Cassandra Kelser

EDU 225
October 31, 2015
Andrew McBroom

Part 1: Assessment Technology

Edmodo was used to create a second grade, end of unit, multiple choice summative
assessments on capitalization. This is assessment was created to assess each student on content
knowledge and comprehension of materials being taught. The link to the assessment is
https://www.edmodo.com/ . The username for Edmodo is: RutledgeC@bibbed.org and the
password is Tylerchris2. The name of my group is called Cassandra Kelser-Rutledges 2nd Grade
Group. Once Edmodo accessed the student will be able to log on into his/her account using a
username and password created by the teacher. Once the Edmodo web page has been accessed
by the student, he/she is able to proceed to take the twenty minute quiz set by the teacher. At the
end of the quiz the student will be given a grade. The student may go back and review questions
answered incorrectly. The teacher will evaluate student data from Edmodo and make plans to
reteach content material on capitalization or make adjustment to lesson plans to facilitate
learning to aide in the knowledge and success of each student. The answer key is provided in
Edmodo to the second grade, end of unit, multiple choice summative assessments on
capitalization.
Part 2: Blog Post

Introduction
Technology in the classroom is used by teachers to facilitate and support classroom curriculum.
Technology based programs are tools to support learners ideas and understandings. Utilizing software in
the classroom supports organization and provide teachers a way for assessing students knowledge.
Technology based assessment software in the classroom is an efficient and effective tool for the teacher;
students and parents to assess collaborate and be informed. Formative or summative assessments are
given to the student by the state department of education or by the teacher as a way to assess student

content skills and knowledge through the academic year. When assessment is seen as learning-

for the student as well as for teachers- it becomes informative and generative for students and
teachers alike (Tomlinson, 2007). Assessments provide for better teaching and enhance
learning in the classroom. There are many technology assessment based web based tools
available for teachers to educate, assess and enhance learning by way of technology.
Technology to Facilitate Ongoing Efforts to Assess Student Learning
Technology is being used in the classroom to facilitate learning by engaging and
supporting meaningful learning. Teachers utilize technology to facilitate ongoing efforts to assess
students learning in the classroom by creating content related assessments to assess the
knowledge and skills of each student. Teachers may choose from a variety of online software to
create online classroom accounts that will allow the students access to teacher generated
assessments and study material. Students and teachers are provided with immediate feedback of
assessments by utilizing online software. Assessment software will offer teachers individual and
group data reports. Teachers will be able to evaluate strengths and weakness of each student as
well as assess student learning. By gathering online data, teachers are able to make adjustments
to the lesson and plan lessons in a way that will benefit each student and support learning.
Edmodo
Edmodo is a free user friendly online software program that is designed to be used as an
online assessment tool to create quizzes and show students progress immediately. Teachers may
utilize Edmodo software to assess students learning by collecting data and providing feedback to
each student. Teachers may also utilize Edmodo to conduct formative and summative
assessments, such as multiple choice or true and false quizzes. Teachers may also post
assignments and so parents and students are informed of classroom assignments and important
information. Both teachers and students can express themselves and their concerns through

Edmodo. Edmodo provides teachers and students with immediate grades to quizzes. This will
able the students and teacher to see the strengths and weakness of each student in a content area.
After collecting the data of each student the teacher may differienate the lessons, so that the
students that are challenged will gain knowledge of content based material. Edmodo is a
beneficial tool that supports teachers in managing and engaging their classroom.
Renaissance Learning
Renaissance Learning is a paid online software program that is used to assess reading
and math. Renaissance provides student with a computer generated quiz that allows the student
to take a quiz on the book of their choice. Immediate following the quiz the student is provided
access to the quiz score. The program will also allow the student to test on vocabulary relating to
the book the student has tested on. The teacher is also granted access to the grades and progress
of each student. Renaissance Learning may be used in elementary and secondary education. For
math, the teacher may select a math skill for each student to complete, using classroom
computers. The students scores will be saved by the computer and the teacher is granted access
to each students report. The teacher may use data collected from math and reading to reset the
students skill level in an effort for the student to gain further knowledge or move on to the next
level. Renaissance Learning is a great classroom tool for assessing math skills and reading
comprehension.
Socrative
Socrative is a free online software program that assists teachers with creating
assessments for students and granting teachers access to progress immediately. Socrative is user
friendly and allow setup support to teachers. Through this web based software program teachers
can create content based quizzes, access students individual gains or weakness and immediately

