Reflection

2.7 Assessment

Candidates model and facilitate the effective use of diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments
to measure student learning and technology literacy, including the use of digital assessment tools and
resources.

In the Professional Learning & Technology Innovation course, I was able to demonstrate
my ability to model and facilitate the effective use of diagnostic, formative, and summative
assessments to measure student learning and technology literacy, including the use of digital
assessment tools and resources by implementing Socrative in my classroom. Socrative is a
student response system that allows educators to collect data by building assessments and
viewing results in real-time. Socrative allowed me to assess my students using smartphones,
laptops, and tablets. By implementing Socrative, I was able to model and facilitate the effective
use of technology to increase academic achievement among my students.
Digital assessment tools can aid educators in effectively implementing diagnostic,
formative, and summative assessments yet, some of these tools may be difficult to acquire. For
example at my school, Irespond remotes are in limited supply. Those teachers who have access
to Irespond remotes have reported that many of them have stopped working. Therefore, to assist
my school in improving instructional strategies based upon assessment data, I wanted to find a
digital assessment tool that would be beneficial to me, as well as my students. Since collecting
and analyzing data helps educators determine how to deliver curriculum, I wanted to make sure
that Socrative would support student learning and provide feedback on student academic
performance, while being assessable. According to the Socrative website, Socrative lets teachers
engage and assess their students with educational activities on tablets, laptops, and smartphones.
Through the use of real-time questioning, instant result aggregation, and visualization, teachers

Reflection
can gauge the whole class current level of understanding. Socrative saves teachers time which
is beneficial for students and teachers because it preserves the instructional time.
After finding positive reviews on Socrative, I decided to implement it in my classroom. I
began to use Socrative to assess my students before, during, and after a lesson. I used Socrative
at the beginning of class, as an activator to assess students prior knowledge, during class to
engage students and to check for understanding, and at the end of class to help students reflect
and summarize what they have learned. I also used Socrative to implement, pre-tests, formative
assessments, and post-tests on various units such as the History of Theatre, the Principles of
Acting, and Stage Movement. As a result of implementing Socrative in my classroom, student
achievement and engagement increased. I found that students preferred using Socrative to
completing an opening, a quiz, or exit ticket using paper and pencil. My students were engaged
as they competed in Space Races, in which they competed with their peers. Using Socrative,
allowed me to generate data reports, as soon as students completed various assessments. I was
able to analyze student learning quickly and record grades in the only a matter of minutes.
As a result of completing this artifact, I learned that using technology to assess students
increases academic achievement because it engages students. Using technology resources such
as Socrative not only engages students but allows gathering data quick and easily. Gathering
data allows educators to determine if students have mastered the standards and identify students
levels of understanding. By doing so, I can address student needs and differentiate my
instruction. If I could change one thing about this artifact, I would change the number of
smartphones, laptops, and tablets available to my students. Instead of students using their
cellphones and tablets, students would use a class set of ipads or tablets to complete the
assessments.

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The work that went into creating this artifact can impact school improvement and faculty
development by aiding teachers in proficiently and effectively collecting data to identify student
learning needs. It also impacts student learning because it engages students in the learning
process thus increasing student achievement. To assess the impact of Socrative, educators
would need to collect additional student assessment data. They would also need to use
observation and student feedback through pre and post surveys.

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Reflection
Visualizing student understanding has never been clearer. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.socrative.com/