Ch. 10 Response

Assessing Meaningful Learning with Technology

Assessing Meaningful Learning:Authentic and Performance Assessment
Performance assessment involves assessing students by having them perform tasks that use the skills that are being assessed. Authentic assessment involves having students show that they know something by performing a task instead of taking a test. This also shows that they have learned the concepts or skills in a meaningful way and this knowledge will stay with them forever. I will definitely use authentic assessment in my future classroom since it shows what students truly know and understand instead of what they have memorized.

Technology-Based Assessments
Technology-based assessments can help teachers quickly and more regularly assess students to see if they are understanding the material. Although this can create a little more work for teachers, in the long run it can save time and create better learning.

Assessing Growth Over Time with Electronic Portfolios
E-portfolios are collections of student work, which can include everything from writing samples and artwork to videos and projects. These portfolios can help show how students have improved over time and gives students more autonomy in their work. E-portfolios can give teachers lots of flexibility since teachers can decide the time frame, what goes in the portfolio, and who makes the portfolio. Having an e-portfolio instead of a regular portfolio also allows the teacher or student to search it more easily. Portfolios can also help students reflect on their work and can motivate them to improve their work. I think this is very beneficial because self-motivation is very important in the classroom. I watched the video for Foliotek and learned exactly what they offer for student portfolios. Students can use these portfolios to be assessed, share presentations, or create their own scrapbooks. In previous classes (especially the teaching writing class) we have learned about the importance and usefulness of portfolios as assessment tools. Having an electronic portfolio makes this even easier and more useful. I will definitely use an e-portfolio in my future classroom.

Assessing Performance with Technology-Based Rubrics
Rubrics help achieve meaningful learning since they let students know what is expected of them and after they receive the grade, what areas they did well in and what areas could use some work. I definitely prefer assignments that have rubrics since they let me know exactly what they teacher is expecting and that there will be no surprises. Rubric banks can make writing rubrics quicker and easier for teachers. However, teachers must be careful when using a bank and be sure to modify the rubric to fit the objectives of their specific class assignment. I explored Rubrician and found that it has lots of rubric banks categorized by subject. It has so many that it could be a very daunting task to find one that fits my assignment. I am not sure that I would use a rubric bank as a teacher. Although it may be quicker, I want to be sure that my rubric perfectly fits my objectives. Rubric generators on the other hand, ask the teacher for specific information and necessary elements and create a rubric. I would more likely use this in my future classroom.
Good rubrics should include all important elements, each element should be unidimensional, have specific ratings, be clear, and provide information about the elements. We have learned similar things in previous classes. I am sure we have all had bad rubrics that were unclear or not specific enough. Good rubrics help both teachers and students.

Clicker Assessment Tools
I had never used a clicker before college. Once in college I used a clicker in two different science classes and one math class. I think it is great that the teacher can see the responses from specific students, but other students cannot. I think the best part of using clickers is the way the information can be shown quickly on a screen for the whole class to see. This information can even be shown in graphs and charts. However, I found that I and other students had lots of trouble getting the clickers to work and these issues caused skewed data. If I could get the clickers to work properly, I would use them in my classroom as a quick way to assess my students' knowledge. It would also help all students be engaged as they do not have to be called on to answer a question and feelings will not be hurt if they answer incorrectly.

Assessing Learning with Computer-Based Tests and Surveys
I agree with the book that adaptive tests are good in that they can assess in a better way students who are at the ends of the spectrum unlike regular tests who are aimed at average ability level students. I believe that the computerized GRE is an adaptive test, which enables it to give a specific score for that person. I also like the idea of using these adaptive tests as diagnostic tests.