MODULE+5

=Assessment, Evaluation, Productivity, and Professional Practice=

Description: For me, this week's module reflected the various technological resources used to assess and evaluate student learning. I was introduced to the Center for Instructional Technology, where I learned the differences between traditional and authentic assessments. In reading classroom assessment for learning, I was reintroduced to the intended purpose of assessment and how it can be used as a learning tool. "Using student-involved classroom assessment" provided interesting discussion on the ineffectiveness of standardized tests.

Impact: I believe the use of technology in assessing and evaluating students can be the most profound use of technology. However, I believe it is the most underutilized. I think teachers are very open to integrating technology into their daily lessons but have not been so quick to invite technology into their assessment strategies.

For example, my district has moved to an online grade book software program called Eschool that has eliminated the need for the traditional paper grade book. We made this move four years ago, yet, many teachers, even those who utilize every technology in their lessons, still cannot bring themselves to forget the paper grade book all together. Those teachers prefer to record grades in the paper book, then transfer a final grade over into the digital medium. The downside to this is that, as a parent, it is not easy to see why a student has earned a particular grade. Keeping record of assignments in the digital software allows for both parents and teacher to quickly see what grades were earned from what assignments, and whether or not homework was turned in.

Though there is a reluctance to better utilize the online grade book, there has been great progress in integrating other digital assessment tools. Study Island comes to mind when I consider digital assessment and evaluation strategies. Our language arts and math departments have embraced this software, and they use it weekly to offer students a chance to run through OAA practice questions. Also, our building has made a great push to integrate the ODE testing portal. On this website, teachers can create custom tests from a bank of OAA questions, then have students log on to take the custom test. I have used BrainPop weekly since the beginning of school, having my students log on, view a chosen clip, and then take the graded quiz online. Students then email me their quiz results, thus eliminating paper waste. I find that the students enjoy taking their quiz online, and it allows for all within the room to work at their own pace undisturbed by those who may finish earlier. Students on BrainPop also have the option of completing a review quiz prior to the graded quiz, thus giving them extra practice and review.

Intent: Through this modules readings, I was grateful to discover that I was not the only one wondering if standardized tests were actually harming the learning process. So often, we as teachers become so test driven that we forget to teach our kids. Just today, my math partner through his hands up in frustration, proclaiming the "X" amount of days before the test and his students were unresponsive to his test directed lesson. To him, I suggested giving them a reason for the math. When we're baking a cake, we never stop to deliberate on the math involved, we just measure the ingredients and go on with life. That's what math is for, and in my opinion, that's what students need to know. I may be chastised for saying this but, who cares about the test. If my students can apply the concepts I've taught them to everyday life, if they can work together to solve a real problem in their future careers, then I'm satisfied that I've done my job.

As for the role technology plays in assessment and evaluation, I will continue to integrate technology into this aspect of my duties. I very much embrace the use of technology in this respect, because I believe very much in the need to save our planet's precious resources. Schools use more paper than any other form of business. If I can save trees, I will. I also believe that our digital natives respond better to their natural surroundings...i.e. they perform better on digital assessments than on other forms. As I stated, my student enjoy taking their Brainpop quiz online, but when I give them a paper/pencil quiz there's quite an abundance of groans and complaints.

Strengths and weaknesses: I believe my willingness to embrace technology in this aspect is my strength. My team leader once told me that I still had a lot to learn, but what made me better than the rest was my desire to be better. I believe he was right. I am always looking for new ways to integrate technology, looking for ways to improve my teaching, looking for ways to engage my students. I feel that my weakness here is that I am constrained by time. There is a plethora of digital tools to be found, but time is required to truly explore these tools and decipher if they are useful and can be utilized in a meaningful way. Indeed, there have been many times that I wished Hermione Granger's Time Turner were real!