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ASSESSMENT WITH TECHNOLOGY
ASSESSMENT WITH TECHNOLOGY
5.1 Candidates will be able to apply technology to facilitate a variety of effective assessment and evaluation strategies.
In ET605, Dr. Hunter challenged us to redesign a unit to include a variety of engaging and effective assessment and evaluatuon strategies. This was accomplished by adding technology, where appropriate, to transform a once-dull unit into something more exciting and student-centered. I chose an old Anglo-Saxon English unit that included epic poetry, kennings, and historical documents, not the most interesting content for high school boys. A change was necessary. I began by focusing more on their lives. Since we were studying how a culture forms, I asked them to look at their own culture and determine where it came from. We watched a video clip and then students were asked to describe what happened in it. Using the inevitablly varied answers, we discussed oral history and how easily it changes. We then used a shared Google Doc to discuss the early British invasions and how each one brought a new group of people with it to complicate this history.
We then moved onto Beowulf and the Hero's Journey. Here, groups worked collaboratively to describe the Hero's Journey using Google Slides and ToonDoo, both of which sparked interest and creativity into a previously lifeless lesson. As we moved from this to poetry, we focused on the Anglo-Saxon kenning, a two-noun phrase used to describe something rather common. For instance, sea becomes "whale's path." I wanted my student to practice this literary device, so I placed QR codes on objects around school that lead them on a scavenger hunt. When they scanned the codes, they were taken to a Google Form where they input their kenning for that object. When all responses were collected, we were able to share these as a class. Some students were so creative!
By redesigning a lesson that could easily have been dry, students were able to collaborate, be creative, and achieve learning objectives, thanks to simple and transparent uses of technology.
5.2 Candidates will be able to use technology to collect assessment data, analyze it, and improve student learning.
ET605 was a class where I was able to experiment with many types of technology. In my Tech Spotlight, I was tasked with reviewing and reporting on a number of technologies new to me at the time. Clicking the Tech Spotlight picture below will take you to my entire experience, but for this objective, I wanted to focus on my use of Kahoot! Kahoot is a synchronous tool where students compete in a Jeopardy-style quiz game. I used this tool to collect basic formative assessment data and analyze it, in order to facilitate better stident learning.
Below is a screencast where you can see my students playing a game. There is no sound, but you can see how the game progressed, and my Tech Spotlight expands on how this lesson went. As student worked through the Kahoot, a walked around the room and noticed discrepancies between their conversations and their answers. Sometimes, they knew the answer, but as it was translated to the Kahoot, answers became incorrect. Sometimes the student hit the wrong button and sometimes there was miscommunication between students. I was able to adjust immediately to this, helping some groups collaborate better and helping others to be more careful with their responses. When the game was over, we discussed the answers and why some teams got them wrong, even though they knew the readings. The instant data offered by Kahoot really assisted me with this, and that is one reason I enjoy using it in the classroom for formative assessments. With a fun Kahoot, I am better able to gauge where my students stand with the learning objectives, and they have a blast with the game. When they walk into the classroom and hear the Kahoot music, they are immediately excited and engaged.
5.3 Candidates will be able to use technology to communicate assessment data with others.
Like Kahoot, Quizizz is an assessment tool I use to collect data and instantly communicate the data and what it means with others. Below are three artifacts, all results from different classes' Quizizz experiences with The Kite Runner, a novel we read in World Literature. Scrolling through these files gives me a picture of where students did exceedingly well and on which questions they stumbled a bit. Color coding these spreadsheets into simple red and green from incorrect and correct allows even students to identify the areas we need to review. Quizizz makes it easy to assess data and know immediately where to focus our attention as a class. Students love these reports because of their competitive fire, and sometimes we will reward extra credit or small prizes to students who place in the top ten. In my experience, I've have turnover quite a bit; it isn't the same ten guys all the time, because of the nature of Quizizz. I can create my own questions or I can import questions that others have already made. In this manner, I am not only getting data but collaborating with others around the world to help promote better student learning.
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