Supporting Formative Assessment with Technology

There are so many ways technology can support formative assessment, and those technologies are constantly changing and evolving. More important than determining a single tool is considering what formative assessment strategies you use and matching tools to those strategies. This short list provides a fw options to explore.

• What formative assessment strategies do you use?
• How do you currently gather and use that data? What needs still exist?
• Choosing technology to support those strategies:
  • What’s available?
  • What do teachers currently use?
  • Can they use them to support formative assessment?
  • What promising new resources are available? (no cost, low cost, high return on investment)

 

What formative assessment strategies do you use?

Classroom Response Systems

• Socrative: classroom polling through a variety of devices; forced-choice and open-ended questions; downloadable data
• GoFormative: This one's a new one to me but looks very powerful. Check it out and let me know what you think.
• iClicker, eInstruction, and other clicker-based systems
• ActivEngage from Promethean and classroom response systems from SMART
• Mentimeter: limited interaction tool through mobile devices
• Today's Meet (My Room): backchannel tool that allows for anonymous input
• UPDATE!
  • I saw an example of Plickers in a school district outside of Detroit and just forgot to include it. Using old-style tech: printing QR codes, Plickers requires that only the teacher use a device. Check it out!
  • Geddit is developed by a teacher for use in his own room. Check out this user-friendly interface for getting real-time student data.

Writing, Journaling, Self- and Peer-Reflection

• Google Docs and Presentations: basic features all for self- and peer-review using comments and document history
• Basic Office applications include commenting, tracking of changes
• OneNote and OneNote Class Notebook Creator provide opportunities for individual reflection and collaboration. OneNote app also available.
• Learning Management Software (LMS), such as Google Class, Edmodo, Canvas, Blackboard, and many others often offer opportunities for students to write or otherwise respond through private or group discussions
• Blogging software, such as Kidblog.org or blogs in LMS, supports individual and group journaling

Collaborative Activities (Teacher-to-Student or Student-to-Student)

• Google Docs and Presentations: sharing features that allow for viewing, commenting, or editing
  • Doctopus: Add-on to Google Forms that allows file management. May not be necessary if using Google Class or another LMS. Short video tutorial at this link.
• Padlet: Collaborate and share text, links, documents, and other media with or without signing in

Recording Real-Time Student Performance or Evidence of Understanding

• Cameras and microphones on phones, tablets, laptops, or other devices, such as flipcams or actual cameras and video-cameras. Most powerful to show student growth over time in a student portfolio, which can be stored on cloud-storage or even a teacher or student YouTube channel.
• Audacity: one of the most widely used audio capturing and editing tools for recording student reading, speech, singing, etc.
• Educreations and ShowMe are screencapture apps (Apple store only) for iPads that allow students to manipulate images on the screen and recording their thinking (ala Think-Alouds) in real-time and share them. The ExplainEverything app is available for Apple and Android devices.
• TechSmith has been a leader in screen-capture software and makes the cloud-based app Jing for Windows and Mac OS, Snagit for Chrome OS, and ScreenChomp for Apple and Android apps.
• FotoBabble allows students to mark-up and record audio annotations on images. ShadowPuppet takes this further by allowing you to annotate and manipulate (resize and move) photos into a video.

Practice Quizzes and Comprehension Monitoring

Note: To be formative, grades would not be assigned to these activities but can be used as a self-check. These applications can be used both in formative and summative ways.

• Quizlet: Popular site that allows teachers (and students) to create practice quizzes, flashcards, and games
• Google Forms: Create polls, quizzes, or otherwise collect data from students in a secure environment (using Google's built-in sharing features).
  • Flubaroo: Add-on to Google Forms that can grade forced-choice responses to teacher-created quizzes. Site includes helpful three-minute video.
  • Goobric: Another Google Add-on that can support grading through the use of a rubric
• Kahoot! is a popular quizzing application that can be both engaging and distracting as it incorporates music and timing. One of the best formative uses is having students develop their own reviews on Kahoot!

Questions? Want to share your favorites? Feel free to contact me at: JR@TeachLearnTech.com

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