Assessing Meaningful Learning

It's the last week of the Summer Semester! To celebrate, let's talk a little about assessing meaningful learning. For this class, we were assessed not by tests or quizzes, but by the production of an e-portfolio, which showcases our individual understanding of the course objective, which was the integration of technology into the curriculum. Now, I'm going to be honest, as a student I like tests. A lot. Not necessarily because I learn a lot from taking tests, but for kind of the opposite reason. I know how to take tests. I do well on them and I don't generally have to exert much effort to do so. But as a teacher and as student I know that this sort of assessment doesn't have much real-world application. I take the test, I pass the test, I forget the content, I carry on to the next task. This is not really the sort of learning we want to impart on our students, no matter how good it may make us feel as teachers to have a class of A's on our multiple choice exam. The type of assessment required in this technology class was challenging and engaging. I felt motivated to excel and I put a lot of work into my eportfolio.

Partly I did for the grade and partly I did it because I can foresee using this portfolio as a tool to showcase my talent to potential employers. That is real world application. That is student engagement and motivation and motivation in action. That is a true assessment of ability isn't it?

Another important topic this week had to do with the use of rubrics for grading. I love having a rubric to guide my learning. I like to know exactly what is expected and how to get there in my assignments. There is no arguing over whether a grade is fairly distributed when a clear rubric is implemented. I will definitely be using rubrics with my students in the future.

Have I mentioned that I loved this class? I loved this class. I learned so much about Web2.0 and other awesome tools. I know that technology can be scary, and I sometimes feel like kids today get too much of it, but this class opened my eyes to the ways in which technology can be used as a resource (not a replacement) to access meaningful learning. I think every new teacher should be required to take ETEC424 as an introduction to educational Technology. My goal is stay abreast of new teaching resources and to seek out creative ways to enhance core curriculum and make it relevant to our students. Staying current with Web2.0 tools is an excellent way to do just that.