Technology Tools for Assessment and Evaluation

The article starts out by talking about the NETS-T standards. These standards are in place so that teacher education programs can ensure that we are reaching and developing these skills and competences necessary to successfully be able to integrate technology into the k-12 classroom. The article then goes on to explain how technology, assessment, and evaluation are related. We must first recognize the differences between assessing, analyzing, and evaluating. To assess is to collect data,, to analyze is to organize the data, and to evaluate is to make a decision based on the data. Then we have to differentiate between formative and summative evaluations. Formative evaluations are used to inform instruction or learning strategies and should be used to make ongoing decisions to improve learning. Summative evaluations are used to make definite decision about individuals and come after learning has occurred such as an end-of-unit test. Finally, differentiating between methods of assessment and assessment technologies is important. “The processes used for the selection and development of measures, the administration of a measure and the process for interpreting and evaluating data are the methodology of assessment. Assessment technologies are those tools- hardware and software- that are used to support and enhance our methods.” Once we have figured out what are specific assessment need is, we can identify technology tools tat may assist us.

I thought that the article did a good job of putting CBM into perspective for me. I hadn’t heard about a lot of the technology tools that the article mentioned that can be used for assessment, but I am familiar with a few from other classes. I liked how this article also tied a lot of my classes together for me. I think it is important to remember that technology is just an aid or a tool and that ultimately we have to make the decisions. We cannot rely to heavily on these tools.

The I-Generation--From Toddlers to Teenagers: A Conversation with Jane M. Healy

This article was really interesting. I thought it complimented the last article we read about the Oregon Trail CD-ROM critique well. They both addressed the point that computers, computer programs, or technology of any sort “do not have the same educational weight as good teachers […]” (Tell). In The I-Generation—from Toddlers to Teenagers: A Conversation with Jane M. Healy, Carol Tell writes about her discussion with Healy, an author and educator, who has been a huge advocate of computers and the latest technology being incorporated into the classroom for over 20 years now. However, her views on educational technology have radically changed as she is now quite cautious of such an integration and dependence.

It was interesting to get a fresh perspective. Not long ago we read Resnick’s Rethinking Learning in the Digital Age, which was all for finding ways to incorporate any and every cutting edge technology into educational settings. I think a lot of the points made were really important for teachers to consider. We have a responsibility to do a little research ourselves. We can’t just trust that because something is advertised as the best, the latest, or a miracle quick fix to a student’s educational struggles, that it is what is most beneficial for them. A good question to ask is if what the child is doing is meaningful enough to be taking up school time. Ask the important questions. “Who is defining the learning? What can we do with this technology in terms of curriculum and learning that we can't do as efficiently by beefing up other more proven methods? Whose mind is really dong the thinking?” The bottom line is that we have a responsibility to teach our students what they need to be successful. Technology can be very useful, but I think we need to be critical and skeptical, for our students’ sake.

The Oregon Trail CD-ROM Critique

Bill Bigelow’s “On the Road to Cultural Bias: A Critique of the Oregon Trail CD-ROM” was a really interesting article. In this game, students become members of families and wagon trains crossing the Plains in the 1840s or 1850s on the way to the Oregon Territory. The objective of the game is to safely reach the Oregon Territory with one’s family, thereby “increasing one’s options for economic success.” This critique suggests however, that as for as much as the game teaches, it mis-teaches more. Bigelow claims The Oregon Trail to be “sexist, racist, culturally insensitive, and contemptuous of the earth.” Just as well, he claims that the game imparts bad values and wrong history.

I remember playing this game back in elementary school. I never thought about how the game I was playing might be misrepresenting women of the time or how it may racist towards African Americans and Mexicans or how it left out the violent happenings between the settlers and Indians. These ideas don’t cross a sixth graders mind. I always had fun playing it and I don’t feel that it was as harmful as this article makes it sound. The times might not be represented fully accurately in this game, but what teacher would allow their children to play a game that is full of violence, hostility, disrespect and degradation towards women, African-Americans, Mexicans and Indians? The article makes a good point though, “we need to remember that CD-ROMs are not teacher substitutes.” The teacher needs to fill the gaps and present the missing information to her students so that they get an accurate idea of how the time was. In the same respect, we must analyze and critique the games we allow our students to play so that we can make sure they are of value in an educational setting. The article presents some wonderful questions for teachers to think about and discuss with their students. “Which social groups are students not invited to identify with in the simulation? How might these social groups frame problems differently than the simulation? What were the social and environmental consequences for the time period following the time represented in the simulation?” I think these are excellent discussion questions that should be considered and talked about.

