Brandy Brown

EDU 225
October 26, 2014
David Larson












Part 1: Assessment Technology (150-250 words).
Log on to www.socrative.com. Click on the link that says "Student Login or Student Join
Room." When it prompts you to enter your class name enter MissBrownsKClass with no spaces.
From there you will enter your name and begin the math quiz focused on the mathematics
content standards. This assessment will allow me evaluate my student's strengths and weaknesses
when counting on their own. I can monitor the duration of the quiz and their responses and the
class score and percentages as a whole. I plan on using this assessment for both formative and
summative purposes, but mainly summative. For me, this is more used as an evaluation tool. As
a teacher I want to understand where my students are academically within mathematics. Using
this type of assessment will allow me to better equip myself so that I can adapt to proficient
teaching styles suitable for my students.
Answer Key:
1) 4 6) 7
2) 5 7) 7
3) 8 8) 9
4) 8 9) 9
5) 9 10) 10
Part 2: Blog Post
Introduction (4-6 Sentences):
Utilizing software to support assessment is important, because formative and summative
techniques are important when assessing a student. The assessments provide individual and class
percentages to assess the level at which each student and class are at. Using technology within
the classroom not only can enhance a students academics, but create better studying skills. In
my experience, the best way to keep on top of these new tools as they emerge is to approach the
process with a clear strategy for each step along the way, from finding new tools, to evaluating
them, and finally, to sharing them (Spina & Phetteplace, 2014 ).When using software to create
an assessment its important to evaluate the students progress, monitor their time and results,
and evaluate your classs level of understanding.
Technology to Facilitate Ongoing Efforts to Assess Student Learning (150-200 words)
Technology has been a wonderful tool used to facilitate assessments within the
classroom. There are so many additional tools that come from technology that creating and
evaluating assessments are only a click away. When creating a class site that can you can create a
quiz with the material you want www.socrative.com is the website to use. Their methods are
easy and the access is extremely functional. A teacher can easily evaluate a students score or
even the classrooms score or percentage. This would allow the teacher to understand her
students strengths and weaknesses within that area of study. The teacher could then create
different teaching elements that would accommodate her teaching style. The teacher and the
student would benefit from this type of technology. There also wouldnt be as much pressure
doing a quiz online, because a student could do complete the assignment in a library, the
classroom, or even at home. Pressure sometimes affects a students ability to apply themselves in
the classroom and a teacher would be able to make this type of assessment from the online
assignments versus the classroom assignments done within the school.
Socrative Teachers would benefit from this type of software, because the evaluation of
each students scores can be accessed immediately. You can have an email sent to you or you
can choose a type of notification that would best suit you and the classroom. If a student is
having trouble completing paper work or the pressure or emotional context is just too much for a
student, it would be beneficial for the teacher to try out this website. She could easily create a
quiz that could be completed in minutes. The student could access the quiz anywhere internet is
available.
Edmodo This type of software does not only cater to students and teachers, but to
parents too. Everyone can collaborate on an assignment or provide informative feedback. Each
person has their own login type and can use tools and resources geared towards that person. This
type of website is like a social networking site geared towards academics. All parties involved
would be able to be informed and able to be in constant contact. This is a way to keep the lines of
communication open in the classroom and from home. The benefits of this website are infinite,
resourceful, and undeniably brilliant.
PollEverywhere This software has got to be one of the most innovative of its kind. This
software allows teachers to create polls that could be turned into group tests. This app would
allow teachers to evaluate the level of knowledge the classroom has opposed to each individual
student. This software could be used to help the teacher create new techniques and styles of
learning. The best part about this app is that you can respond from various devices, including a
smartphone! Fits with a wide range of teaching styles and class types, from hard science to
language arts - even collaborative poetry writing (PollEverywhere, n.d.). This company has
made this technology easy to use and access.
(Formative and Summative Assessments) (100-150 words)
Formative assessments monitor students and their academic achievements/progress while
summative assessments evaluate the student. Technology is an incredible source that helps
facilitate both types of assessments. Using some of the apps above you can monitor the outcome
your students might have individually or within the makeup of their class. You can also evaluate
their level of understanding by the scores on their quizzes. PollEverywhere and Socrative allow
both individual and class scores. A teacher can evaluate this results and receive a better
understanding of where improvements need to be made. Edmodo allows monitoring not only
from the teacher, but also the parent. There is a rather unique collaboration between teacher and
parents on this website that is inspiring. Many educational publications and journals also have
sections dedicated to reviews of educational technologies (Shelly, Gunter, & Gunter, 2012).

(Pros and Cons of using Technology to Facilitate Assessment) (200 words)

There are many pros and cons when it comes to using technology in the classroom. The
pros could be that there are options when it comes to apps and software or even the device you
choose to use. Some students may feel pressure or anxiety from normal classroom testing, so
there might be security for them using online testing tools. There could also be a boost of
confidence in the shy student. Parents, students, and teachers can effectively communicate using
technology. A classroom website could store many resources that would help each student
academically. Parents could access grades and teachers could monitor and evaluate their
students progress and wealth of knowledge. Some of the downsides to technology could be that
it is not always reliable. There is a need for updating and system software upkeep. Some students
may take advantage of online work and use search engines or other programs to cheat on their
work. Students could also pose as parents through communication tools such as email. Students
could also have parents do their work. Even though there is plenty of bad, there is just as much,
if not more positive that comes from using technology in the classroom.


(Should a teacher only use technology to assess student learning? Why or why not?)
A teacher should not only use technology to assess student learning. Each student is
going to learn in a different manner and each student will also falter when it comes to a certain
subject or style of teaching. It would be unfair to only assess the students learning by one means
of assessment. Not one student is going to be exactly like another, so why should the assessment
be done using only one resource?
What is the importance of assessment technology in connection with the ISTE standards?
Using ISTE standards hold both teachers and students to a certain degree of
accountability. Teachers are informed to conduct their instructions in an informative and
innovative way. Students are urged to use technology appropriately and to better their education.
Any type of standard allows boundaries and expectations. Without any type of standard the
school system would be a free for all, and no one would benefit from the beauty within learning.
Effective teachers model and apply the ISTE Standards for Students (StandardsS) as they
design, implement, and assess learning experiences to engage students and improve learning;
enrich professional practice; and provide positive models for students, colleagues, and the
community (ISTE Standards, n.d.). If a teacher is not following these appropriate guidelines it is
time for a serious consideration for themselves and their students and an evaluation of their
teaching style should be made from the teacher.
Concluding Paragraph for Software to Support Assessment
Overall technology should be used in the classroom. Curriculums are updated on a
regular basis. Why shouldnt the teaching style and elements be updated as well? Technology is
a wonderful resource that is opening new doors into new realms, especially in the academic
world. The possibilities are endless. There is an open line of communication between students,
teachers, and parents, teachers can evaluate and monitor their students individually and as a
class, and teachers can personally evaluate themselves and their teaching styles and collectively
collaborate on improvements.















References
Spina, C., & Phetteplace, E. (2014). Finding, Evaluating, and Sharing New Technology. Reference & User
Services Quarterly, 53(3), 217-220. (Used in the Introduction Paragraph.)
PollEverywhere. (n.d.). Flexible and dynamic. Retrieved from
http://www.polleverywhere.com/k12-student-response-system. (Used in Paragraph 4.)
Shelly, G., Gunter, G., & Gunter, R. (2012). Teachers Discovering Computers. Integrating
Technology in a Connected World, Seventh Edition. (Used in Paragraph Formative and
Summative Assessments.)
ISTE Standards Teachers. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/20-
14_ISTE_Standards-T_PDF.pdf