Digital assessment

Unlocking the Promise of Digital Assessment

Stacey Newbern Dammann, EdD, and Josh DeSantis

For many professors, student assessment is one of the most labor-intensive components of teaching a class. Items must be prepared, rubrics created, and instructions written. The work continues as the tests are scored, papers read, and comments shared. Performing authentic and meaningful student assessment takes time. Consequently, some professors construct relatively few assessments for their courses.

Unfortunately, this practice limits professors’ ability to reliably assess student learning. If a course grade is a mosaic, then each assessment is a tile. A mosaic with just a few tiles only presents a part of the picture. Professors can improve the quality of their assessment mosaic by increasing the number of performances they assess. These smaller and more frequently administered snapshots of student learning are frequently termed formative assessments. The integration of frequent formative assessments improves the validity of course assessment and has been demonstrated to have a variety of benefits, including improving student achievement and helping students develop more agency over their own learning (Nicol & Macfarlane-Dick, 2006). By providing more numerous and authentic measurements of student thinking, professors can improve the fidelity of their assessment mosaic and the reliability of their assessments of student learning.

The proliferation of mobile devices and the adoption of learning applications in higher education simplifies formative assessment. Professors can, for example, quickly create a multi-modal performance that requires students to write, draw, read, and watch video within the same assessment. Other tools allow for automatic grade responses, question-embedded documents, and video-based discussion. In addition to simplifying formative assessment, the use of these tools has been shown to amplify student engagement (Hwang & Chang, 2011).

Emerging tools and approaches open new opportunities for professors to gather more frequent and more authentic formative assessment data. This, in turn, can help students learn the course material and can help professors to tailor their instruction to meet the needs of their students.

Formative Assessment Tools to Consider

There are hundreds of formative assessment tools available. Many, however, perform similar functions. You can narrow your search by considering what approach would work best in your teaching context then identifying a tool you can integrate into your practice. If you are a novice, start small and aim for a win. Choose a course for which you would like to improve the quality of your assessment then select one technology tool to get started with.  

• Multi-Modal Assessments – Several applications allow professors to create multiple-choice and open-ended items that are distributed digitally and assessed automatically. Student responses can be viewed instantaneously and downloaded to a spreadsheet for later use. Examples of these tools include Socrative (socrative.com) and Poll Everywhere (www.pollev.com). Some tools in this category have unique capabilities. Formative (www.goformative.com) allows professors to upload charts or graphic organizers that students can draw on with a stylus. Formative also allows professors to upload document “worksheets” which can then be augmented with multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Nearpod (www.nearpod.com) allows professors to upload their digital presentations and create digital quizzes to accompany them. Nearpod also allows professors to share three-dimensional field trips and models to help communicate ideas.
• Video-Based Assessments – Question-embedded videos are an outstanding way to improve student engagement in blended or flipped instructional contexts. Professors may upload their own videos and screen-capture files, or use pre-existing streaming video from YouTube. Once uploaded, videos may be embedded with multiple-choice or short answer items. Using these tools allows professors to identify if the videos they use or create are being viewed by students. EdPuzzle (edpuzzle.com) and Playposit (www.playposit.com) are two leaders in this application category. A second type of video-based assessment allows professors to sustain discussion-board like conversation with brief videos. Flipgrid (www.flipgrid.com), for example, allows professors to posit a video question to which students may respond with their own video responses.
• Quizzing Assessments – Finally, tools that utilize close-ended questions that provide a quick check of student understanding are also available. Quizizz (quizizz.com) and Kahoot (www.kahoot.com) are relatively quick and convenient to use as a wrap up to instruction or a review of concepts taught. Quizizz works on any device with a browser and features specific apps for iOS and Chrome. Kahoot also has specific apps for iOS, Android, and Windows devices. Kahoot now features a team function and the ability to adjust the time limit for questions. Themes, memes, and avatars are available to choose so professors need only focus on the content of the assessment. Ten to 20 questions are easily administered in both tools; although longer assessments tend to lessen student engagement. Both multiple choice and true/false question format work well with either tool. These provide a fast-paced formative assessment that can address fact-based knowledge as well as higher order thinking.

Considerations

It is important to ensure that your integration of technology is aligned to sound formative assessment design. Formative assessment is most valuable when it addresses student understanding, progress toward competencies or standards, and indicates concepts that need further attention for mastery. Additionally, formative assessment provides the instructor with valuable information on gaps in their students’ learning which can imply instructional changes or additional coverage of key concepts. The use of tech tools can make the creation, administration, and grading of formative assessment more efficient and can enhance reliability of assessments when used consistently in the classroom. Selecting one that effectively addresses your assessment needs and enhances your teaching style is critical. Moreover, it is important that you determine if the tools you select are compliant with your institution’s accessibility and student privacy policies.

