Module/Week 6 Lecture
Just as computer technology can be used by teachers to deliver instruction and by students to support their learning, computer technology has many roles to play in the assessment of learning. Computer technology enables you to administer tests, collect data, and analyze it so that you can reflect on and revise your instruction as needed.
There are technical tools that help you monitor students’ learning (formative assessment) and record what you observe for later use. Technology can also be used for summative assessments. Many states use online tests, electronic portfolios and performance assessments with scoring rubrics as part of their summative assessment plans.
Today’s teachers are using computer technology to plan instruction, deliver instruction, examine and analyze the effects of instruction, and communicate with students, parents, and other educators. They have quickly adopted technical tools that enhance their productivity. Word processors, spreadsheets, email, electronic gradebooks, online lesson plans, rubric development – the list of tools is seemingly endless.
You should become familiar with the information that is available to you on your district and state’s web sites regarding instruction and assessment. You will probably find the standards for your grade level and content areas and you will probably find many great resources to help you. There are often sample lesson plans, sample test items, and more to help you and your students achieve the desired learning objectives.
In summary, technology is an important tool for assessing learning.
THIS WEEK’S ASSIGNMENT:
Assignment 4 (Week Eight (Final)) – Technology in Assessment: Current Practices and Recommendations for the Future (25%) (Objectives 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
For this assignment, you will be preparing a report for your supervisor. You will do research on learner response systems (some free, some with cost).
Background: Leaders in assessment agree – multiple assessments are key in effectively assessing learning. It is important to incorporate multiple types of assessments (written, performance, etc.) and multiple opportunities for assessment (formal and informal, formative and summative, etc.). Educators and trainers should also incorporate technology into assessment. Various forms of technology can be used in the actual assessment activity and they can be helpful in analyzing and reporting the results of the assessment.
You have been asked you to review the current use of technology in assessment and to make recommendations for improving current practices. Your report should incorporate the following information and may be organized by using these headings. There are some Web-based resources listed below that should be helpful to you. You may also use your textbook and the NSU Electronic Resources for articles. Make sure to include a reference page in your report.
Technology in Assessment: Current Practices and Recommendation for Learner Response Systems
Review Current Practices
Current Status: Staff and Current Practices
Briefly describe your organization’s staff. What topics are taught? How many teachers/trainers are on the staff? Is technology used generally (not just in assessment)? Do most seem interested in integrating technology? Are most of them skilled in the use of technology?
Describe the most frequent types of technology currently used in assessment. Do most use technology in assessment or just a few? Why do you think this is? What procedures are in place to use data collected through assessments to improve teaching and learning? How are the data used?
Enhancement of Current Practices
Considering the technology resources currently available in your organization, what would you recommend to increase the effective use of these existing technology resources in assessment? In what ways there be an increase in the use of technology in assessment?
Gather Recommendations for Learner Response Systems:
Use these links to do a review of Student Response Systems
These are links to free response systems
These are links to studies on the efficacy of Student Response Systems
Classroom Response Systems (Clickers) Vanderbilt Center for Teaching
Under News, Articles & Links, click on Web Connections and Assessment in Action for some great resources.
Student Response System Boosts Scores (on Tech & Learning Web site)
https://www.techlearning.com/ed-tech-ticker/2174 (Links to an external site.)
NEXT:
Meet with your team to present information found related Learner Response Systems. Discuss the purpose of Learner Response Systems, ways they might be used, and data related to their effectiveness. Provide some data that indicate that the investment in this new technology will have some positive effects on student learning. Are there organizations you know of that are already using this technology? If so, what results are they experiencing?
Plan for Assessment of Effectiveness:
If a Learner Response System is purchased, how will you know that it has been effective? What are some ways that you can collect data to demonstrate its effectiveness? What kinds of data would be helpful?
List a few companies that might be invited to demonstrate their systems. Include the URLs for these companies. Below are links to some.
Turning Technologies
http://www.turningtechnologies.com/studentresponsesystem/ (Links to an external site.)
Renaissance Learning
http://www.renlearn.com/2Know/ (Links to an external site.)
