Assessment Technology (Blog 4)

http://jvanstelle.weebly.com
Jenna Van Stelle
EDU 225
November 23, 2014

Assessment Technology
There are so many ways to utilize technology in the classroom. One way is to use various
types of software for assessment. There are various tools that teachers can use to assess their
students. Some of these include Kahoot, Socrative, and Polleverywhere. These tools assess
students through quizzes and games and collect the data which is easy for teachers to see how
their students are performing.
Technology to Facilitate Ongoing Efforts to Assess Student Learning
Students in todays society are usually always surrounded by technology. They are considered
digital natives and their way of thinking has changed. They have shorter attention-spans, they
prefer images and want instant rewards and results (Prensky, 2001). Since students are constantly
using technology, why not use it for assessment? (Richardson, 2012). There are so many
technological tools that teachers can use in their classrooms to assess their students. A lot of
software is available to test students using a variety of graphics, games, and quizzes. Many of the
websites and software make assessment easier for the teacher as well. They collect the data and
put it together so that the teacher can see how their students perform. Another way that teachers
can use technology to assess their students is through rubric makers and templates such as
Rubistar. Rubrics lay out exactly what the teacher expects of the student and create a standard
that the teacher can use to assess the students. The templates make it easier for the teacher to fill
in the blank rather than making their own template (Shelly, Gunter & Gunter, 2012). Overall,
technology makes assessment more fun for the students and easier for the teacher.
Software for Assessment
Kahoot: Kahoot is a free online tool that allows the teacher to create quizzes, discussions and
surveys to assess their students. Students can then use their computers, tablets, or smart phones

to access the assessment and answer the questions. Kahoot collects the data from the assessments
which allows teachers to analyze how their students are doing and what they understand as well
as what needs work (Kahoot, 2014). For example, a teacher could look at specific standards they
covered and create a quiz with questions from that standard. After the students take the quiz, the
teacher could look at the data and see if the students understand the standard that was covered.
This is also called formative assessment (Shelly, Gunter & Gunter, 2012).
Socrative: Socrative is free software that teachers can use for assessment in their classroom.
Teachers can create and save quizzes, surveys, and games that check the students understanding.
According to the website, Through the use of real time questioning, instant result aggregation
and visualization, teachers can gauge the whole class current level of understanding. Socrative
saves teachers time so the class can further collaborate, discuss, extend and grow as a community
of learners (Socrative, 2014). Teachers could use Socrative to check understanding of the
standards that must be met. By looking at the data, teachers could see if there is anything they
need to review before going on to the next topic or standards.
Polleverywhere: Polleverywhere allows the teacher to ask the students a question. The students
can answer using either a computer or their smart phone. The answers are displayed live or on a
PowerPoint presentation (Polleverywhere, 2014). This is a great tool to use in the classroom
because it tests the students understanding immediately. Teachers could teach a lesson and use
the Polleverywhere as an exit ticket to check students understanding of what was learned that
day. This could also be used for self-assessment for both the teachers and the students (Shelly,
Gunter & Gunter, 2012).

Formative and Summative Assessments

Technology-based assessment can be used for both formative and summative assessment
(Salend, 2009). Formative assessment checks to make sure the students are developing the
knowledge, skills, and ability to master the content (Shelly, Gunter & Gunter, pg. 320, 2012)
through various activities, quizzes, and assignments. Kahoot, Socrative, and Polleverywhere can
be used to do formative assessment. The teacher could create quizzes and questions based on
various content covered in class to check understanding. Summative assessment can be done at
any time by the teacher to make sure the student understands the content at the end of a unit or
course (Shelly, Gunter & Gunter, 2012). Teachers can use technology to compare the
assessments to the curriculum and standards to see if students fully understand the content and
are ready to move on (Salend, 2009). This can be done through rubrics and final tests or projects.
Rubrics outline what is expected of the students and allows the teacher to assess the students
according to the rubric.
Pros and Cons of using Technology to Facilitate Assessment
Technology is a great resource to have in the classroom. There are many options for
assessment that the teacher can choose from. Each has its own benefits and can help with various
assessments. Advances in assessment technologies are affording teachers and students new
ways to efficiently assess and track achievement while also better promoting learning
(Landauer, Lochbaum & Dooley, 2009). One pro of using technology to facilitate assessment is
that it appeals to this generation of students. Students today are constantly using technology.
Software like Kahoot and Socrative provide fun, safe environments for assessment through
colorful graphics, images and games. Another pro is that technology also makes it easier for both
students and teachers. Online resources and software collect the data from the quizzes and

activities which allow teachers to see if the students understand the content. (Shelly, Gunter &
Gunter, 2009). Technology-based assessment allows the students to be authentic in their work
and share it with others; however, students and teachers must be careful about what they share
and where they share it (Salend, 2009). Technology can also allow students to simply look up the
answers instead of truly testing their knowledge and understanding (Richardson, 2012).
While technology is very helpful, it should not be the only way that teachers assess their
students. Teachers can learn a lot about how their students are doing in ways besides technology.
Assessment through observation is a great way for teachers to check for understanding. Teacher
observation is a powerful assessment tool, and often it is used in combination with other
assessment tools (Shelly, Gunter & Gunter, pg. 367, 2012). It allows the teacher to truly see
how the students are doing because sometimes other assessments are easy for the students to
guess on.
ISTE Standards and Assessment
The second ISTE Standard states, Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic
learning experiences and assessments incorporating learning experiences and assessments
incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to
develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in Standard-S (ISTE-T, 2). Teachers are
supposed to use various technologies to assess their students and help them reach their standards.
Conclusion
It is very important to assess students all throughout the school year. There are many
technological resources that can help teachers with both formative and summative assessments.
Some of these include Kahoot, Socrative, and Polleverywhere. Assessments allow teachers to

check student understanding and see if students are meeting the standards and content.
Technology makes it easier for both the teacher and the student.

References
ISTE (2008). International society for technology in education. Retrieved November 23, 2014
from http://iste.org/
Kahoot (2014). Retrieved November 22, 2014 from https://getkahoot.com/
Landauer, T. K., Lochbaum, K. E., & Dooley, S. (2009). A New Formative Assessment
Technology for Reading and Writing. Theory Into Practice, 48(1), 44-52.
doi:10.1080/00405840802577593
Polleverywhere (2014). Retrieved November 22, 2014 from http://www.polleverywhere.com/
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6.
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/214629645?accountid=7374
Richardson, W. (2012). Rethinking assessment. Edutopia. Retrieved November 22, 2014 from
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/rethinking-assessment-will-richardson
Salend, S. J. (2009). Technology-Based Classroom Assessments. Teaching Exceptional
Children, 41(6), 48-58.
Shelly, G.B., Gunter, G.A., Gunter, R.E. (2012). Teachers discovering computers: integrating
technology in a connected world (Seventh ed.). Boston: Course Technology, Cengage
Learning.
Socrative (2014). Retrieved November 22, 2014 from http://socrative.com/