Letting Them Show What They Know: Tech Tools for Assessment

Slide 1: LETTING THEM SHOW WHAT THEY KNOW TECH TOOLS FOR ASSESSMENT By Alice Bedard-Voorhees, PhD Colorado Mountain College Lisa Marie Johnson Colorado Community Colleges Online March 2008 League for Innovations Conference - Denver, Colorado

Slide 2: About This Presentation This presentation is based on the forthcoming chapter: Bedard-Voorhees, A., Johnson, L. M., & Dobson, P. (in press). Creating online assessments and preparing learners for authentic displays of learning. In S. J. Hoffman and J. K. Robinson (in press). Online education and the humanities: A guide to teaching the humanities in the online environment.

Slide 3: Familiar Outcomes  Speak logically in presentations and essays.  Speak clearly in presentations and essays.  Select and apply contemporary forms of technology to compile information. As we review methods and tools, keep similar outcomes in mind for courses that require speaking or other demonstrations in mind!

Slide 4: Drivers for Student-Created Content for Formative and Summative Assessment “We are no longer consumers but producers” Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat  (Some) Digital Native Learners  Technology in 21st Century Workplace  Learning Styles  Universal Design  Evolved 21st Century Technology

Slide 5: Assessment Practices  Formative Exercises  Portfolios  Project Conferences  Reflection  Presentations

Slide 6: A Variety of Tools  Maps and Organizers  Project Conferences  Audio  ePortfolio  Images  Blogs  Video  Wikis

Slide 7: Maps and Organizers  Learners map information using graphic forms of organization to show understanding. Resource: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/scaffolding/transformation.html Transformation Scaffold Example F2F Teaching Common Online Teaching Strategies Strategies Strategies

Slide 8: Phone-Generated Audio  Phone created files.  Accounts are associated with channels. ShowKnow Example – Gabcast.com 2. Dial: 1-800-749-0632 3. Enter Channel Number and pound-sign: 13431# 4. Enter Password and pound-sign: 092007# 5. Speak content and Press 1 to review 6. Press 7 to delete, 2 to publish, 9 to return to main menu and start over 7. Once published, listen to and/or download MP3 from http://gabcast.com/index.php?a=episodes&id=13431 Tip: For paid accounts, recordings first go into an unpublished area. For the free public accounts, you may want to have students give their Recording a number rather than saying a name for privacy.

Slide 9: Desk/Laptop-Generated Audio Spotlight: Audacity  Free and multi-platform  Need program and LAME Encoder (for MP3 export)  Files created on desk/laptop  Multiple deliveries Tip! Keep segments brief (1 MB or less) http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/tutorials

Slide 10: Static Images  Images can be uploaded from multiple sources (e.g., phone, camera)  Annotation  Link or RSS feed could be placed in class ShowKnow Example – Flickr.com 2.Go to: http://www.flickr.com 3.Click Sign-In Username: show.know Password: september28 4.Upload Photos and Review! http://www.flickr.com/photos/14106603@N07/ Note: This test account is set it so only the single user can see the photos. http://www.flickr.com/account/prefs/photoprivacy/

Slide 11: Slideshows Spotlight: SlideShare  Multiple file types (PowerPoint, Keynote, PDF)  Download options  Privacy controls  SlideCasting (adding Mp3 Audio to a slideshow) Example: http://www.slideshare.net/lisamariejohnson

Slide 12: Video  Multiple options… YouTube, TeacherTube, Kaltura  Privacy controls (password protected, private accounts) Consider class and individual accounts!  Links and viewers for delivery Tip! Assignment might include submission of a storyboard. ShowKnow Example – YouTube.com 3.Go to: http://youtube.com 4.Click Log-In Username: showknow Password: september28 5.Upload and review: http://youtube.com/user/showknow

Slide 13: Project Conferences  Creating expectations makes all the difference! http://www.ccconline.org/FacultySC/TeachingResources/rw_creating_online_conference.htm  Asynchronous … in your course room! Private discussion area for each student and yourself.  Synchronous … via Elluminate!  Many Colleges have licenses  Free Alternative – VROOM: for scheduling meetings up to three participants. Learn more from: http://www.elluminate.com/vroom/

Slide 14: Why ePortfolio?  Formative and summative assessment opportunity for instructors and learners.  “A portfolio permits the learner to display competence, outside of a static transcript.” Siemens, G. (2004, December 16). ePortfolios. eLearnSpace. Retrieved February 26, 2008 from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/eportfolios.htm

Slide 15: Five ePortfolio Recommendations 1. Allow learners alternatives in choice of medium. 2. Assure the medium is accessible by classmates and you for review and evaluation. 4. Be flexible and let students adapt for other portfolios (e.g., Program level or Institutional Level portfolios) 6. Use a rubric that maps performances with the outcomes. 8. Conduct a formative review.

Slide 16: Forms of ePortfolio  All portfolios are “… driven by the intended task: assessment, professional/personal development, learning portfolio, or group portfolio.” (Siemens, G. (2004, December 16).  Limited Portability  Remain with institutions/programs or become fee-based.  Interface is “fixed” by program (cannot be exported to other mediums)  FERPA/Privacy Considerations  Example: Blackboard Portfolio  Infinite Portability  Housed on the Web and managed by users.  FERPA/Privacy Considerations  Examples: FaceBook , MySpace, Wikis, Blogs, & SecondLife

Slide 17: Blogs Blog.com http://blog.com/ Blogger Many options https://www.blogger.com/ Bloglines Multiple forms of media can http://www.bloglines.com/ be integrated with a Blog Blue Kaffee (video, audio, images, etc.) http://www.bluekaffee.com/ EduBlogs http://learnerblogs.org/ Tip! LiveJournal Student privacy is an issue http://www.livejournal.com/ when using technologies Vox external to your institution’s http://www.vox.com/ servers. Know your institution’s Wordpress.com policies. http://wordpress.com/

Slide 18: Wikis  Allows for quick content creation and editing  Contributory or collaborative  Vary in complexity (e.g., PBWiki, MediaWiki)  Wiki comparison http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_wiki_software

Slide 19: Your Ideas? Your Tools?  How do you embed assessment?  Which tools do you use for assessment? avoorhees@coloradomtn.edu lisamarie.johnson@cccs.edu