Summary

Using tech tools to support assessment can enhance the assessment mosaic of nearly every course. These tech-enhanced formative assessments produce actionable data that can help students learn more efficiently (Yorke, 2003). The design and function of the applications introduced in this article provide a starting point to enhancing your course assessment. The wide array of tech tools available allow professors to select one that match teaching styles and assessment needs. The promise of real-time assessment information and the convenience of collecting data digitally make emerging technologies a great place to advance your teaching practice.

References

Hwang, G. J., & Chang, H. F. (2011). A formative assessment-based mobile learning approach to improving the learning attitudes and achievements of students. Computers & Education, 56(4), 1023-1031.

Nicol, D. J., & Macfarlane‐Dick, D. (2006). Formative assessment and self‐regulated learning: A model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), 199-218.

Yorke, M. (2003). Formative assessment in higher education: Moves towards theory and the enhancement of pedagogic practice. Higher education, 45(4), 477-501.

Stacey Newbern Dammann, associate professor and chair, Department of Education, York College of Pennsylvania. Josh DeSantis, assistant professor of education, director of Masters of Education Program, York College of Pennsylvania.

Technology enhanced learning

Introduction to Technology Enhanced Learning

Susie J. Schofield

https://plus.google.com/+UniversityOfDundee/posts/cUq8yQpuTDQ

Cyber security

The Importance of Teaching Students About Cyber Security

Teachers Have a Great Opportunity to Help Students Learn About the Dangers of Cyber Crime

 

By Ryan Ayers

 

The Internet is a huge part of everyone's lives today, including children's. And if mature, intelligent, sometimes even tech savvy adults can fall for scams online, we can be most certain that a child full of curiosity, but limited in maturity and awareness, can fall victim to the dangers of the internet. It's important for parents to be open with their kids about online safety, but it's also helpful if teachers get involved in the conversation.

Kids take technology classes, surf the web for school projects, and obviously use the Internet in their free time for all kinds of things, so it's a good idea for teachers to include some cyber security talk in their lessons.

The reality is that cybercrime has become more of a threat than traditional types of crime. Crimes like burglary, larceny theft, and even violent crime have significantly declined in the last ten years because criminals have found a new way to break into our homes through our screens, giving them access to much more than what's physically in our houses or our pockets.

On top of theft, we also have predators to worry about.

Digital Natives

So think about kids nowadays – most have been born right into this digital age and have never known a world without the Internet. They see the Internet as this great big thing with tons of information and answers to everything. So they must be made aware that the Internet has flaws; that people with bad intentions can seep through the cracks and get to them and their personal information if they are not careful.

Cyber Security in the Classroom

Some schools may not start teaching about cyber security until middle or high school, but toddlers are using tablets just as often as teens and they need to know what to look out for. This may not be something that's easy for young children to grasp, but fortunately there are ways to make it more kid friendly like with the comic, The Cynja, an internet security game that lets kids learn by doing, that parents or teachers can easily monitor.

Teaching kids about cyber security is mostly taking those rules you've taught them about the real world, and applying them to cyberspace. Don't talk to strangers – don't chat with or accept friend requests from people you don't know; don't take candy from a stranger – don't accept any sort of free prize from someone you don't know; and most certainly don't share your personal information with anyone on the Internet. You should also teach them to create sound passwords and not use the same one for everything.

Teens and Tech

As for teens and pre-teens, it may be a good idea to show them some real examples of Internet sharing gone wrong. Teens like to share what they are doing, who they are with, what they're wearing and many more aspects of their lives on social media. But they usually don't realize that what they post can be viewed by anyone – their teachers, their principal, their families. Even if their accounts are private, kids talk, and word gets around to the adults. And there are ways for strangers to hack right into their accounts and see those posts they thought were private. Even deleting a post is not as sound as it may seem, because once something goes up on the Internet, there are ways to dig it back up even if it's been deleted.

Teens need to know that this can greatly affect their reputation now, and in the long run when it comes to getting into college and applying for jobs. A simple Google search by a future college administrator or employer can turn their shining resume and credentials into a big fat “no” because of something they posted 5 years ago.   

Tech Features That Pose Risks

There are other basic technology features that can put kids in danger that they should be made aware of as well. GPS and location services can pinpoint exactly where they are, alerting predators. Posting that they are home alone, or even out of town with their family shows predators that they or their possessions are in a vulnerable position. Predators have even found ways to hack into computers and spy on people even when the camera is off, so keeping the screen shut when not in use, or covering the camera is a good idea.