Refer to the follow rubric as you prepare your assignment:
Assignment 4 Rubric
| Criteria | Not Met
0-13.5 |
Met 14-17 |
Exceeded 17.5-20 |
Earned Points |
| Apply technology in assessing student learning of subject matter using a variety of assessment techniques. | The candidate documented little knowledge of effective use of technology in assessment as well as
|
The candidate documented specific uses of technology in assessment.
|
The candidate documented specific uses of technology in assessment and its effectiveness.
|
-/20 |
| Apply technology in assessing student learning of subject matter using assessment data related to Student Response Systems | The candidate documented little or no use of assessment data related to Student Response Systems to improve teaching and learning. | The candidate included some strategies for improving teaching and learning by using assessment data related to Student Response Systems.
|
The candidate included some strategies for improving teaching and learning by using assessment data related to Student Response Systems and analyzed the benefits from this use. | -/20 |
| Use technology resources to collect and analyze data, interpret results, and communicate findings to improve instructional practice and maximize student learning. | The candidate used technology in assessment as part of professional practice. | The candidate discussed ways all teachers use technology resources to collect and analyze data and to interpret and communicate the results to improve teaching and learning. | The candidate examined the validity and reliability of technology resources to collect and analyze data and to interpret and communicate the results to improve teaching and learning.
|
-/20 |
| Apply multiple methods of evaluation to determine students’ appropriate use of technology resources for learning, communication, and productivity. | The candidate guided students in applying self- and peer-assessment tools. | The candidate assisted teachers in using evaluation strategies for improving students’ use of technology resources.
|
The candidate recommended strategies for improving students’ use of technology resources for improving learning. | -/20 |
| Writing Style/APA format, grammar and spelling
|
The candidate cited no research to support the effective use of technology in assessment.
|
The candidate cited research findings that supported the efficacy of using technology in assessment.
|
The candidate conducted research on the efficacy of technology use in assessment. | -/20 |
| Total possible points | -/100 |
Technology in Assessment
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Instructor’s Name
Date
Technology in Assessment
Introduction
The use of technology is taking shape in every industry, and education is not an exception. The efficient use of technology and digital learning tools can improve students’ engagement, and their lesson plans, and facilitate personalized learning. Assessment is an important aspect of education (Young et al., 2019). Assessment is crucial in determining if learning has occurred, the things that need to be reinforced, and the steps that need to be taken. Technology is widely used to enhance various types of assessments in learning institutions. Based on the number of classes and students, developing assessments, grading them, and giving feedback can be rigorous exercises (Young et al., 2019). However, there are several digital tools teachers can use to enhance the process of assessing their students. In that regard, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of technology in assessment.
Current Status: Staff and Current Practices
The learning institution is one of the best and largest high schools in the county. The school has more than 2300 students. It has about 200 staff or educators. The school has twice been rated a blue ribbon school of excellence and more recently has been consistently included among the Washington Post’s Top 100 High Schools in the US. The staff makes the most important and powerful factor in the children’s education. It is for this reason that the school has taken serious ongoing teacher development because it is the cornerstone of the school. The staff in the school includes all women and men. One in three of the staff (educators) population are women. Eighty-five percent of the teachers have three years and above experience. Student to teacher ratio is 17:1. All the teachers are full-time certified educators.
There are so many subjects or courses taught in the school and these courses are grouped under different departments. The art department, for instance, teaches several topics that cover visual arts, and performance arts. Topics under visual arts include (ceramics (levels 1,2,3 & AP), drawing (studio art 1, 2, 3 & AP), painting (studio art 1,2, & 3), photography (levels 1,2,3 & AP), fashion (levels 1,2 & 3), and foundations of art. Topics under performance arts include Theatre (levels 1 and 2), music theatre, AP music theory, Jazz band, and others. The department of career and technology introduces students to a wide range of career opportunities in the digital workforce. Others include the department of mathematics, English, and media. Others included apartments for physical education, science, and social studies.
