Graphic by Evelyn Kim ’25/The Choate News
By Sofia Rubenstein ’27, Reporter
Whether you are looking to improve your personal productivity, studying for an exam, or writing a paper, the right tools can make all the difference. Starting this year, the School has provided all students with memberships to Grammarly Premium and QuizletPlus, two software systems that can elevate writing and learning skills. From refining grammar and style to enhancing study techniques, these platforms provide practical solutions to common academic challenges.
Last year, Student Council members proposed to the Director of Academic Technology Mr. Morgan Harris that the School should cover the cost of QuizletPlus and Grammarly Premium. After working with Information Technology User Services (ITS) and putting in a formal capital request, Mr. Harris was able to get the budget for QuizletPlus and Grammarly Premium. At the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, all students received an email with a link that gave them access to Grammarly Premium for free. Students can access QuizletPlus by scanning a QR code posted in the library.
So far during this academic year, these two resources have had positive impacts on students. “QuizletPlus has made a huge difference in my studying because it creates personalized study paths that help me stay on track,” Leanna Robie ’25 said. “Also, I can now upload photos to my flashcards, which has been really helpful in my Spanish class.”
For Ale Martinez Beltran ’27, Grammarly Premium has allowed her to advance her writing skills through the site’s feedback on grammar, content, and flow. She said, “[Being told] small details like passive and active voice and things like that [and] when you’re not supposed to use it is helpful.” Similarly, Robie stated, “Grammarly Premium is super in-depth with its feedback on things like clarity, engagement, and delivery.”
Alongside Grammarly Premium, students and faculty also have access to Grammarly Authorship, a set of features that are able to distinguish between text that is typed, pasted from a browser-based source, like Wikipedia or ChatGPT, and pasted from an unknown source, like a private browsing window. “[This] kind of transparency is something that we [as teachers] are absolutely trying to encourage with any kind of AI use,” Mr. Harris said. “Part of our role as teachers is to help work as a guide and a coach for responsible and ethical use of these tools.”
With these upgrades, students are seeing improvements in their studying and writing, and teachers are able to encourage increased academic transparency.