Meeting people online has become more of a norm these days, and while it may seem like an interesting way to make friends and start relationships, it should be restricted to responsible adults. A minor meeting up with someone they met online could be disastrous, so tell them to avoid it, but if it comes to it, they should never go alone.

All that being said, you want to be on the students' side. You want to let them know that if anything were to go wrong in cyberspace, they can talk to you or an adult at the school about it. Be firm about consequences when it comes to cyberbullying and inappropriate online behavior, but also keep the students' safety in mind by ensuring them that they can talk to you if anything were to happen. If they don't speak up, then things could really escalate and put them in harm's way.

Ensino de Imunologia

Software Livre para práticas em imunologia

Facilitar o aprendizado de imunologia tem sido o objetivo de muitos docentes da área. Um desses docentes que busca maneiras facilitadoras de ensinar é o pesquisador da Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Luiz Anastácio Alves, idealizador do software “Imunologia Virtual”. O programa, que pode ser utilizado por qualquer pessoa e de forma gratuita, simula uma prática sobre o tema órgãos e tecidos linfoides.

Um dos orientandos do pesquisador, Filipe Faria Berçot, em sua pesquisa de mestrado e um dos desenvolvedores do software, afirma que é importante que o aluno compreenda as funções dos órgãos e dos tecidos linfoides, pois, tratam-se do “ponto de partida” do ensino da imunologia básica e têm participação essencial, no processo da resposta imune e na defesa do organismo, contra agentes infecciosos.

O software funciona da seguinte forma: ao acessar o programa, o aluno (ou qualquer outra pessoa) é recebido por uma assistente virtual que guia o usuário pelas atividades oferecidas. Dentre essas atividades é possível praticar, por exemplo, a extração de um órgão linfoide, como o baço e os linfonodos, de um roedor.

Para Alves, os processos em imunologia são muitos complexos para que sejam apenas decorados pelos alunos. “Muitos estudantes não entendem esses processos para aplicar na vida real. O projeto é voltado para que os alunos tenham uma aprendizagem significativa sobre conceitos imunológicos e não fiquem só decorando, sem entender o que realmente estão fazendo”, afirma o pesquisador.

O projeto, que já possui quase sete anos de existência, nasceu dentro do curso de Ensino de Biociências e Saúde (Lato Sensu e Stricto Sensu) que tem como alunos vários professores regentes da rede pública e particular de ensino do Rio de Janeiro. “Eles tinham grande dificuldade para entender as nomenclaturas da imunologia, então começamos a trabalhar com estratégias didáticas para que eles realmente aprendessem”, comenta Alves. O software também é muito utilizado no curso técnico de Biotecnologia do Instituto Federal do Rio de Janeiro (IFRJ), pelo professor Rodrigo Bisaggio, que participa da equipe para o desenvolvimento (aperfeiçoamento) do software Imunologia Virtual.

A acessibilidade do software

O software também recebeu uma adaptação para a Língua Brasileira de Sinais (Libras), a partir da pesquisa de mestrado de Ana Santana, da Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), tendo como orientadoras as professoras Elenilde Torres e Helena C. Castro. Foram produzidos vídeos referentes ao conteúdo do programa, de modo a permitir a inclusão de surdos e de ouvintes. Os vídeos foram adicionados ao material computacional já existente com adequações visuais, linguística e temporal, para serem testados com alunos do Ensino Médio.

No momento, o programa só funciona em computadores tipo Desktop, usando o sistema operacional Windows, mas está sendo adaptado para os sistemas Androide e IOS.

 

Serviço
Nome Projeto: Software livre para práticas em imunologia Data de criação: 2010 Coordenadores: Luiz Anastácio Alves Locais onde atua: O software é aberto para qualquer pessoa, e pode ser acessado no site: http://www.lcc.kftox.com/pratica%20nanquim%20pata.html

Se você deseja saber mais informações sobre o projeto, entre em contato via o email: alveslaa@gmail.com

Mixed reality

Visionary: How 4 institutions are venturing into a new mixed reality

 

By Laura Devaney, Director of News, @eSN_Laura

 

Mixed reality combines virtual and augmented realities for enhanced learning experiences--and institutions are already implementing it.

 
A new collaboration between Pearson and Microsoft is using a self-contained holographic computer to develop “mixed reality” learning experiences for students.

The collaboration will explore how mixed reality can help solve real challenges in areas of learning, ranging from online tutoring and coaching, nursing education, and engineering to construction and surveyor training.

Microsoft says its HoloLens is the world’s first self-contained holographic computer. Pearson is developing and piloting mixed reality content at colleges, universities and secondary schools in the United States and around the world.

