Assessment for learning (Bennett, 2011) for me is one of the silver bullets in a teachers’ arsenal, and I make extensive and everyday use of (mostly) digitally supported assessments. My focus is always seeking ways to enhance engagement, measure specific aspects of learning and gathering data. In doing so, I have been able to have a much better understanding of which students need to be stretched and which may need further differentiation or explanations.
Formative assessment informs not only me but also the students themselves on how to improve (Brookhart, 2017) and ultimately reflect on their own learning (Wiggins,1999). I have, over the years, focused extensively on alternative and formative assessments. What follows are some tools that I use throughout the year to assess student achievement (understanding) and a brief explanation of a tool or strategy of how it can be used.
Before I started utilizing any of the digital tools below or any tool in the future, I ensure I think carefully before adopting it. The SAMR model is one that I use as a reminder that unless a tool falls at least in the augmentation area it is not worth integrating into the classroom.
Students label, highlight or comment on text or images provided by the teacher. A heat-map is generated to show where popular locations are highlighted or commented on by students. Heatmap can be disabled for students until the teacher determines, making it visible at the end for analysis. Students responses are not limited to typing, and they can also make audio responses to prompts.
An excellent tool to use in a 1 to 1 classroom and is can be accessed from any device, You can have both auto corrected and teacher corrected question types and build it all on top of an uploaded ppt/pdf presentation. Students can respond using their touch devices by drawing on a whiteboard, or you can set up a tag where the students can give an audio response.
A teacher can create a lesson that is synchronously delivered/accessed by students via a login code. As a teacher, you can view responses live and quickly identify if a student is stuck on a particular question. For me, the best features are that lessons can either be ‘live’ or ‘student-paced. The ‘live’ feature allows me to push (deliver) the correct answers to all students that are logged in. The student-paced allows students to work independently, and all students’ responses are sent to me in the form of a report.
Teachers create a topic via the educator account. Students can submit a video response to the topic. Student responses can either be hidden from all other students (great for shyer students), or students can view all responses and respond to each other either in writing or by adding a video reply. One of my favourite features of Flipgrid is that a teacher can create rubrics, or I suggest having students co-create rubrics for the topic/prompt. Another fantastic feature is ‘Grid Pals’, which allows you the teacher to search for other Flipgrid classes around the world and connect with them.
In conclusion, assessment for learning today is far easier than in the past. With a boom in the educational technology field, teachers today are able to redefine learning and assessment. It is the duty of educators to have students voices heard, to have them engage in meaningful and personalized ways.
References
Bennett, R. E. (2011). Formative assessment: A Critical review. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 18(1), 5– 25.
Brookhart, S. M. (2017). How to give effective feedback to your students
Wiggins, G. P. (1999). Assessing student performance: Exploring the purpose and limits of testing. San