access student progress. Students are able to gain access to the student section of Socrative by
logging in with their student username and password, created by the teacher. Teachers may used
the information collected from each students assessment to adjust content related material or
lesson instructions to help provide academic success of each student.
Formative and Summative Assessments
Assessments that track progress of each student throughout the lesson are known as
formative assessments. Assessments that are given to students at the end of a lesson, unit or end
of year, are known as summative assessments. Technology based software programs can be used
to facilitate both formative and summative assessments. The teacher may access an online
software program like Edmodo or Socrative to create both types of assessments to assess each
student as a way to gain knowledge of students progress. The teacher will gain immediate access
to the students scores using both Edmodo and Socrative online assessment based software. A
formative assessment are used throughout the course or lesson to make sure the student
understand and is gaining content knowledge of the lesson being taught. These types of
assessments are sometimes not graded or recorded by the teacher. Summative assessments are
used by teachers to assess the proficiency of content related material. This type of assessment
may be provided by the teacher and graded.
Pros and Cons of using Technology to Facilitate Assessment
There are pros and cons in everything we use or do in society, technology is no
exception. There are pros and cons teachers might encounter in using technology to facilitate
assessments of student learning in the 21st century classroom. The pros may consist of
immediately feedback and scoring of assessment. The student does not have to wait for the
teacher to grade their assessment they will have immediate results. Technology can be an

excellent vehicle for educators to access resources that can assist them in developing
instructional rubrics (Salend, 2009). With the use of rubrics in the classroom, the students are
more involved with monitoring their progress of certain skills and are likely to perform more
proficiently. For some students assessments can be a way to earn rewards and points in reading
and math. Teachers may even display the gains of each student by using a visual graph or chart
to display the progress and accomplishment of each students individual goals as they are met.
The disadvantage of technology related assessments may include failed computers, computer
systems or power outages, once information is lost from a computer it sometimes impossible to
retrieve. Yet another disadvantage is the lack of computers in the classroom or teacher lack of
knowledge of online assessment software programs. Some school systems may have limited
funding that will not allow enough computers to assess each student in the classroom. There may
also be school systems that do not provide technology related professional development for their
teachers. Ongoing professional development in the areas of technology is beneficial to every
teacher and their classroom.
Should a teacher only use technology to assess student learning? Why or why not?
Technology should not be the only means of teachers assessing students learning.
Teachers should not rely on the use of technology as an only tool for assessment. The teachers
should assess the students continually throughout class time. Visual and verbal assessments are
important, it gives the teacher the opportunity to walk around and assess the students work
individually and offer assistance and instructions to the student as needed. Whole group class
discussion allows each student to offer feedback to the lesson or ask questions relating to the
lesson. This allows the teacher to assess the class as a whole and the opportunity to explain
certain parts of the lesson. During whole group the teacher can ask open ended question to the

students to get their opinion or feedback to the help guide the lesson and gain knowledge of
lesson. Technology is not also ways a guaranteed method of assessment because of its potential
for failure.
What is the importance of assessment technology in connection with the ISTE standards?
Teachers are to promote technology to facilitate experiences that advance student
learning, creativity, and innovation in both face to face and virtual environments (ISTE, 2015).
The importance of assessment technology in connection with the ISTE standards are to make
sure each lesson being taught meets the state Common Core and ISTE technology standards in
the areas of planning, teaching, and assessment. Technology based assessment allows students
the opportunity to advance in technology and to become knowledge able of assessments on the
computer. Teachers are to Customize and personalize learning activities to address students
diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources (ISTE,
2008). Teachers creating and making available online assessment based web tools not only
follow the ISTE and Common Core standard but give student the basic foundation of computers,
facilitate learning, and opens the door for student and teacher creativity. Assessment technology
provides students with summative and formative assessments that will assist with supporting
academic success.
Concluding Paragraph for Software to Support Assessment
Whether it is summative or formative assessments, both are an important aspect of the
learning process. 21st century technology has opened up many doors for technology to be
integrated into the classroom. They use of technology based websites has made it possible for
teacher to manage and organize their classroom while being an effective efficient teacher.
Students are more engaged and when it comes to utilizing technology in the classroom. It is

important for the teacher to introduce students to web based technology and software to give
them the opportunity to explore and expand their way of thinking. Technology, whether it be
games, web based projects or technology based assessments, students are intrigued by their
environment and having fun while learning and engaging in technology.

References
Tomlinson, C.A. (2007). Learning to Love Assessment. Educational Leadershi,65(4),8-13.
ISTE. (2015). Standards for Teachers. ISTE Standards. Retrieved
http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-teachers

ISTE. (2008). Standards for Teachers. ISTE Standards. Retrieved

http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-teachers

Salend, S. J. (2009). Technology-Based Classroom

Assessments. Teaching Exceptional Children, 41(6), 48-58.