The use of technology is at the core of learning in this educational center. Technology is used both in learning and assessment to enhance the whole process of teaching and learning. Technology is also used in other departments dealing with administrative work (Young et al., 2019). Teachers have shown much interest in working with various types of technology to improve students’ education and learning outcomes. When interviewed, all the teachers admitted that technology has made their work easier and improved the learning and teaching process. Furthermore, most of the teachers are skilled to use technology. Newly recruited teachers (who have worked less than three months) however, complain of a lack of sufficient skills (Zhu & Urhahne, 2018). The institution needs to arrange training for the new teachers to boost their knowledge of the use of technology. Overall, teachers’ experiences with and attitudes toward technology are positive.
The most frequent types of technology currently used in the assessment
Teachers in this learning institution use several types of technology including software for compilation and analysis of results, PowerPoint, and others. However, the most frequently used technology is the Learner Response System (LRS). This technology has other names such as Classroom Response System, Audience Response System, Student Response System, and Personal Response System (Tomaswick, 2017). Teachers use the learner response systems to pose questions to students during learning in a classroom. The LRS are handheld devices that instructors use to receive immediate feedback regarding teaching and learning. The technology uses often used in a formative assessment regarding teaching curriculum, class learning, topics of study, and other areas (Zhu & Urhahne, 2018). The LRS can assess a wide range of areas in education, which makes its application broader.
The Student Response System is an increasingly popular pedagogical tool within the learning institution. It is considered an alternative form of a teacher asking students questions and seeking individual answers (Young et al., 2019). The Learner Response System has been used to assess the learning system. For this technology to work, the teacher begins by asking particular questions, collecting students’ responses electronically, and generating and displaying a graph or a chart of student responses. The charts or graphs representing students’ responses serve as a basic assessment tool for the teacher (Tomaswick, 2017). The results may also be displayed to students to prompt further actions, adjustments, or class discussions.
Most of the teachers in the learning institution use technology in assessment. Most teachers have reported the effectiveness of the learner response system in formative assessment. Teachers have also reported that they use technology more frequently (Vanderbilt University, 2022). It is appropriate to say that the teachers use technology in assessment based on the teacher assessment results. While assessing individual teachers, it has been noticed that they are familiar with the technology. Additionally, all teachers who use the technology are required to make a monthly report regarding how they used it, challenges they encountered, and recommendations to make the system better (Young et al., 2019). Most of the teachers often submit their reports, showing that most teachers are using the technology for assessment.
The data collected through assessment using the technology are analyzed, discussed by the school admin or relevant people, and shared or used to implement policies, programs, and strategies to enhance teaching and learning (Young et al., 2019). For example, if the teacher, throng the assessment, realizes that students did not understand a specific topic, more lessons on that particular topic can be re-scheduled to ensure students grab the concept. On the other hand, if the student’s feedback suggests the need to relook into a program, the responsible team may be consulted and the issue addressed. Therefore, the procedure of using assessment data may differ based on the identified problem to be addressed (Zhu & Urhahne, 2018). Sometimes the data can be shared with students to help them adjust their learning goals.
Enhancement of Current Practices
Just implementing the technology is not enough. It is also important to promote the use of the technology among the staff. As mentioned earlier, the learning institution uses different types of technology but the most common one is the Learner Response System (LRS) (Young et al., 2019). To enhance current practices using the technology, the first recommendation to enhance the use of technology is to make it accessible. Accessibility can be enhanced by purchasing adequate LRS devices so that no student or a teacher can lack them. Another way to enhance accessibility is to make them in reachable places, where the teacher does not need to go through a long process to acquire them (Young et al., 2019). Rigorous processes of acquiring the devices may discourage their use.
Another recommendation to enhance the use of technology is to ensure teachers and students receive adequate training regarding how to use the LRS system. Training is one of the ways of impacting confidence among the users to enhance the use of technology (Young et al., 2019). Teachers’ training should be taken seriously and must be carried out regularly. Training will allow teachers to have the ability to work well with the technology. Additionally, will learn how to display charts and graphs of student answers, how to merge multiple sessions into one comprehensive report, and others (Tomaswick, 2017). Training is also required to educate teachers on the importance of technology in assessment. When educating them about how to use specific technology, it is important for them to first understand the importance of such technology.