The Digital Edge Project I choose to write about is one on digital photoessays. Anthony Cody is a middle school math, science and technology teacher. One of his classes is an all-female technology class called, “Techbridge,” named after the grant that funds it. The class gives female students an opportunity to learn technology without having to compete with males. Anthony Cody’s Techbridge class was given an assignment to create digital photoessays using digital cameras and PowerPoint. Anthony’s purpose in assigning this project was to show students that we can show our creativity through technology and it can help and enhance our ability to communicate with others. In the past, digital photography was one of the technology skills that his class really enjoyed so he thought that a digital photoessay was a great way of taking the skill to the next level. A digital photoessay brings together text and photographs on a particular theme. Through this project, students will learn how to use a digital camera by taking, downloading, cropping, and importing pictures, as well as students will learn how to use desktop publishing and presentation applications such as PowerPoint. In addition to learning how to use various technologies, the class will learn the narrative structure in a story using pictures, they will learn how to develop a theme, and they will learn how to develop their own voice and recognize their individuality while embracing that of their peers.

I really liked this project because it sounds like a lot of fun. It would be a project that I could see middle school students really enjoying and embracing. Students at that age can have a hard time relating to others and expressing themselves and I feel like this project really helps with that. I thought the whole idea was very creative! The project nicely combined technology and language arts. A class could easily write an essay but incorporating technology in this project really took it to the next level and enhanced it.

Rethinking Learning in the Digital Age By Mitchel Resnick

The article, “Rethinking Learning in the Digital Age,” by Mitchel Resnick is mostly about the idea of a learning revolution in education as a result of all the new digital technologies coming about. It seems obvious that there is a definite connection between education and computers or technology. The problem however, is the way in which we think about learning. The article talks about how learning is “an active process in which people construct new understandings of the world around them through active exploration, experimentation, discussion, and reflection” (33). This was then followed by what I thought one of the most interesting quotes in this article, “people don’t get ideas; they make them.” We use computers mostly for inputting and searching for information; word, e-mail, Google searches, etc. It is wonderful how much information computers can bring us but as far as education is concerned, computers can be used for so much more. Computers can be used to design and create things and this is where the greatest new learning opportunities arise. We should look at computers as the material needed to make things. “The computer is the most extraordinary construction material ever invented, enabling people to create anything…” (33). As more and more people gain access, computer fluency starts to become the new issue. Computer Clubhouses have opened to provide more young people an opportunity to not only access and learn basic applications, but also the opportunity to become digitally fluent. The article then goes beyond and talks about rethinking how people learn, what they learn and when and where they learn. Resnick presents an idea that we should allow students to be more active and independent learners, with the teacher being the consultant. He talks about how we should not cut the school day into hour blocks but instead to let children work in depth and for extended amounts of time on projects. We should focus on projects and lessons that make connections to many subjects in school. He suggests that we need to provide students with the newest cutting edge skills needed to make it in this digital society. And in this digital age, “learning can and must become a daylong and lifelong experience” (36). Finally, Resnick talks about how we should rethink the technologies we provide to young children because they are “ready and eager to do more with computers and technology” (35).

I found this article to be very interesting and he made a lot of interesting points. For the most part, I can really relate to how he feels about education and technology but there are a few aspects I disagree with. First off, I think that learning in general is a process that requires an active thinker…a process that requires interaction and effort. I think that the reason a lot of teachers are so hesitant to make a curriculum technology heavy is because we tend to think of computers as simply a way of getting and inputting information, which is not a very active or thought provoking process in itself. But, when we really look at what exactly computers and technology are capable of; we can see just how beneficial they are. I think we should allow students to be current with technology so that they can be proficient in this digital age but there is a lot to say for tactile, one-on-one interaction as well. I think when we start talking about students being completely responsible for their education and sticking them in front of a computer to do all their learning isn’t the best of ideas. Students can communicate via computers and new technology such as texting and what not but so much of what students then lack is interacting face-to-face with others. Seeing how they react, learning to respond, and listen, looking at gestures and body language. The relationships people have in their lives are very important and I don’t believe you can build meaningful and deep relationships through a computer screen. I feel like hands on experience with materials and interaction with classmates and peers is very important. I had never heard of these clubhouses that the article talked about and I thought the idea of them was so cool, and such a great opportunity for young people. I think we should let students be more active and independent learners because when you expect more, they generally rise to the occasion but, we should still be ready and available for the students who aren’t fully capable of this. Making lessons and projects involve many different subjects and disciplines is a great idea, because I think it makes the information more meaningful. Finally, I definitely believe that learning is and should be something that exists both inside and outside the classroom…a livelong activity.