Video: Hololens

HoloLens leverages virtual reality and augmented reality to create a new reality – mixed reality. With virtual reality, the user is immersed in a simulated world. Augmented reality overlays digital information on top of the real world. Mixed reality merges the virtual and physical worlds to create a new reality whereby the two can coexist and interact.

By understanding the user’s environment, mixed reality enables holograms to look and sound like they are part of that world. This means learning content can be developed for HoloLens that provides students with real world experiences, allowing them to build proficiency, develop confidence, explore and learn.

To develop the content for this pilot, Pearson will use Microsoft’s holographic video capture capability, filming actors to simulate patients with various health concerns and then transferring that video into holograms for the student nurses to experience in a clinical setting. When student nurses participate in the simulations using HoloLens, they will have a real world experience diagnosing patients, building the confidence and competence that they will need in their careers.

Here is how 4 schools plan to integrate mixed reality:

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock and San Diego State University are both part of a Pearson mixed reality pilot aimed at leveraging mixed reality to solve challenges in nursing education. Today, many nursing programs hire and train actors to simulate scenarios nurses will face in the real world — a process that is hard to standardize and even harder to replicate. As part of the mixed reality pilot, faculty at the two universities’ schools of nursing are collaborating with Pearson to improve the value and efficacy of the types of simulations in which students participate.

At Bryn Mawr College, a women’s liberal arts college in Pennsylvania, faculty, students, and staff are exploring various educational applications for the HoloLens mixed reality devices. They are testing Skype for HoloLens to connect students with tutors in Pearson’s 24/7 online tutoring service, Smarthinking. If successful, this solution could provide struggling students with richer, more personalized, just-in-time support from expert tutors as if they were sitting side-by-side.

Bryn Mawr also will experiment with using holographs and mixed reality to explore 3D content and concepts in a number of academic disciplines, including physics, biology, and archaeology.

Not Just Higher Education

Pearson’s work with mixed reality and HoloLens isn’t limited to higher education. The company is in the early stages of evaluating the impact of holographic learning at the late grammar school stage.

At Canberra Grammar School in Australia, Pearson is working with teachers in a variety of disciplines to develop holograms for use in their classrooms. The University of Canberra is partnering with Pearson to provide support for the project and evaluate the impact these holograms have on teaching and learning.

“We are thrilled to partner with Pearson to expand the curriculum available to students to learn through the power of holograms on Microsoft HoloLens,” said Lorraine Bardeen, general manager for Microsoft Windows and HoloLens Experiences. “Complex systems are more easily understood in 3D and learning through holographic computing in mixed reality provides students a higher level of understanding and experience that they can then bring into their real-world interactions. HoloLens gives students access to things they may never be able to see in real life – historical artifacts, natural history, hands on training, and a connection to the broader world.”

*Material from a press release was used in this report.
 

Educational Technology

EdTech and the Wider Higher Ed Conversation in 2016

By Joshua Kim

What should be the place of educational technology (edtech) in the wider higher ed conversation?

As we look to 2016, where should the edtech profession direct its focus?

I’d like to make 3 arguments for those of us working at the intersection of learning and technology to widen our perspectives, and to perhaps shift our focus to the bigger questions faced by the higher ed.

Argument 1 - Technology Is the Least Interesting Part of Higher Education:

We should always keep in mind that technology is only a tool - a means to an end. Technology is never the goal, and technology is never the destination. 

The temptation, however, is for those of us in edtech to focus most of our energies on the tools. Engaging in debates around costs, access, and quality is a messy proposition. How do we have any impact on the larger challenges in postsecondary education in an age of public funding cuts and the adjunctification of the professoriate? Where do we enter the debate around rising student debt and persistently low six-year graduation rates? Technology, with its ever improving costs/performance trajectory (Moore’s Law), seems to be a much happier place to occupy than the policy, governance, and resource debates that dominate so much of the higher ed discourse.

The answer, of course, is that technology alone will never address the fundamental challenges that we face in higher ed. Technology can wow, and technology can distract. Alternatively, technology can be an effective tool to reach our larger goals and to reflect our most important values. It all depends on how we go about using the technology. If we are to be effective in edtech, if we are to have a true positive impact, then we are going to have to become much more knowledgeable about the larger challenges facing higher ed. We will need to become as conversant in finance, marketing, and organizational change as we are in the latest educational technologies. We will need to take part in many more conversations.