Another recommendation is that the school should keep closely in touch with vendors to ensure the LRS is regularly updated. The system update is important to remain per the manufacturer’s standard (Young et al., 2019). The system update ensures a user-friendly interface. It may also include repairing security loopholes that have been identified. Updates ensure that challenges and difficulties experienced by users are addressed as soon as possible. These recommendations will enhance the use.
Recommendations for Learner Response Systems
Several types of Learner Response Systems can be recommended for use in assessment in learning institutions. The first type of LRS is Infuse Learning, which is a free student response system. It works with any internet-connected device and allows teachers to send quizzes, questions, and prompts to students (Vanderbilt University, 2022). The second type of LRS is Quiz Socket, which allows teachers quickly and easily gather feedback from students. Teachers use the Quiz Socket system by sending a code that students enter on QuizSocket.com. The teacher then posts the questions and controls the system (Vanderbilt University, 2022). Kahoot is another student response system for delivering online quizzes and carrying out surveys to the students. The teacher can control the placement of the Kahoot quiz by imposing a time limit for each question. A scoreboard is displayed on the teacher’s screen. Students do not need to have a Kahoot account to participate in the activities (Young et al., 2019). Other student response systems include Verso, Socrative, Poll Everywhere, and Mentimeter.
These Learner Response Systems can handle types of activities including taking attendance directly or indirectly during class. The student response systems can be used in summative assessment for graded activities such as tests and multiple choices (Young et al., 2019). Additionally, the student response system can handle formative assessment, whereby the teacher poses questions to students. The teacher collects the answers for real-time information for both students and the teacher regarding student learning (Tomaswick, 2017). Other activities include homework collection, discussion warm-up, and contingent teaching.
Plan for Assessment of Effectiveness
If a Learner Response System is Purchased, it is important to assess its effectiveness in improving teaching and learning. There are several ways to assess the effectiveness of the system. Types of data to collect include improvement of student’s engagement in the classroom, promote discussion and collaboration during class, and the ease of creating and posting questions (Young et al., 2019). Also, the ability to receive, analyze, and share student feedback. Students’ engagement will be measured by the number of students participating actively in class. The teacher must be keen to determine whether or not students’ engagement improved (Young et al., 2019). Collaboration and discussion activities will also be assessed to observe any improvement. The ease of using the platform to create and post questions, receive feedback, analyze the feedback, and share results. Different data collection strategies such as questionnaires and interviews can be used to gather important data (Young et al., 2019). Teachers and students will be interviewed to assess the effectiveness of the Learning Response System.
Conclusion
The use of technology is increasingly becoming part and parcel of learning systems. Proper use of technology can improve students’ engagement, and their lesson plan, and facilitate personalized learning. Technology is widely used to enhance various types of assessments in learning institutions. In the learning institution, the use of technology in assessment is highly valued. The Learner Response System is the most common technology used in the learning institution. The LRS are handheld devices that instructors use to receive immediate feedback regarding teaching and learning. Educational leaders need to put in place strategies to enhance the use of technology in teaching and learning. There are several types of Learner Response Systems that teachers can use. A proper assessment strategy must also be put into place to ensure the technology is effective in improving the teaching and learning experience.
References
Tomaswick, L. (2017). Assessing Student Learning – Student Response Systems. Kent State University Center for Teaching and Learning. http://www.kent.edu/ctl/educational-resources/assessments-student-response-systems/
Vanderbilt University. (2022). Classroom Response Systems (“Clickers”). https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/clickers/
Young, N. D., Michael, C. N., & Smolinski, J. A. (2019). Captivating classrooms: Educational strategies to enhance student engagement. Rowman & Littlefield.
Zhu, C., & Urhahne, D. (2018). The use of learner response systems in the classroom enhances teachers’ judgment accuracy. Learning and Instruction, 58, 255-262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2018.07.011