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.
