Assessment Technology
Introduction
"Assessment is an integral part of instruction, as
it determines whether or not the goals of education are being met." (Why
is Assessment Important?, 2008). Today, assessment is more important than ever
before. Until recently, individual states were allowed to set their own
standards but since the enactment of Common Core Standards, the federal
government has begun deciding which standards students should be meeting and
school funding can be dependent on how well students perform on the summative
assessments known as standardized tests. This, combined with the fact that
technology is more prevalent than ever before in our society, means that it
would only be a logical conclusion that assessments performed in schools
include some form of technology usage. By using technology to assess student
learning, teachers can gain immediate insight into their students
understanding, and students can grow their skills with the technology that will
shape their futures.
Technology to Facilitate
Ongoing Efforts to Assess Student Learning
Teachers
can use technology to give assessments, both formative and summative, that help
to evaluate student understanding and ability. By utilizing an online
assessment system, teachers are able to cut back on the amount of physical
labor required in the classroom and are able to reduce the amount of paper
usage in their classrooms. Teachers are also then able to store student
information online as well and to share that information with relevant parties
at the click of a button. Through all of this, students gain valuable
experience with technology that they will need as a working adults and are able
to practice and hone the skills that they will need in more advanced courses
later. Using technology in the classroom to asses student learning can help
teachers to see, in a much shorter time span, how well their students are
comprehending the information being presented and can allow them to make changed
mid-class if they need to so that students can better absorb the lesson being
taught. By determining which students are doing well and which students are
struggling, teachers are able to begin differentiating their lesson plans while
class is in progress.
Google Docs: Google
Docs allows for anyone with a google account to access a multitude of free
software programs and for multiple people to edit documents simultaneously. A
teacher in my position, high school English, could assign an essay with required
peer-review and could then watch as students worked through the peer-review
process of several groups at once without leaving their desk. Similarly, the
teachers would be able to give feedback in the same way without needing to
speak aloud. According to Google, "Anyone you share the file or folder
with will see changes made as they happen so that everyone can be on the same
page and you can get feedback quickly." (Google, n.d.)
Socrative: Socrative
is an internet-based platform that can be accessed from any mobile device.
Through it, teachers can take see visual results of the questions they ask in
class, they can create quizzes and play games related to content being learned
in class. An English teacher could use Socrative to quiz her students on
literary terms and techniques while they read through a play in class. The
system also tracks individual student response so teachers are able to see
where students are struggling and to adjust accordingly while class is still in
session. Socrative takes in-class formative assessment to a new level and
creates a visual way to gauge student understanding.
Poll Everywhere: Poll
Everywhere is a site that aligns with mobile devices - any mobile device can
send the answer to a poll or a short response question to a pre-assigned mass
SMS number and the results will appear simultaneously in whichever format and
whatever system the operator has chosen (teacher's computer or smart-board).
English teachers could use this system to answer relevant student questions
during quiet, or class, reading time. Students could also use this system to
identify literary techniques and devices while the class is performing a play
(a pun in Shakespeare, for example). The responses appear anonymously which may
encourage self-conscious and typically quiet students to be more engaged in
class discussion. According to Poll Everywhere, "Your full history of poll
questions and participant responses are available for you to download whenever
you choose." (Poll Everywhere, 2015)
Formative and Summative
Assessments
Formative
assessment it on-going assessment because it measures student understanding in
a way that allows teachers to change their methods if poor results are shown.
Summative assessment is end-assessment in that it measures the overall amount
of how much a student has learned at the end of a course or unit; summative
assessment give teachers a picture of how well students have learned from them
on a grand scale. While formative assessment can be something as simple as
class discussion, "Summative assessment at the district/classroom level is
an accountability measure that is generally used as part of the grading
process." (Garrison, 2014).
Each
of the above tools could be used for formative assessment in an attempt to seek
active class participation that would allow a teacher to see, in real-time, how
well students are processing the information being presented and how well those
same students are using the skills that they already possess.
Pros and Cons of using
Technology to Facilitate Assessment
As with any
other system of assessing student learning and ability, there are both perks
and downsides that come with using technology to assess student learning. Some
of the benefits of using technology to assess student learning include the time
spent with technology (allowing students the ability to practice their computer
skills and gain valuable experience that they can take with them into the world
of working adults) and the fact that computer based assessment services can
store the results of the assessment and can then transfer the results into the
teacher's grading system or the system that the school uses to store
information about individual student performance. The negative aspects of using
technology to assess students include that the technology must be maintained in
peak condition and this means hiring extra bodies to do the maintenance work
required as well as the fact that technology could 'crash' and this could cause
in delays and losses of student information. Technology can also be hacked and
student information can be stolen and to prevent this, security measures must
be put in place which will cost schools more. Another downside is that not all
skills can be tested through technology - some assessments must be done by hand
to truly evaluate student knowledge and ability.
Should a teacher only use
technology to assess student learning? Why or why not?
Teachers should
not feel like they are confined to exclusively using technology to administer
assessments because not every assessment will be completely compatible with
technology and not all skills will require the use of technology to
demonstrate. While technology is truly a spectacular asset, it is not yet the
end-all-be-all of education.
What
is the importance of assessment technology in connection with the ISTE
standards?
Today's
students will go on to be tomorrow's leaders and as they progress through the
world technology continues to evolve and becomes more and more integrated into
everyday life. The ISTE standards are meant to involve technology into the
classroom in a way that allows students to gain valuable first-hand experience
with the technology while simultaneously learning the essential material that
has always been learned. Using technology to assess student learning not only
assesses a student's understanding of the material being presented but also
assesses how well a student knows the technology being used to assess. The ISTE
Student Standard 6 states that students should "demonstrate a sound
understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations" (ISTE-S,
2007) because in today's technologically adapted world, being able to use
technology is just as important as having a sound education.
Concluding Paragraph for Software to Support Assessment
Using technology to
assess student is the next logical step in the combining of technology and
education. It allows teachers to see the results of their lesson plans in
real-time and allows them to determine when immediate intervention is
necessary. For students, the melding of technology and assessment, formative
and summative alike, provides the experience necessary to functionally use
technology as a working adult in the near future, provides a new and exciting
way to take boring and dry assessments, and allows them to demonstrate skills
that would otherwise be difficult to demonstrate. Technology is moving forward
in a way that will encourage life to continue to adapt to its uses and one of
the best ways to do that is to use it to teach today's children so that they
may go on to use it to their advantage and to the advantage of others as
tomorrow's leaders.
References
Garrison,
C. (2014). Formative and Summative Assessments in the Classroom. Retrieved from:
http://www.amle.org/BrowsebyTopic/WhatsNew/WNDet/TabId/270/ArtMID/888/ArticleID/286/Formative-and-Summative-Assessments-in-the-Classroom.aspx
Google.
(n.d.). How to share. Retrieved from: https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2494822?hl=en
ISTE-S.
(2007). International Society for Technology in Education: Student Standards.
Retrieved from: http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-students
Poll
Everywhere. (2015). Retrieved from: http://www.polleverywhere.com
Why
Is Assessment Important? (2008). Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/assessment-guide-importance
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