Module+Five+Reflection

Description:
For this module we took a look at the importance of evaltuation in the classroom. Technology can be just as much for testing and proficiency results as it can be for instruction and learning. We took a look at articles concerning evaluation, the use of technology tools such as clickers for evaluation, and various other web 2.0 tools that can come in handy for evaluation purposes.

Impact:
Evaluation is an important part of the learning process. It allows teachers to receive feedback on whether or not their students are understanding and retaining the information that they are being taught. There have been great strives in the way teachers can evaluate their students thanks to the use of different technology tools. Evaluation through the use of technology has been able to give quicker results to teachers than the conventional evaluation processes of pencil and paper testing. In many instances, results can be seen immediately after students take the evaluations.

The use of clickers in the classrooms has become a very good resource to teachers in many school systems. Clickers can be used from taking daily attendance to quizzes. It has been noticed though, that the use of clickers should be introduced in the classroom from day one so as not to cause any anxiety or other testing issues in the event they were introduced at a later time. Students should feel comfortable using them. In many instances students actually respond more in class because answers can be anonymous.

I have found that technology in the evaluation process should be carefully selected by instructors and well thought out before being administered to the students. I recently had an incident where a quiz my class was supposed to take went very wrong. The quiz was to be posted on Springboard and our class was given two days to take it. There were only supposed to be 25 questions and it was to cover 4 chapters. Some people in the class couldn't even access the quiz when it came time to take it. We also found that there were 45 questions and there were questions from another chapter that we hadn't even went over yet. It was a total disaster. We were then given the option to take the quiz again and the best of the two scores would count. The second chance quiz was opened on different days and still some people could not access it. It was a horrible experience that caused much anxiety and worry. It was finally discovered also that the scoring system was not set up properly, so it was decided that the quiz would either be dropped or the material covered later in the final exam.

This whole experience was awful. It seemed to me and to others that it should have been tested to make sure all of the questions matched the material that was covered. The points problem wasn't a big deal, but still should have been checked also. The big thing that I am kind of upset with is the fact that we tried twice and it still didn't come out right, so why not just drop it. By the time the final comes around it's going to be even harder to recall that information. I don't feel like this evaluation proved anything but the fact that technology still needs to be checked by the one using it.

Intent:
Through the readings and my own experiences with different kinds of evaluations throughout my school days, I would have to say that it is indeed an important part of a students' learning. Through the use of technology there have been so many advances in the way that students' knowledge retention can be evaluated that it's amazing. I love how teachers can be much more creative in how they evaluate their students. Through some of my past classes I have seen the use of many web 2.0 tools being used to evaluate students and it is so neat! I also like sites that help to produce quizzes, rubrics, and even lesson plans. I am excited to get a chance to use some of these tools.