Hand out 3_Electronic Assessment Plan

With your home group, identify a learning outcome appropriate to your shared

subject matter and student grade level. Then list ways you or your students can

use different electronic tools to reach and assess that outcome. You will learn

more about how to generate and use the tools later In the class and will have the

opportunity to revise your plans. Complete the handout digitally or transfer your

results from this paper.

Learning Outcome

-          gaining mastery of computeracy in general along with improvement of vocabulary, reading skills, as well as all other skills

Games/Test & Quiz Makers/Flashcards

-suitable for grammar drills, vocabulary exercises

Students – it is easier for them learn chunks of language, in genuine/authentic contexts; for students with a higher visual intelligence level using flashcards or visuals will help them improve vocabulary;

Teachers  have at hand a great too that helps them assess quickly while discriminate among the Ss’ different learning and achievement levels;

Rubrics

-          are perfectly suitable for marking project presentations, writing assignments, speeches, etc.

Students understand better where they will go wrong and get personalized and objective feedback;

Teachers – can forward a thorough evaluation, being able to identity the mistakes and correct them;

Electronic Projects

- PowerPoint Presentations, or any other interactive ones using various software

Students – even if they might find it embarrassing to come up in front to talk, or difficult to choose the right words, they will find this “training” useful for later presentations in their adult life; in a way, facing an audience may train their own command of emotion and trigger in them the resources to help them overcome such inherent obstacles. The speaking skills are obviously better emphasized here (posture, vocabulary, intonation, register, eye-contact, etc); move the students’ attention from what might have become a tedious weather battered approach to something fresh and challenging;

Teachers – a video recording of the students’ presentations may bring a plus in evaluation or self-evaluation;

E-Gradebooks

Students – students and parents alike can have access to a “black on white” proof of their progress and continuous assessment. Having the students accustomed to tasks, to deadlines to be met will arouse their sense of responsibility.  The personalized feedback of the teacher will ensure a good understanding of whatever the student is supposed to do.

Teachers- it might be tiresome or stressful in the beginning until the teachers get used themselves with this, but the idea is that we can have a better control and a hold of the so much desired transparency.

Student self-Evaluation (journals, portfolios, blogs)

Students – they like to talk about themselves and will not bother to put a pen on the paper. It is better to encourage them and guide the way they will choose to express themselves; also the common sense rules of communicating in the blogoshere will spare them possible troubles in the future; when teachers encourage them to DO something on the internet, they will invest less time in chit chat and irrelevant online activities; interesting links, materials or resources used by their peers are to be found in the same virtual world.

Teachers – will receive real time feedback of the students’ progress and will be able to make observations to their online activity on the spot on the moment they occur; (the written observation is more likely to be remembered than an oral one)’;

What are some ways you can use technology to differentiate or personalize

learning?

I personally believe that besides the all-visible criteria used to assess our students also the apparently hidden elements can come to light, such as their level of motivation, critical thinking or social interaction abilities. I came across these 10 tips for individualized learning that caught my eye:  

http://www.edutopia.org/stw-differentiated-instruction-ten-key-lessons)

(10 tips for personalized learning from Edutopia)

1. Deliver Instruction through Multiple Forms of Media

You now have at your fingertips far more than just the old standbys of words and still pictures. Teachers [...] use computers and whiteboards to access oodles of instructional videos, audio clips, animations, and interactive games, some through software and some available online. Children also cement their knowledge by doing hands-on activities with these media. When learning about shapes, for instance, the youngest students sometimes scour the school with digital cameras, taking photos of shapes wherever they find them.

2. Gather and Use Immediate Feedback on Students' Understanding

Why wait days or weeks to deliver and grade a quiz to find out which kids missed important concepts? Teachers here routinely use remote-response systems (clickers), colorful little gadgets that allow each child to enter her answer to a practice question so that the teacher can instantly see who got it right or wrong. Computer software programs, too, can give kids practice questions, quickly diagnose trouble spots, and allow teachers to customize subsequent lessons for each child's needs.

3. Give Students Options

All students shouldn't be required to show their learning the same way. And digital media open up a host of possibilities beyond the traditional essay, poster, report, or quiz. For instance, fourth-grade teacher Kevin Durden gives kids additional choices, such as creating a PowerPoint slide show or a comic strip (using Comic Life software) or filming a skit (using Flip video cameras). "This way," says Durden, "you don't see the students' disabilities. You see their abilities”.

4. Automate Basic-skills Practice

Free up some hours for more creative, fun technology projects by using software to do much of the basic-skills practice and assessment that would otherwise take up a lot of time. Educational computer programs (Study Island and EducationCity are Forest Lake favorites) can identify specific weaknesses in a child's skills, such as understanding analogies or adding fractions. Teachers can review these outcomes daily, then assign lessons to each student according to her needs -- for the next time she logs on.

5. Practice Independent Work Skills

Differentiating instruction often means setting up kids to work alone or in groups. And that, we don't need to tell you, can lead to chaos. The solution for second-grade teacher Tamika Lowe is "practice, practice, practice." Early in the year, she makes her expectations clear, and she and her students repeatedly drill their procedures -- how to use the technology, what to do if you have a question, how to behave if Ms. Lowe isn't standing right there.

6. Create a Weekly "Must Do" and "May Do" List

Give a classroom of students an array of different, personalized tasks to do, and they'll inevitably finish them at different times. That's a tricky part of differentiation. Forest Lake teachers tackle this by assigning a weekly list of "must dos" and "may dos," so kids who finish first can always find something to do next.

7. Pretest Students' Knowledge Before Each Unit

Before starting each unit of study, grade-level teams at Forest Lake brainstorm a way to assess prior knowledge so they can tailor the lessons effectively to each child. It can be as simple as a question that the class answers with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down or as rigorous as a one-on-one conversation.

8. Be Flexible When Plans Go Awry

Computers don't always perform the way you wish or expect, especially if the teacher in command is new to digital technology. So as you embark on this journey, expect the unexpected. When obstacles arise, you can model good problem-solving behavior by asking students to help you devise alternative approaches. "I say to students, 'You know what? If something doesn't work, it's OK,'" Lowe explains. "Every experience is a learning experience."

9. Let Students Drive

If you've got the tech tools, put them in kids' hands. In Lowe's class, students use Flip cameras to film each other doing oral book reports, then critique both the presentation and the videography. Other Forest Lake teachers routinely give kids turns at leading lessons on the whiteboard, either by hand or with remote tablets called AirLiners. These opportunities allow students to work at their own pace, capitalize on their skills, and discover ways to work around their challenges.

10. Share the Work of Creating Differentiated Lessons

To ease the burden of planning lessons for students at diverse levels, Forest Lake teachers often divide up this task. When they plan each unit of study, different members of each grade-level team design the activities for higher-skilled kids, lower-skilled kids, etc.