Mrshilhanek.weebly.

com
Eric Shilhanek
EDU 225
August 23, 2015
Mr. M

Assessment Technology

http://eshilhanek.polldaddy.com/s/volcanology-mid-unit-quiz

This is a ten question multiple choice quiz that a student can take on-line and submit
when completed. The purpose of this test is a formative assessment to let the teacher know if the
students have grasped the terms and basic information of volcanoes and volcanology in the first
week of this unit on volcanoes in order to move on in the unit. Depending on how the students
score on this assessment the teacher will need to possibly make some changes to the class review
and will need to spend some additional time reviewing the basic information on the unit before
getting into more complex thoughts and information? The link for this assessment is located
under student and parent resources tab education links page. The student can take this
assessment at any time before or on the due date to get full credit. This assessment will not be
done in the classroom in order to assure there is enough time to continue with the lesson plan.
The answer key for this test is as follows:
1. A
2. C
3. D
4. C
5. D
6. C
7. A
8. B
9. D
10. True

Assessments in Education
Introduction
In order to inuence students classroom behaviorfor example, to change the ways
they ponder questions or participate in discussionwe should seek to elicit, interact with, and
inuence their underlying beliefs (Beatty, Gerace, 2009, pg. 151). In education today we tend
to rely heavily on assessments to tell us what a student knows and what they need to know. In
todays classroom technology gives us many ways to assess a student. These technologies and
programs give teachers the ability to test their students in both formative and summative
assessments, each with its pros and cons, but is technology the best way to elicit, interact, and
influence students and meet International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards.
Technology to Facilitate Ongoing Efforts to Assess Student Learning
It is pretty common place today in education that students have access to one form of
technology or another in the classroom and at home, yet too many time we still look to give
assessments on paper rather than with the use of technology. A students interests in school tend
to be related to their personal interests. Therefore, if a students interest in technology can be
related to their education it becomes more relevant to their overall goals of learning (Yau,
Cheng, Ho, 2015). It makes sense then that if we can use technology in the assessment process a
teacher will be able to elicit, interact, and influence the students overall learning goals. If a
student always has a phone in their hand and is comfortable using it then why not give them a
test that they can take using this device. It is therefore reasonable then for the students to expect

to see the majority of the assessments this year in class using three different types of technology
and programs.
Kahoot.com
Kahoot provides educators with a snapshot of each learners current understanding and
long-term tracking of progress through which they can make formative assessments for adaptive
teaching (Bhaskar, 2013, pg. 1). A teacher can write their own questions or use a set of
questions already created to assess where their students are in a current lesson. The neat thing is
that students can use about any device to answer the questions such as a laptop or a cell phone.
It gives the student and teacher real time feedback on their answer and puts the whole learning
experience into a game like format where students can compete with one another on accuracy
and speed.
Polldaddy.com
Another great program for eliciting what a student knows or what they have learned is
Polldaddy.com. With this site a teacher can create an assessment either formative or summative
to test a students knowledge at any time in the learning process. This form of assessment can be
used when starting a subject by writing questions to see what previous knowledge students have
in the area of study. It then can also be used as a summative assessment to test and see how
much of the information the students learned during or at the end of the unit. Again these
assessments can be taken on a number of devices including iPads and computers.
Weebly.com
This is a free website creator where students can develop an on-line portfolio for
assessment in a class. Electronic portfolios enable students to demonstrate both more
traditional literacy skills as well as 'new literacy' skills as students can go beyond text to create

visual, auditory and multimedia artifacts (Bures, Barclay, Abrami, Meyer, 2013, pg. 1) This
type of assessment allows students to be self-regulated in their learning and gives them the
ability to engage their creativity. This summative assessment is a great way to see what a student
knows while expressing themselves in their own unique way. This form of assessment is not the
easiest to grade and needs a strong rubric to make the assessment process easier for the teacher.
As an old Chinese proverb says, Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and
I understand (Bhaskar, 2013, pg. 1). Portfolio assessments are a great way to involve the
student in their learning.

Formative and Summative Assessments

With all the talk of assessments and formative and summative, what does this mean in
terms of a students education? To put it simply a formative assessment is where the teacher and
student receive on-going evaluation of the progress in the classroom whereas a summative
assessment measures a students end product after the class is completed (Perera-Diltz, Moe,
2014). In the classroom Kahoot works well as a formative assessment tool. Students and
teachers can see the results during the test and then can evaluate where they are at in the lesson
and make adjustments to their subject material being learned. Out of the three Polldaddy.com is
the most flexible to the classroom environment in assessing either formative or summative goals
in learning. This comes down to the type of questions asked and when the assessment is given.
Using a program like Weebly.com to give students the chance to develop a student portfolio
showcasing the achievements and knowledge gained during a class is a great example of
programing to assist in summative assessment. Each of these assessments technologies have

their place and timing in the classroom and whether used in combination or on their own teachers
can elicit, interact and influence a students education.

