5370+Reading+Reflection+Standard+IV+Assessment+and+Evaluation

Oh, the joys of technology! It is “chicken soup for the technologist’s soul!” One of the ways I find joy in technology use is knowing that it can be used to assess my students’ knowledge level. Reading about this standard was truly delightful because I’ve always operated in this standard well before ever pursuing this path. The first school I taught at was the pilot elementary school for technology in Shreveport, Louisiana. I then developed an insatiable appetite to include it in my curriculum to diagnose, remediate, and accelerate my students’ performance. I witnessed the benefits of technology as an assessment tool in my class back then and to witness it moving to the forefront of education is assuring to me that I was just as insightful a professional back then as I am today. I absorbed this reading with a finesse and zeal that echoed the importance of finding infectious ways to get teachers to embrace this intiative. This reading is tremendously relevant and consistent with my learning in this grad course and will lead to greater levels of proficiency with more experience with this standard in the future. I was all the more excited when I read about computer-based testing and the use of handheld student response systems. I mentioned my use of Qwizdom in my standard III reflection and now get to reflect on how the data I received from this system helped me readjust instruction to meet learner needs- which is one of the features the text stressed (Williamson & Redish, 2009, p.78). Gaining knowledge about this standard addressed how as a facilitator and leader I must use technology for assessment. This is done through properly evaluating tools that would open doors for meaningful ways to use the data provided through them. Michael Golden expressed, “the challenge for education in these first decades of the 21st century is to get beyond the profusion of data to knowledge…” (Golden, 2005). The new knowledge confirmed my old knowledge as I had so oftentimes in the past read up on the benefits of technology for assessment. The relationship with old and new knowledge inspired me to explore more tools to use for this purpose. One experience I found rewarding in this aspect was attending a Renaissance conference on using Accelerated Reader for this purpose. It felt tremendously good to know that you’ve been “on point” as a professional all along in this standard. I still have one of the first CD that introduced AR to teachers back in the early 90’s. Wow! One of the ways I implemented this standard was mentoring teachers in using the student response systems and AR. I provided one-on-one training to two of my colleagues. They were fascinated with the data sets provided from the tools. As a learner who believes in the benefits of small group instruction, I executed the standard at a proficient level assisting not only my peers, but principal as well in evaluating and making a decision about what software programs to spend money on for school improvement. My interactions with my colleagues and students help me garner experience that has only developed my level of expertise as a facilitator. For example, I know that my job performance in the future will include evaluating technologies for effectiveness in the curriculum as a leader. Knowing that the data gleaned from technology assessments is used in various reports for school improvement is very beneficial. This means that I must be aware to what degree I will have to teach educators about technology in this capacity and how to use the data for improving instruction. The text talked about use of technology in other forms of assessment such as portfolios. Solomom and Schrum attested to the benefits of using such with ESOL students as a non-threatening way to assess them (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). This approach would be useful in helping them see the flexible of technology as an assessment tool. My past interactions with colleagues remind me of how I must be mindful of not overtaxing the computer’s use for assessment for help teachers add it to their repertoire of assessment tools. A challenging issue I face is teaching educators how to manage the data from using technology for assessment. We use Edugence in my school, and many teachers find it hard to find the time to extrapolate data and turn it into something meaningful. Golden, M. (2005) // Making strides with educational data //. The Journal. The Pennslyvania Department of Education. Solomon, G & Schrum, L. (2007). // Web 2.0: new tools, new schools //. International Society for Technology in Educatiomn. Williamson, J, & Redish, T. (2009). // ISTE’s technology and leadership standards: what every K-12 technologist should know and be able to do. // Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.
 * Self Assessment **
 * Learn as a Learner **
 * Lifelong Learning Skills **