Introduction:

Teachers have a big task ahead of them when it comes down to the academic progress of each
student. Every student learns differently and processes information differently. Having access to tools that
will help teachers assess the students on their academic progress has helped in the sense that teachers can
focus more on teaching and also use the assessments to plan ahead and re-create or re- invent the wheel to
ensure that the students are all on the same page with their academics. Assessment affects decisions

about grades, placement, advancement, instructional needs, curriculum, and, in some cases,
funding (2008). There are many tools out there that offer many options on how a teacher can
assess their students.
Technology to Facilitate Ongoing Efforts to Assess Student Learning (150-200 words)
The approach of teaching in this time period that we are in has brought about different
ways that students can be assessed in their academics. The use of technology in the classroom
has given the teachers the opportunity to access different tools that will help them create different
ways to assess their students. The use of technology for assessment has been proven to be a more
sufficient and effective way to get immediate results. In doing so this allows the teachers to focus
more on teaching and planning to ensure that every area that is reported as lacking academically
with individual students or with the entire classroom can be addressed during teaching time.
Advances in assessment technologies are affording teachers and students new ways to efficiently
assess and track achievement while also better promoting learning (Landauer, Lochbaum &
Dooley, 2009).
Socrative: This tool provides several different ways that the teacher can assess the
students in and outside the classroom. The teacher can create real- time questioning that will
encourage student participation and at the same time generate a report with results reporting

which students participated and how well they were knowledgeable of the subject matter being
discussed. Socrative also allows the students to take quizzes created by the teacher. The students
are also able to interact with other students with the teachers supplying the appropriate handheld tools. This will allow them to participate in polls and multiple and true and false questions
created by the teacher.
Write to Learn: With this tool the students are able to receive immediate feedback, tips
to help improve and instruction on assigned activities prepared by the teacher. Students are also
able to practice their writing skills in which they are assessed and evaluated on the text that is
being used, grammar and spelling. Write to learn allows the students to respond to the feedback
received and make the changes necessary to comply with their assessment results. This tool is
very helpful for teachers to use and very user friendly for the students to use as well.
Mimio Vote: This tool is a student response system that not only gives the student
immediate feedback on quizzes and test but also collect and analyze student data. Each student is
assigned a hand- held device which is numbered. This number on the device is assigned to the
student and this is how the teacher is able to identify who is who on the assessment reports. This
tool saves the teacher a lot of time and hours of having to read through reports and also having to
analyze the students themselves.

(Formative and Summative Assessments) (100-150 words)

There are two different ways of assessment that teachers are encouraged to use in the
classroom which are formative and summative assessments. Formative assessment is the
evaluation of students learning based on a specific time spam at multiple points by gathering
various activities and assignments to make sure that the learner is developing the knowledge,

skills, and ability to master the content (Shelly, Gunter, Gunter, 2012). Summative assessment is
the process of evaluating the student learning at any given point in time by facilitating a quiz to
assess the students understanding on what they have learned before moving onto other content
(Shelly, Gunter, Gunter, 2012). Computers, tablets and other devices that support educational
softwares help the teachers assess the students in a formative or summative way. Having this
technique in place in the classroom helps the teacher and students achieve their personal
academic goals and also the goals in place as an entire classroom. The tools mentioned above are
all tools that will most definitely help the teacher stay on track and become aware of the
academic status of each student in which it will allow her to make changes needed to help
improve the areas needed in the students academics.
(Pros and Cons of using Technology to Facilitate Assessment)
There are pros and cons to everything such as the use of technology to facilitate
assessments. Some of the pros that teachers can benefit from when using technology in the
classroom to assess can be having the advantage to be able to generate daily and accurate reports
on the students on their academic progress. This benefits the teacher because this information can
serve as a guide to help create their lesson plans for the week with being able to accommodate
the academic need of the students. The cons that may become a stumble block in using
technology to facilitate assessments can be cost. Some softwares have monthly fees or fees that
charge per user. Another con can be for the students and their accessibility to a computer from
home. Not everyone owns a computer and this can affect them from completing any online
assignments that may be a part of their assessment. Sometimes there may be network issues and
this can effect assessments online.
(Should a teacher only use technology to assess student learning? Why or why not?)

Teachers should always have more than one option to assess the students and their
academic progress. The idea of using technology is a great and more sufficient idea but the
teachers should not solely depend on it. There are other ways that students can learn in the
classroom such as hands- on activities in which the teacher can assess them through a written
assessment.
What is the importance of assessment technology in connection with the ISTE standards?
The connection of assessment technology with the ISTE standards is very important
because the standards serve as a guide on how technology should be implemented in the
classroom by the teacher and how the students should partake in the use of technology in the
classroom. In the ISTE standards number 2; Design and develop digital age learning experiences
and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in
context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes indentified in the standards (ISTE,
2014). This standard helps understand what is expected from the teacher when incorporating
technology in the classroom.
Concluding Paragraph for Software to Support Assessment

Technology has evolved greatly and has proven to work effectively in the classroom
setting. There are many tools and software that can be used in the classroom that will help the
teachers keep track of the students academics and also help the teachers plan ahead to help the
student move on to the next content area successfully. Students can now complete assignments
freely and enjoy the use of technology in the classroom.

Resources
Landauer, K., T., Lochbaum, E., K., Dooley, S., (2009) A new Formative Assessment
Technology for Reading and Writing
Shelly, G.B., Gunter, G.A., Gunter, R.E., (2012). Teachers Discovering Computers
Integrating Technology in a Connected World, Seventh Edition
(2008) International Society for Technology Education retrieved from:
http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-students
(2008) Why is Assessment Important? Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/assessmentguideimportance