Pros and Cons of using Technology in Assessments

When looking at using technology for the assessment process it is important to
understand the pros and cons relayed to their use. Teachers who understand these pros and cons
will be able to use these technologies successfully in the classroom.
Pros
There are some great advantages to sing technology for assessments. Teachers can create
tests geared to specific objectives, goals, and students styles of learning (Uconn.edu, n.d.).
There is also quicker feedback to the responses of students and teachers can make quick
adjustments in the classroom to capitalize on the learning objectives. Tests also are easier to
grade and teachers and give a teacher the ability to interpret the results.
Cons
Along with the advantages there are disadvantages to using technology to assess students.
Assessments can be time consuming to create and once issued they cannot be used for
benchmarking or cross-institutional comparisons (Uconn.edu, n.d.). Teachers are hard pressed
for time in a classroom anymore and the added time of creating their own tests just adds to this
lack of time. Premade assessments are easier to use and can allow a teacher to compare with
other schools and/or classes on their progress. Teachers also need to take into account if
everyone in the classroom have a technology to be able to use for the assessments. It comes
down to what a teacher can be comfortable with and availability.

Should Teachers use Technology to Assess Student Progress?

To determine if a teacher should use technology in their classrooms for assessments one
needs to consider some basic requirements. First of all, is the teacher comfortable with
technology in the first place? Understanding the programs and how they work is half the battle
and if the teacher does not feel comfortable then the students will not feel at ease during the use
of the technology. Teachers also need to take into account if all students have access to
technology to answer these assessment in the first place. If all students do not have access then
the teacher needs to find the means for all the student to take the assessment or not use
technology at all. This a great system of assessing students in our current classrooms. If the
technology is available teachers should take advantage of these systems of assessing students to
help adjustments to the class and future planning of the curriculum.
Assessments and ISTE Standards
With the focus of school education shifting toward technology it is important to make
sure that using technology for assessments aligns itself with the ISTE standards. The ISTE
standards for students is important to a students overall success in education today and use
technology as a means of assessment aligns itself with all six of the Standards S. Students can be
creative, collaborate, research, think creatively, and build digital citizenship while teaching
technology usage (International Society for Technology in Education, 2015). The use of
technology is also supported by the Standards for teachers in the ISTE. Teachers can inspire
creativity, develop digital learning, model work and learning, promote digital citizenship, and
engage in growth and leadership (International Society for Technology in Education, 2015). It is
easy to see that with ISTE standards and technology for assessments aligning as strongly as they
do that assessments through technology is not only important but a necessity.

Conclusion
It is important to make sure our students are getting the best education possible. Never in
the education field has it been more important to incorporate technology in all aspects of the
classroom experience. Assessments is no different. The tools featured in this paper are a great
addition to any classroom and will be used exclusively in the classroom this year. Meeting the
ISTE standards is a top priority and is the main driving force behind a successful education in
todays schools and will be a priority for your students education this year.

References:
Beatty, I. D., & Gerace, W. J. (2009). Technology-Enhanced Formative Assessment: A
Research-Based Pedagogy for Teaching Science with Classroom Response Technology.
Journal Of Science Education & Technology, 18(2), 146-162. doi:10.1007/s10956-0089140-4 Retrieved on August 23, 2015 from:
http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true
&db=ehh&AN=37350801&site=eds-live&scope=site
Bhaskar, S. K. (2013). Kahoot- Game-Based, Classroom Engagement Tool for Schools and
Universities. EdTechReview. Retrieved on August 23, 2015 from:
http://edtechreview.in/news/586-kahoot-game-based-classroom-engagement-tool
Bures, E. M., Barclay, A., Abrami, P. C., & Meyer, E. J. (2013). The Reality of Assessing
"Authentic" Electronic Portfolios: Can Electronic Portfolios Serve as a Form of
Standardized Assessment to Measure Literacy and Self-Regulated Learning at the
Elementary Level?. Canadian Journal Of Learning And Technology, 39(4), Retrieved on
August 23, 2015 from:
http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true
&db=eric&AN=EJ1029329&site=eds-live&scope=site
International Society for Technology in Education. (2015). Standards S. Retrieved on August 23,
2015 from: http://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards/standards-for-students
International Society for Technology in Education. (2015). Standards T. Retrieved on August 23,
2015 from: http://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards/standards-for-teachers

Perera-Diltz, D. M., & Moe, J. L. (2014). Formative and Summative Assessment in Online
Education. Journal Of Research In Innovative Teaching, 7(1), 130-142. Retrieved on
August 23, 2015 from:
http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true
&db=ehh&AN=95848489&site=eds-live&scope=site
Yau, H. K., Cheng, A. F., & Ho, W. M. (2015). Identify the Motivational Factors to Affect the
Higher Education Students to Learn Using Technology. Turkish Online Journal Of
Educational Technology - TOJET, 14(2), 89-100. Retrieved on August 23, 2015 from:
http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true
&db=eric&AN=EJ1057328&site=eds-live&scope=site