The document discusses the challenges of continuous assessment in large classrooms and highlights the need for technology to provide effective feedback to teachers. It emphasizes a shift towards collaborative and interactive learning environments based on constructivist principles, advocating for tools like online testing and evaluation methods. Various technologies like Google Apps for Education and Moodle are suggested to enhance the learning process and facilitate collaborative assessments.

1. Remedy for the Challenge of Continuous
Assessment in Large Classes
National Symposium
Technology in ELT: Challenges and Remedies
23 Nov. 2013 - www.dilipbarad.com

2. Paradigm Shift . . .
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From downloader to uploader…
From users to contributors…
From islands to bridges…
From isolated learning to collaborative
learning…
• From teaching to ‘engage in learning process . . .
• From active learning to interactive learning…
• From face-2-face to blended learning . . .

3. Need Analysis
• Generally, teacher begins a class with a few
questions :
– to map the mind and
– to concentrate learners attention
– to revise previous class
– to know what students have understood,
remembered
– to see if further revision is necessary or there is a
green signal to move ahead

4. Is teacher really able to do what he expects?
• No!
• Because most of the questions are answered by a
few enthusiasts / fast learners / class-leaders.
• Teacher moves ahead in teaching without getting
appropriate feedback for which s/he asks
questions.
• But how can a teacher know the progression of
each and every student, in the Indian conditions,
where normal class capacity ranges between 60 –
120 students?
• Here is the need of technology to help teacher!

5. But why technology?
• Ken Robinson: The Changing Paradigm
– The video can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U
• Sugata Mitra: The School in the Cloud
– The video can be viewed here:
http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_build_a_
school_in_the_cloud.html
• Constructivism: Moodle Philosophy
• Digital Era: The MOOCs, Open Courses, Open
Education

6. Ken Robinson

8. Constructivism
• From a constructivist point of view, people
actively construct new knowledge as they interact
with their environments.

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Philosophy behind Online Learning Environment
Constructivism. What is this?
From a constructivist point of view, people
actively construct new knowledge as they interact with
their environments.
Everything you read, see, hear, feel, and touch is tested
against your prior knowledge and if it is viable within your
mental world, may form new knowledge you carry with you.
Knowledge is strengthened if you can use it successfully in
your wider environment. You are not just a memory bank
passively absorbing information, nor can knowledge be
"transmitted" to you just by reading something or listening
to someone.
This is not to say you can't learn anything from reading a web
page or watching a lecture, obviously you can, it's just
pointing out that there is more interpretation going on than a
transfer of information from one brain to another.

10. What is Constructionism?
• Constructionism asserts that learning is particularly
effective when constructing something for others to
experience. This can be anything from a spoken
sentence or an internet posting, to more complex
artifacts like a painting, a house or a software package.
• For example, you might read this page several times
and still forget it by tomorrow - but if you were to try
and explain these ideas to someone else in your own
words, or produce a slideshow that explained these
concepts, then it's very likely you'd have a better
understanding that is more integrated into your own
ideas. This is why people take notes during lectures
(even if they never read the notes again).

11. Social Constructivism
• Social constructivism extends constructivism into
social settings, wherein groups construct knowledge
for one another, collaboratively creating a small
culture of shared artifacts with shared meanings.
• When one is immersed within a culture like this, one
is learning all the time about how to be a part of that
culture, on many levels.
• simple example - a cup -"knowledge" about carrying
liquids.
• complex example - online course - the activities and
texts produced within the group as a whole will help
‘shape knowledge’ how each person behaves within
that group.

12. Connected and separate
• This idea looks deeper into the motivations of individuals within
a discussion:
• Separate behaviour is when someone tries to remain 'objective'
and 'factual', and tends to defend their own ideas using logic to
find holes in their opponent's ideas.
• Connected behaviour is a more empathic approach that accepts
subjectivity, trying to listen and ask questions in an effort to
understand the other point of view.
• Constructed behaviour is when a person is sensitive to both of
these approaches and is able to choose either of them as
appropriate to the current situation.
• In general, a healthy amount of connected behaviour within a
learning community is a very powerful stimulant for learning,
not only bringing people closer together but promoting deeper
reflection and re-examination of their ‘existing beliefs’.

13. M.K. Gandhi: Let us stop talking, and ‘do’ it

14. Testing and Evaluation
• Online Testing Tools
– Free > > >
– User Friendly – for students as well as teachers
• Evaluation and Assessment
– Difference
– Continuous, almost daily or weekly evaluation
– Impossible task > how technology helps
– Auto generated grade-sheets

15. Online Testing Tools

16. Google Apps for Education

18. Mark the difference

20. Daily testing and Evaluation
• Google Docs for test
– Allows collaborative / cooperative facility to prepare test
– Allows embedding of tests on Blog or Google Sites
• Flubaroo for evaluation
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Email grades
Re-grade
Personalized feedback
Allows collaborative / cooperative grading
– Let us see demo . . . Live during symposium with active
participation by a few select participants who came with
their own device (laptop or mobile or tablet or phablet)

21. Thank you
dilipbarad@gmail.com