Argument 2 - As EdTech Professionals, We Bring An Important Skills and Perspectives to the Larger Higher Ed Discussion:

Having said that technology is the least interesting part of higher education, I do want to argue that us technologists bring some important skills to the table. Mostly, we have the experience and the ability to create things. We will push for moving more quickly from talk to action than our colleagues may be comfortable with. We will want to develop minimally viable products (or services or programs), and then rapidly improve these initiatives as we learn from market feedback.  

We will push for both a strong set of objectives, and data to guide rapid corrections. We will be comfortable with risk. This is not just empty techno speak, but rather a reflection of the core ethos of our technology (and innovation) culture.

For those of you like myself that came up in the online learning world we have lots of experience in building new programs. Online learning gets way too little credit for its role in driving organizational change. Creating a successful online program requires the development of new pedagogical, technological, and administrative capacities. The state of the art of online learning is evolving so rapidly that innovation is constant. If you are running an online degree program (or even a few online courses) you are always iterating, experimenting, and improving. Over the last decade or so I have watched how much of what we have learned in online education has filtered into traditional residential education. The hard distinction between a fully on-ground and fully online class is eroding, as every course (and in particular larger enrollment courses) transition to a blended mode of delivery. The same methods of backwards course design, formative assessment, and design for engagement and presence that characterize a good online course also describe a good residential course. 

When will we start to see those that have developed and run online learning programs gain greater influence throughout higher ed? Will we start to see provosts and presidents with backgrounds in online education?  

Argument 3 - The Postsecondary Status Quo Is Not Sustainable, and Technology (and Technologist) Must Play an Essential Role in Driving Innovation:

The best argument I think for why the edtech profession needs to engage with the bigger issue in higher ed is that status quo cannot be sustained. We can’t keep doing what we have been doing in higher education and expect that our sector will solve our challenges around access, costs, and quality. Unlike many who are reading this post, I believe that the future of the US higher education is positive. In my professional life I have watched as the quality of teaching and learning on our campuses has improved. No longer do we find it acceptable to construct an educational approach around the transmission of information. Active learning has become a widely accepted goal. I give much of the credit to this shift to online education, both traditional and open. Any school that does not offer a learning experience better than what can be had for free and online is in deep trouble. When it comes to teaching and learning, the floor (in certain respects) has been raised. 

This does nothing to diminish the counterproductive and ultimately self-defeating disinvestments in educators that we have also witnessed in the last few decades. The smartest policy that any institution could pursue would be to invest in the security, autonomy, and compensation of faculty. A race to the educational bottom is a losing game, as low-marginal cost online platforms (adaptive learning paired with open online courses) is poised to take over the low-end of the higher ed market.

How we will move make non-linear advances in improving access, reducing costs, and investing in quality are all open questions. I believe that the edtech community needs to be part of these discussions.  In taking a leadership role we will need to find a way to make common cause with faculty of every rank. The educational technology profession has too often been on the efficiency side of the postsecondary innovation argument. We have done a poor job in making the case that education is a relational activity, and technology is only as good as it supports the work of our educators. We need to make a strong case against scaling an endeavor that is best done at a human scale. 

We will see technology mediating more of the learning process, but we should never take the focus away from providing the resources and support to the skilled and experienced educators that create the real value in education. A focus on supporting our educators is, I think, the place that the edtech profession should start as we seek to lead change in higher education. My strong hope is that 2016 is the year that we earn the trust of our faculty colleagues.

How do you think that the edtech profession should engage in the wider higher ed conversation in 2016?

Printed models of organs

High Quality 3D Printed Model Hearts Printed Within Hours of MRI Scans

At MIT and Boston Children’s Hospital, researchers worked out a system allowing clinicians to take an MRI scan of patients’ hearts and create 3D printed models of the organs within hours. The model hearts can then be used to plan surgeries and practice different approaches before working on the actual patients. The next step is to actually test the clinical value of these models, which will involve seven Boston Children’s cardiac surgeons applying them to their practice.

The technology relies on new approaches for processing MRI scans and improving the imaging resolution that is produced so that high quality models can be produced. In particular, the identification of the 3D boundaries of various tissues has been worked out to result in models that are more accurate than ever before.

The new system will be presented next month at the International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention in Munich, Germany.

More about the upcoming study of the system according to MIT:

“The clinical study in the fall will involve MRIs from 10 patients who have already received treatment at Boston Children’s Hospital. Each of seven surgeons will be given data on all 10 patients — some, probably, more than once. That data will include the raw MRI scans and, on a randomized basis, either a physical model or a computerized 3-D model, based, again at random, on either human segmentations or algorithmic segmentations.

Using that data, the surgeons will draw up surgical plans, which will be compared with documentation of the interventions that were performed on each of the patients. The hope is that the study will shed light on whether 3-D-printed physical models can actually improve surgical outcomes.”