“When assessment is seen as a
multifaceted process, not a singular action of assigning grades after a test or
quiz, class members learn multiple objectives and teachers gain more than a
single perspective of each student’s knowledge and learning needs.”-Maloy, et
al., Transforming Learning with New Technologies
(2017)
Let’s face it: Assessments are
usually at the bane of our students’ existences. They hate tests and quizzes;
they hate projects. But, what if these were fun instead of boring and mundane?
Chapter
Eleven of Transforming Learning with New
Technologies
discusses how to make assessments for the students of today. Maloy, et al.
(2017) first state: “Assessment is central to the work of teachers as they plan
lessons and deliver instruction” (p. 270). They further outline that technology
is a major aid to new teachers due to (1) allowing immersive lessons and
cultivating student engagement and (2) as having tools that elevate the
learning of students (p. 271). Therefore, there is a wide range of assessments
that we can provide our students with from tests to performance to a
combination and multiple assessments (p. 272). Further along, “if learning is
to be a lifelong and successful, assessment and reflection must be practiced
not only by teachers but also by students” (p. 276). As educators, we now need
to provide our technologically savvy students with news means of assessments
and reflections.
Maloy, et al. (2017), of all the
different models they are keep bringing up the idea of “digital portfolios.”
They explicate: “Changing from paper to digital portfolios represents a significant
shift in how students communicate information about themselves and their
learning…For students, a digital or e-portfolio is both a personal and public piece
of writing” (p. 279). It allows students to have something that is both permanent
and on display for a larger audience, both of which are important aspects of
incorporating project based learning into the classroom.
In addition to digital portfolios,
we can test and assess our students online through surveys, such as Google
Forms (p. 280). This occurs during what Maloy, et al. (2017) term as “preassessment,”
which “…occurs before introducing a new lesson, topic, or unit for teachers to determine
what students know or can already do and to inform subsequent plans for
teaching” (p. 280). Preassessment, therefore, is another data point that helps
educators tailor their instruction to better suit all the students in their
classrooms. Finally, we can also now track student attendance online through “student
participation systems” (p. 284).
Technology, as illustrated by this
chapter is fully transforming our classrooms to those of the future.
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