According to Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, one of the primary roles a computer can serve in the classroom is the role of a mindtool (2009). Creating a classroom website, my first goal for my GAME Plan, falls into this category. I have learned that providing students and parents with access to a website full of scheduling and homework information can serve as an organizational tool for the students who have trouble keeping track of this type of information (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008). Having this information available to the parents in an electronic form will help minimize frustration and also help the parents feel connected to their child’s education. I have already extended this goal to my website being up and running for the next school year. I think the most important thing I need to remember as I complete my website and modify it, is to keep the purpose of the website in mind. My goal is for the website to be useful to my students and their parents. When a new need arises, I hope to adjust my website accordingly to fill the new need.
Effective assessment informs the teacher what the students know as well as what the students need to spend more time on. There are many different formats teachers can use to assess students. Having a variety of ways to assess students will lead to more valid results. Students not only learn differently, they communicate knowledge differently also. This leads me to the reason I chose my second goal: to use Activotes as an assessment tool in my classroom. Using Activotes would be considered a forced-choice assessment format. “A benefit of this assessment format is that it can be quick to administer and score” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 143). I have learned this first hand this past week, as I used the Activotes for the first time. I was able to quickly give and score a short, 5 question quiz. I used the quiz as a close activity to a lesson and used the results to guide my plans the next day. I spent the beginning of the next period addressing the concepts the students appeared to need more time on. By simply putting this tool in the students’ hands, I was able to keep their attention during the entire quiz. I would like to extend this goal to using other technology tools for assessment. Having the students make a rap using their multiplication facts and creating a movie as the final product, for example.
“While technology is not essential to creating authentic, learner-centered instruction, it offers a powerful resource for engaging students in authentic experience, typically increasing both their motivation and their learning” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, p. 51). Both of my goals work towards incorporating technology into my classroom daily so the students are learning 21st century skills and participating in authentic learning.
References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Program 6. Meeting Students’ Needs with Technology, Part 1 [Motion picture]. Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.
Response to Allison
ReplyDeleteWebsites can also help parents stay on top of their student's education, and allow them to monitor their childs work. By posting class assignments and expectations on a website, prevents students telling thier parents "I don't have any homework due for "whatever" class" when mom or dad ask, mom and dad can verify this information by accessing the class website. It's a win-win for everyone, it makes it convenient for the parent to keep track of their child's progress, the child is more apt to complete assigned work as asked, and ultimately it helps the teacher do less "chasing" of students assignments. Kudos to you for creating a website for your class, I have one half built, but I am still working on it.
Allison,
ReplyDeleteI’m glad the Activotes proved beneficial to you in assessing and served as means of keeping the students engaged during the assessment. I can’t wait until our district gets them. Does your district also have Active Expressions? These are the latest model of the ActiVotes and allow students to text answers with the mini keypad on the device. Keep up the good work on the website. I’m sure your parents are enjoying feeling connected to their children’s education.
Allison,
ReplyDeleteWe do not have Active Expressions. There is that option on our Active Inspire software so I am not sure if the district is planning to get them or not.
Marcella,
I have some parents that will benefit greatly from the website and others that could care less and have not idea what or how their child is doing in school. Unfortunately, I think there will always be this split between parents that care and parents that don't.
Allison
Allison,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on integrating Activotes successfully into your classroom. I was wondering - in your experiences with this product have you used more textual or graphical quizzes? Also, have you used it throughout an entire period, or just for a part of the class. How do you manage the student clickers?
Finally, I think that the website you're developing could satisfy all the items under the NETS-T. You should check them out and see how it fits! http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers/nets-for-teachers-2008.aspx
Allison,
ReplyDeleteI think you made a great point that you need to keep the students' attention during the assessment itself. I am always thinking of ways to keep the students' engaged during my teaching but clearly if they are not paying attention during the assessment they will not accuratly show what they know. It sounds like Activotes has really benefited your students and I plan on looking into it as well. I have the same goal as you, which is to deveop the digital age assesments. Thanks for the great ideas!