: Innovation plugs into the LMS you already use — quickly, easily, and effectively.

Seamless Integration Through Links

If your LMS allows you to include external links (and almost all of them do), then you can integrate Innovation activities in minutes. Here’s how:

• One-Click Links to Activities:
  Every Innovation learning task can generate a unique external link. Just click the link button next to an activity, copy it, and paste it directly into a module, assignment, or announcement in your LMS.
• Link Lists for Topics:
  Want to include an entire sequence of activities? Use the Link List option from the Topic control dropdown. It instantly creates a formatted list of links to all activities within that topic, ready to paste into your LMS for students to access in order.
• Evaluation Links:
  When it comes time to assess student work, Innovation makes it just as easy. The Evaluation button produces a link to the task scoresheet, which you can paste into your LMS, email to students, or drop into a video conference chat.

Works With Your Live Sessions

Innovation also shines in live teaching environments. If you’re conducting sessions over Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet, Innovation integrates seamlessly:

• Start your live session in your chosen platform.
• Open the relevant Innovation activity in your browser.
• Share your screen as you guide students through the task.
• With a single click, generate a participation link and paste it into the video conference chat so students can follow along or complete tasks simultaneously.

Why This Matters

Teachers don’t need another siloed platform to manage. You already have enough logins, dashboards, and gradebooks to juggle. With Innovation, you get powerful, purpose-built learning activities that fit into your existing workflow without disruption.

We believe in meeting teachers and students where they already are — which, for many of you, is inside your district’s LMS. Innovation gives you the flexibility to enrich your LMS with engaging, structured learning tasks and robust evaluation tools — without asking you to abandon what’s already working.

The new AI educational assistant chat app at Innovation is definitely one of our most popular applications! It is extremely flexible and reliable for delivering structured, natural, and appropriate interactive learning.

Readers may recall that the Innovation chat feature can be hosted or host-less and can include AI interactions. Teachers license students for a certain number of interactions and teachers define in advance the “reply style” of the AI. This means that teachers set up important guidelines to make the learning experience most effective.

In response to teacher feedback, we’ve added a new set of age group reply style options to help the AI adjust its language and tone even more precisely to the students it interacts with. Alongside the existing CEFR-level options (for world language learning) and conversational styles, teachers can now specify an age group — such as upper elementary, junior high, high school, or college — when configuring the chat assistant.

These age group settings guide the AI to choose vocabulary, sentence structure, and tone that are more appropriate and engaging for the selected audience. For example, when set to upper elementary, the AI uses simpler words and a more encouraging tone; when set to college, it uses a more formal and intellectually challenging style.

We encourage teachers to select one or two complementary styles rather than many at once, to keep the AI’s responses focused and consistent. As always, settings can be adjusted at any time, allowing teachers to fine-tune the experience based on their students’ needs and goals.

We’re excited to see how teachers use these new options to tailor conversations even more effectively. You can find the new age group settings in the AI Reply Style section of the chat setup page, alongside the existing style options. As always, we welcome your feedback — let us know how the chat assistant is working for your students and what additional refinements would make it even more useful.

Innovation’s AI integrations are expanding this summer, with enhancements to all areas of our platform!

This week, we’re excited to announce that AI support has been added to our grammar application, designed for learners of world languages.

The grammar app presents prompts for students to practice applying rules in their target language — such as verb conjugations, adjective agreement, spelling, and more.

Last spring, we introduced AI tools for teachers to easily generate customized grammar tasks.

This month, we’ve added AI assistance for students as they complete the tasks. Teachers can license students for a set number of AI assists during an exercise. After entering and saving their response to a prompt, students can click ✨ Ask AI to receive feedback.

When errors are detected, the AI provides thoughtful hints to guide students toward correcting and improving their answers — encouraging learning and mastery, rather than simply giving away the correct answer.