Evaluation of Technology Assessment Tools

In this day and age, there are many assessment tools available to educators. Assessment has become such a huge component of teaching and the technology behind it has needed to stay up to date in order to be effective. Assessment used to be quite simply teaching something then testing for retention of information. This is no longer the case. We still have summative, formal assessments to ensure that our students are retaining the information we are presenting to them. But we also want to see that students can apply that information and think for themselves. We have also additionally added formative, informal assessment. This is a quick check to make sure that students are on the right track to be successful on the final test. Our assessment tools have needed to change in order to accommodate the different kinds of testing. We also need to take student learning styles into account when we are planning assessment of learning. These assessment tools are not the end-all be-all and teachers need to be able to analyze assessments for applicability and effectiveness of accurate information portrayal. Teachers have so many assessment options and it is best practice to compare and contrast several available assessment tools before choosing which tool is appropriate for a specific class.

            Two informal, formative assessment technology tools currently being used in classrooms are Edmodo and Google Forms. These sites have many similarities. Both tools give teachers a lot of control over what goes on the assessments and most everything on both is customizable. For example, on Edmodo and Google forms a teacher can create an informal assessment to check for student understanding by posing a series of short answer questions that students have to answer. This can be considered an “exit ticket” kind of assessment. Students are just doing a quick one-question quiz to show their understanding. Both of these tools are available on the Internet. So teachers can create these informal quizzes on any device with Wi-Fi. Students can also take quizzes on both these tools on any devices with Wi-Fi. Both of these assessment tools are very easy to manipulate, create content, and take said content. The biggest difficulty in using both tools in the classroom is having enough devices for students to use. While having three iPads in a classroom is very helpful, it would be quite difficult and time consuming trying to give an exit ticket quiz on Edmodo or Google Forms on just these three devices. It can definitely be done, but would require some creative planning on the teacher’s part. Having these quick understanding checks done for homework is an easy fix to this problem, as long as all of the students in the class have Internet access at home. Another use for both these tools is polling. On both sites the teacher can post a question, such as what read aloud book the class should do next, and then give multiple-choice answers for the students to choose from. Giving students choice is a really great way to get them involved in their own learning.

            Google Forms and Edmodo also have several differences in how they function as technology assessment tools. Edmodo is a student social network in that students are able to respond to one another and see each other’s responses. It works very well for having class discussions where the students are interacting. One way to use this is by posting controversial topics and asking students to post their thoughts and respond to one another. Another way to use it is to create small groups within the class group and have students discuss books they are reading in book club. Edmodo is more social and collaborative discussion assessment tool. On the other hand, Google Forms is a more independent assessment tool. Students can pull up the form the teacher has created, take the quiz, and then submit it. They cannot see anyone else’s work and once the content has been submitted, students are finished with the assessment. The way teachers are able to view student data is also different in both these tools. On Edmodo there is a gradebook where you can give students individual grades for each discussion post or question they answer. So you can view data for an individual student. You can also pull up one specific assignment and see all the students’ answers for one question. The Google Form has data very nicely laid out for the teacher. When a student submits the form, all the data is automatically plugged into a Google Doc. So all student data is on one page for easy analysis.

            Because teachers need to be taking students’ learning styles into account when planning assessment, having students create projects as a formal assessment is a very good option. Two formal and summative assessment technology tools that students can use to create final projects are Microsoft Office Powerpoint and wikis. These two assessment options have many similar qualities. Both allow students quite a bit of freedom in how they want to display the information they have learned. These both promote higher level thinking and higher level Bloom’s because students need to analyze and synthesize information as well as apply the information into a new format. Students showing application of gleaned knowledge really shows a deep understanding. Being able to regurgitate memorized facts shows little, if any, understanding of the content. Powerpoints and wikis also both allow students to work together collaboratively or independently to demonstrate their understanding. Both assessment tools allow for other technology media to be embedded in the final product. A student creating a wiki or powerpoint on comets, for example, could put a video of a comet, or photos of comets, or links to other websites about comets right into their project.

            While both are great options for project based learning assessment, there are many differences between using Powerpoints for assessment and using wikis for assessment. Powerpoints by design are very linear. They are good for oral presentations because they progress from one slide to the next. Wikis are rather non-linear with links allowing the explorer to click on different sub-topics in any order they choose. In both formats the information is delivered, just in a different way. While both wikis and Powerpoints can be created collaboratively, wikis are designed to be collaborative tools. Multiple people could be accessing and editing the wiki from different locations. It is very convenient that a student could view and edit the wiki from any device with Wi-Fi. Students working on a Powerpoint need to be in the same room on the same computer simultaneously, unless they are using a sharing device like dropbox. Even in this instance, edits made on different copies would need to be manually merged at a later time. Because wikis are online, there is also the option of people commenting on the wiki itself. This is not an option with Powerpoints, unless they are somehow posted online. Wikis are a beneficial tool, especially while collaborating, however, they require more web design and computer knowledge to create. Powerpoints are designed to be user friendly and all you really have to do is point and click and drop to create a presentation. Having students create presentations for their assessments is a really great demonstration of understanding that does not involve the stress usually related to taking traditional pencil and paper tests.  Powerpoint and wikis are different tools, but each has a specific purpose that will be helpful for different kinds of assessments. It is up to the teacher, as always, to determine which tool is the most appropriate for their students.

No two teachers give assessments in exactly the same way using the exact same tools. All students learn differently and educators need to be aware of this so we can differentiate our assessment strategies to allow all our students to show what they know in a way that works for them to be the most successful. With the wide array of technology assessment tools available to us, it is easier than ever for teachers to meet the needs of their students. However, teachers still need to be cognicent of the best possible tool for their students, which is why analysis and comparison of technology tools is a best practice much worth the time.