A Case for Going Digital

Why should we use digital tools for formative assessment?

• Immediate Feedback: Many tools give teachers the ability to choose a correct answer, or look for keywords in written responses, thus providing students with immediate feedback. No more waiting for the teacher! According to Marianne Stenger's Edutopia blog, researchers found that participants who were given immediate feedback showed a significantly larger increase in performance than those who had received delayed feedback.

• Immediate Analysis: Just as important as a student receiving immediate feedback, the teacher also receives immediate feedback through analysis. Upon student completing digital formative assessment, the responses are logged and typically available for download immediately, so teachers can modify their teaching to meet the student's needs.

• Increase Student Engagement: Students are more engaged when using digital formative assessment than other forms of formative assessment. This is shown time and time again through research.

• Increase Student Learning: With the combination of immediate, meaningful feedback and increased student engagement, it stands to reason that students will in turn, learn more of the content in a positive environment through digital formative assessment.