Assessment Technology

We live in a world of technology, where almost everything has gone digital. The rises in
modern technology offer educators an assortment of new tools that can be used inside and out of
the classroom. Technology can be integrated to assist teachers, with the evaluation of their
students' progress and also help their own progress as an educator. When it comes to the
performance in the classroom, we must be on point and try to offer the most useful yet efficient
technology available, a smooth classroom environment is vital for student and teachers alike.
When it comes to Assessment Technology a few questions come to mind, the first
being: In what ways can technology assist the ongoing effort to evaluate a students learning?
Technology facilitates growth, communication among students and teachers and be capable of
providing a digital record of the students progress in class. Another way this promotes ongoing
learning is that the teacher is affected as well, not only can the teacher track and monitor what is
happening with the students, but they can monitor themselves. Teachers can use technology to
make their own work more productive -- teachers can use spreadsheets to track student work and
also track their teaching plans (Assessment: Measure What Matters. n.d). The teacher is able to
document the lessons, and if any sorts of changes are needed to improve the lesson at hand.
When it comes to formative assessment and summative assessment the difference is that the
Formative assessment is a way to check the students progress and the summative assessment
provides the information about what students have learned and retained throughout the school
year. Technology lead assessments, could be an essential element of the learning process, this
involves students utilizing a wide range of technologies to work on significant, difficult, openended instructional activities and to create genuine products that show the results of their
learning through the school year (Salend, S. J. 2009). There are a fair share of pros and cons

when using technology to review student learning; a big con is having a technology deprived
student, these students may feel threatened by technology and may not feel comfortable with
using something that is unfamiliar to them, in reality not all families can afford technology,
therefore a child will not be familiar with its contents and how to use it. The Pros defiantly
outweigh the cons, a few of the positive aspects of digital assessments are the tools that can be
used by teachers, students and parents. The creation and use of such tools like: instructional
rubrics, engaging in virtual learning experiences, using presentation software, creating online and
digital learning products and my personal favorite, digital portfolios, where we can digitally
record collections of student work over time that provide look in the mind of the student by
showing the process and progress related with their learning and re-tainment (Salend, S. J. 2009).
When it comes to teaching I firmly believe that there always needs to be teacher
involvement, teachers are observers, they watch, learn and care about their students progress,
however living in the 21st century it is vital that we incorporate technology in to the school
system, while still having teachers have a direct input in the situation. When a teacher can
combine innovations in technology, society, operations, and backgrounds, they can overcome
current barriers, thus producing superior results while using technology and the old fashion way
of teaching face to face. According to West: Psychologist Howard Gardner noted many years
ago that there are seven different types of intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical,
kinesthetic, spatial, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Formal education that focuses merely on
intellectual ability based on I.Q. tests is going to miss the artistic, cultural, spatial, and emotional
intelligences that exist in many people. According to Gardner, seven kinds of intelligence would
allow seven ways to teach, rather than one (West, Darrell M. 2011).When a teacher can truly
reach out and capture the minds EVERY single student in class, while abiding to the ISTE

standards. The values for observing the skills and knowledge set of the student, the need to learn
successfully and live productively in an ever changing world. That is when education becomes
magical and truly changes lifes for all parties involved: Teachers, parents, the future world and
most importantly the students.
References
Salend, S. J. (2009). Technology-Based Classroom Assessments. Teaching Exceptional
Children, 41(6), 50-52
West, Darrell M. (2011). Using Technology to Personalize Learning and Assess Students in
Real-Time. Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings.pg 3-5

Assessment: Measure What Matters. (n.d.),. ED.GOV

Retrieved http://tech.ed.gov/netp/assessment-measure-what-matters/