Technology Based

Assessment Tools

There are many pros when it comes to using technology in the

classroom, but perhaps one of the largest is the ability to assess students
using multiple methods that can be tailored to the level they are at. Assessing
students is a critical part of teachers’ work and needs to be done in order to
help prepare them for their future. Utilizing technology for assessment enables
teachers to reduce time, resources, and the disruption to schedules that
occurs with paper and pencil assessments. Using technology for assessment
can often give the educator a better picture of their students which allows
teachers to make a student’s learning more personalized (Department of
Education, n.d.). In this training video, I will discuss five digital tools that can
be used to assess students. Most of these tools are appropriate for students in
upper elementary through high school, but my focus is on fourth through
eighth grade.
Department of Education. (n.d.). Assessment. https://tech.ed.gov/netp/assessment/
One tool that can be used for assessment is Plickers. Plickers uses a QR code, specific
to each student, to record multiple choice responses. The QR codes are printed off and
have a letter on each of the four sides that corresponds with a multiple-choice answer
on the quiz. Students use the cards to answer a question, they choose the letter a,b,c,or,
d and hold the card facing the teacher with the letter that matches the answer they
chose at the top of their card. The teacher scans all of the student answers with their
device using the Plickers app. The answers are stored and sorted into reports for each
student. Teachers can insert Youtube videos, sound clips, and pictures into their
quizzes to help with engagement. This tool is appropriate for the fourth through eighth
grade age range because it is simple to use and can be designed to cover many
different ability levels and subjects. Using Plickers to demonstrate their learning
supports the student technology standard 1.1.c. This standard states that students use
technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practice and to
demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways. This tool can be used to support
students as they demonstrate their knowledge about a topic that has been learned in
class. Plickers has several reports that teachers can run to show correct and incorrect
answers. The reports can show different trends with students so that the teacher can
plan support or enrichment activities.
 Edpuzzle enables educators to insert questions into videos. The video can be
uploaded from sites such as Youtube, Kahn Academy, or it can even be a video that the
teacher created themselves. The teacher then inserts questions into the video.
Questions can be multiple choice or short answer. As the video plays, it will stop when
it gets to the question. The video can be set so that the student has to answer before
proceeding. They are able to re-watch the video segment to find the correct answer.
This digital tool can be used for formative or summative assessment. Edpuzzle is easy
to use and is appropriate for students as young as fourth grade and as old as eighth
grade. This tool can be used throughout of a unit of study as a formative assessment.
The video can be re-watched which gives students that struggle the opportunity to hear
the information multiple times to help them answer the questions. Edpuzzle helps
students demonstrate their learning and supports the student technology standard 1.1.c.
This standard states that students use technology to seek feedback that informs and
improves their practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.
Edpuzzle has a gradebook that shows the correct and incorrect answers that students
provided. This data can help the teacher plan support instruction or an enrichment
activity for their students.
 Flipgrid is a digital tool where students can respond to a topic prompt with a
video response. After responding, others in the class can comment on the student’s
video. Teachers can require students to use evidence in their responses to other
students. Flipgrid is simple to use and is therefore appropriate for students as young as
fourth grade. This tool enables students to record a response and other students to
respond with evidence. It supports the technology standard 1.1.b: Students build
networks and customize their learning environments in ways that support the learning
process. As students respond to the other students in the class, they are supporting their
opinions with facts that they have acquired through reading or researching. This
methodology requires them to plan their response and use multiple methods to find
information that will support their thinking. Using this tool will give teachers data that
shows if the student has an in-depth understanding of the content that was addressed in
the lesson. This data will enable the teacher to plan support instruction for those
students that are not able to find information to support a response to another student.
Google Slides can be used for many different tasks. Students create a slideshow
presentation using pictures, words, and even videos to express ideas that support
material they have learned during a unit of study. Making a presentation is a great
summative assessment that educators can use to determine if their students have met
the objective of the lesson or unit of study. Google Slides can be used as a tool for
students to present a problem and suggest a solution to the problem. Students can then
present to an authentic audience, which will encourage engagement and provide
meaning for the assignment. This activity aligns to the technology standard 1.3.c:
Students curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and
methods to create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or
conclusions. Google Slides is somewhat simple to use. Some younger students may
need some direction on how to build a slideshow, but, in my experience, they learn
quickly and enjoy creating something that shows their knowledge of a topic. This
assessment can provide data regarding the extent to which the student understood a
unit of study. If the student was successful in expressing the information that was
covered in the unit, they will be able to express that knowledge in their slideshow.
Another digital tool available through google is a google form. After a unit of study, a
google form can be developed and assigned to students to help them reflect on what
they liked about a unit, what was difficult, and what was helpful. This will enable the
teacher to make adjustments to the unit of study in the future. After the teacher
develops the questions for the survey, students answer the questions in the form.
Students are able to access this form through a link, which can be sent via message or
posted in a Google Classroom assignment. This makes it simple for students as young
as fourth grade to easily access the form. Teachers can tailor the questions to suit their
needs. This is an opportunity for self-reflection and assessment for each student, so the
questions should be geared toward helping them to think about their learning and the
projects that they have just completed. After the form is submitted, the teacher will see
a report of student answers which will give them some data regarding the unit of study
and how their students performed. This digital tool is aligned to the student technology
standard 1.1.c. This standard states that students use technology to seek feedback that
informs and improves their practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of
ways.
Utilizing these tools in the classroom should provide educators with a clearer picture
of their students’ abilities and provide students a more diverse way to demonstrate
their learning.
 Link to Narrated Presentation

https://www.loom.com/share/941e8378691e4dc5bf19
7c50240a47df