What Do Teachers Need To Know When Assessing Digital Literacy and Assessments Using Technology?

     During this week of my #itdml program, my 7726 class discussed two concepts when it comes to teaching in the 21st century with digital text and tools.  Assessment was the constant in both areas we discussed.  The overall concepts we talked about were what teachers need to know about assessment with technology AND assessment of digital literacy.  Below I will touch upon both points discussing the main ideas of each, strategies to use in your classroom, resources, and any recommendations I have when indulging in assessment with technology.

What Teachers Need To Know About ASSESSING WITH TECHNOLOGY:

+Mimi Knibbs did a great job explaining the main idea of assessing with technology. Mimi Knibbs looked deeper into the article, Assessment Technology and Change. She stated "technology is not being effectively utilized to assess sophisticated intellectual and psycho-social performances.  Instead, technology is merely being utilized to deliver the old-fashioned paper and pencil style of test in a digital format."  Before one can assess students with technology there are many things to keep in mind. Although there are benefits there are also weaknesses.   Some of these weaknesses are from +Mimi Knibbs article on Assessment, Technology and Change article. She stated the most dominant weakness of assessing with technology is the "lack of observations of performances" as well as an uncertainty with the rigor and familiarity of the product. I wonder if this would still be considered a weakness if all teachers were trained on an assessment tool and solely focused on implemented the tool in their class. It is a complaint that some teachers are unfamiliar with assessment tools because they were unsure how to create a meaningful assessment, effectively implement it, and benefit from the responses. Although some may feel there are downfalls to assessing with technology, there are also positives in a digital assessment. Not only can digital assessments help a teacher provide hands on learning in the ever changing 21st century but it is also a form many students are comfortable performing. For example, if I gave a student an analog clock they may have difficulties telling me the time; however, if I gave the same student a digital clock they most likely would be able to read it. Why? Our world is a digital place and our students are brought up surrounded by these digital devices.

Image CC from www.timetools.com

Some strategies and recommendations I would stress to teachers assessing with technology is try the digital tool first before you implement it into your classroom. There are a vast amount of tools intended for classroom use. It is important to not only be aware of these assessments, but also pick a tool that is comfortable for the teacher as well as meaningful. If the assessment tool does not have a meaningful outcome it would not be the correct tool to use. +Joshua Lambert suggested that teachers should aligning their objectives with the assignment. What if the students can develop their own digital assessment? Would it spread the accountability more on the student and engage them in the learning process? Using a variety of tools can also have benefits in the students learning.  

Lastly, when talking about assessment with technology one must look at the vast amount of tools available to the teachers. +Jody Ceglarski offered some great suggestions on assessment tools to use in the classroom. Socrative is a tool I have used in my classroom and find great value in it. Not only does Socrative and Kahoot! provide an assessment opportunity, it also allows me to effectively give a quick check for understanding from my students. Pre and post test have never been easier and the teacher is given each students responses quick. One pit fall I have found using Kahoot is the amount of students capable of logging in at one time. We have found in our school difficult to have more than ten students log into Kahoot at any one time. I have not used Zaption, Back Channel Chat Tools, or Plickers but each tool sounds like it could benefit my students.

What Teachers Need To Know About ASSESSMENT OF DIGITAL LITERACY:

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Assessment of digital literacy simply means technological tools designed to help teachers assess students ability to effectively read and write.   When looking at effective digital literacy tools +Christel Russman  discussed TRAILS-9 . She stated some of the positives when assessing literacy is it gives teachers the opportunity to provide immediate feedback to the students.  The programs are usually free as well as most are great tools to enhance collaboration among their peers, community and teachers.  It is important to remember when looking at digital literacy, our students are growing up in this ever-changing digital world.  In contrast, teachers are the ones who are trying to play “catch up” with technology.  Students are engulfed in digital literacy constantly.  I believe teachers main role when discussing digital literacy and education is teaching the students how to effectively communicate and use the technology.  Too many students write idk (I don’t know) or other “slang” text terms because they were not properly taught digital literacy stills. Twitter, snap chat, Facebook, and other social media websites have been used by most of our students for some time.  Unfortunately, the students are not taught the proper way to communicate when using these sites.  My challenge to teachers is to use these types of social networking to your advantage. Why not teach the students how to effectively use Twitter?  Some other ways teachers can help students learn proper digital literacy skills are through various technology collaboration programs and effective rubrics. +Monica Hayes talked further about rubrics based on the Review of Digital Literacy Assessments article. Rubrics are great tools to help teachers assess student’s digital literacy skills.  Rubrics also allow teachers to provide the students with immediate, specific feedback on their performance.

Resources:

1. A Review of Digital Literacy Assessment Instruments. (n.d.)
2. Bonk, C. (2010, September 21). 25. Assessing Student Online Learning.
3. Clarke-Midura, J., & Dede, C. (2010). Assessment, technology, and change. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42(3), 309-328.
4. Davies, S. (2010). Effective assessment in a digital age: A guide to technology-enhanced assessment and feedback. S.l.: Higher Education Funding Council for England
5. TRAILS. (n.d.).
6. 5 Fantastic, Fast, Formative Assessment Tools. (n.d.).
7. 33 Digital Tools for Advancing Formative Assessment in the Classroom. (2014, January 21).