PLO 6&7: Assessing and Evaluating Using Technology

    

     This paper discusses and demonstrates program learning Outcome 6 "the importance of technology resources to facilitate effective assessment and evaluation in education" and in demonstrating Program Learning Outcome 7, it is necessary to "utilize technology to collect and analyze data, interpret results, and communicate findings".  An explanation of the principles and theory that apply will be explained and why they were chosen.  This discussion also includes the design and implementation challenges experienced during the redesign of a MATLT activity and how they were overcome.

     The integration of technology has forever changed the look and feel of classroom dynamics, our learning of knowledge, and instructional course design.  The change taking place in classrooms is not a decision any longer, but more a necessity to keep up with the advancement in knowledge transfer and retrieval.  But integrating technology into our learning processes means a great deal more than simply adding a couple of educational games and websites for students to view between lessons.  To effectively integrate technology, it has to happen across curriculums while enhancing and delving deeper into all aspects of the learning process.  The term "Integrated Technology" is synonymous with phrases such as: active engagement, investigative interaction, peer grouping, real-world connections, collaboration, and feedback/ assessment.  "Technology is the tool to be combined with a teaching method to influence the way in which a student receives, processes, learns, applies, and reflects on the content" (Hodge & Collins, 2010).

     Formative and summative assessments are important to demonstrate the learner's understanding, or misunderstanding, in order to achieve the intended and expected learning goals.  while current forms of testing were not designed to gauge how well students apply knowledge to new situations, Using technologies can be the solution to this problem.  Heavy reliability has been placed on formative assessments to provide identification of learning gaps for students, then addressing those gaps becomes the key to successful summative assessments.

     The purpose of any assessment is informational feedback that can be used further to increase learning potential.  Assessments have always been an integrated part of any learning process, usually given at the beginning and the end of the learning cycle.  Digital technology gives educators and students a wide variety of opportunities to improve skills and demonstrate the acquired knowledge to show that the instructional objectives have been met.  Strategies and assessment tools range from quizzes, tests, games, surveys, journaling, discussions boards, interactive models, and virtual world simulations to ePortfolios (Bedard-Voorhees, Johnson & Dobson, 2011).

     The MATLT activity that was redesigned was a story elements activity entitled Nimby.  Story elements consist of characters, setting, problem, and solution of a story. Restating the story's elements is an assessment tool used to check for comprehension, organization, writing skill, and personal interpretation.  The original design assessment only consisted of the Jing creation of the story in order to access it from the computer lab.  The redesign of the activity includes the use of technology tools to create a creative presentation of the story elements with the use of music, pictures, and text that showcases not only a student's comprehension, but has a built in creative aspect that increases interest and pride in one's accomplishments.    The entire assignment was added to the classroom wiki for the purpose of accessing the finished product from any computer connected to the World Wide Web.  Because the account is closed to our class and requires a user name and password, only parents are able to access student's work from home and educators have the ability to view the final projects for grading purposes, provide immediate feedback, and move the video into student portfolios.

     The challenge encountered was the student's ability to create a video on their own without using collaborative grouping.  Students will need time to "play" on the site creating videos in groups to familiarize themselves with the website options and commands, and the ability to find, save, and retrieve pictures/videos captured from the Internet that might be added to the Animoto being created.  So, it is important that background computer knowledge must be learned before assigning this activity for use of as an assessment activity.

     A positive aspect was that Animoto automatically saves all videos produced and sends an email to the account holder acknowledging any activity on the website.  This will be beneficial for identifying any possible "outside" help if a project is assigned as a formative assessment.  Animoto makes it easy to ensue student-only creations, by date stamping any editing as it occurs.

     Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligence theorized that "we all possess some degree of each of the intelligences, but dominance of those intelligences varies between individuals" (Leaver-Duffy & McDonald, 2011, p 34).  Educators should encourage students to understand their preferred learning styles but should also make students aware of the various learning styles through different activities, projects, collaborative efforts, and assessments.  Stepping outside their "comfort zones" builds, empowers students, and gives them the confidence to preform.  Using Animoto to create a story elements video utilizes the Musical, Existential, Linguistic, and Interpersonal Intelligences.

     In conclusion, "assessment lies at the heart of leaning, experience; how learners are assessed shapes their understanding of the curriculum and determines their ability to process.  Technology can support nearly every phase of assessment" (JISC e-Learning Programme, 2012, para 1).  We "realize the impact technology has had on our roles as educators and our students as thinkers.  Preparing students to be 21st Century learners must also include new thinking guides, making it easier for some of us to scaffold our own learning to incorporate these new expectations" (slm508sslc,2011).  Technology is the answer to enhancing assessments and improving teaching efficiency with effective feedback, expanding the assessment tools, and incorporating all intelligences giving all students a strong chance at showcasing their abilities.

References

Bedard-Voorhees, A., Johnson, L. M., & Dobson, P. (2011). Letting them show what they Know: digital assessment strategies [Book submission chapter final Version]. In s. Hirtz and K. Kelly (Eds.) Education for a digital World 2.0, Section F: eAssessment: Measuring in Ways that matter. British Columbia: Province of British Columbia. Retrieved from Ashford online course.

Hodge, E. M., & Collins, S. (2010). Collaborative Efforts: teaching and learning in virtual worlds. Educause Review, 45(3), 62-63. retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/collaborative-efforts-teaching-and-learning-virtual-worlds

Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J.B., (2011). Teaching and learning with technology (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson

S. (2011, March 7). Bloom's and technology. world Press Learning Goals. Retrieved from http://slm508sslc.wordpress.com

technology-enhanced assessment. (2012). JISC e-Learning Programme. Retrieved from http://www.jisc.ac.uk/assessment