Section 5: Technology to Support Assessment

Introduction.

This assignment will focus on the use of technology to support assessment in the
classroom. A discussion will show the impact of the web 2.0 tools Socrative, Edmodo and
Polleverywhere on an instructors effort to access student learning. Two concepts of assessment
will be compared while the benefits of, and reasoning involved with, the use of technology is
described. Finally, this dissertation will show how the use of technology to support assessment
aligns with ISTE standards for both the teacher and the student.
Technology to Facilitate Ongoing Efforts to Assess Student Learning.
The ability to assess student learning is the cornerstone of an instructors classroom.
While observation, written and verbal assessment, and project based assessment has been utilized
with great success throughout the history of the education process, the efficiency and
effectiveness that technology brings to the effort must be considered. By integrating technology
into the assessment process, the creation and modification of assessments will be much less time
consuming. By implementing and administering the assessments via technology, the data
collection that is so important in differentiating instruction will be a simple byproduct, instead of
a monumental effort. With the data automatically stored and then displayed in any format
required, data driven instruction becomes the norm. The software programs that will be
discussed in the following paragraphs are just a sampling of the resources available to todays
instructor.
Socrative.
Socrative is a free, web based suite that allows an instructor to create and administer both
formative and summative assessments, as well as quick question and answer interactions. This

incredibly flexible tool could be used in the classroom to administer short quizzes, quick
interactions, assessments to gauge progress and final exams to gauge subject mastery. This
amazing tool can be accessed by the instructor or the student via web browser, a smart device or
through the downloadable application. For the instructor, a separate login enables a portal that
allows for the management of assessments and data. The separate student login directs the user to
any content that has been activated by the instructor.
Edmodo.
Widely used in the largest school districts in the United States, Edmodo has grown in
usefulness as it has grown in popularity, Edmodo is widely used in classes as a subsidiary
teaching tool and is thought to be the fastest growing K12 social network in the world (Batsila
et. Al., 2014, pg. 59). While Edmodo has been described as the classroom version of Facebook,
there are many options available that support the learning process. The simple creation of polls
and assessments, and the administration of these elements on a secure community, allows for
data to be created and analyzed in a safe environment. The facilitation of a truly global
collaborative environment makes Edmodo an important and unique element in any classroom.
Polleverywhere.
Another free web 2.0 resource for interacting with students via polling and assessment is
the cutting edge suite entitled Polleverywhere. This amazing software program allows
assessments to be created that include simple response, multiple choice, true / false and clickable
image responses. The suite even allows for interactive question and answer sessions. Students
can respond to the polls and assessments using several methods including: web browser, smart
device and a downloadable application. One additional response feature, that would benefit a
high school classroom specifically, is the function of student responses via text message. Student

engagement would increase when allowed to use this form of expression in a classroom setting.
There is little doubt that Polleverywhere is the front runner of innovation when it comes to
assessment technology.
Formative and Summative Assessments.
A discussion about educational assessments will typically separate the concept into two
categories: formative and summative. In the article penned by Cornelious (2014), the formative
assessment is described as being used during instruction to inform the instructor of concept
understanding, with the collected data being used to redirect instructor focus and differentiate
instruction. The summative assessment can be categorized as a high stakes assessment that is
used to gauge mastery of a subject (Hoover et. Al., 2013), typically given at the end of an
important instructional sequence or at the conclusion of an entire class. Instructors have an
impressive number of technology options available to facilitate the assessment process including
Socrative, Edmodo and Polleverywhere. Each of these tools offer a comprehensive and flexible
framework with which to create and administer assessments, as well as collect and analyze the
resulting data.
Pros and Cons of using Technology to Facilitate Assessment.
The positive aspects of using technology to facilitate instruction far outweigh the possible
negatives, and the benefits are not restricted to instructors, For students, using technology
assessment products develop academic and technological skills (Salend, 2009, pg. 57).
Technology allows the instructor incredible flexibility in the creation phase of an assessment.
Any number of photos, graphics, videos, voiceovers, question types and response systems can be
utilized. By incorporating technologies such as smart phones, texting and clickable images, the
student engagement level increases. One of the most important positive aspects of technology

use for assessment is automatic data collection. No longer will an instructor spend hours or even
days, grading, sorting and finally analyzing data. The one negative aspect of using technology to
facilitate assessment would be a failure of technology. If the classroom suffers a technology
breakdown, manual methods will need to be deployed. For this possibility, an instructor must
develop a manual assessment contingency plan.
With the evidence provided through this discussion, it becomes obvious that the use of
technology to assess student learning is effective, efficient, and improves student engagement.
With that said, technology should be used as the primary assessment method in a classroom, with
a manual assessment model being held as a fallback position during technology failures.
What is the importance of assessment technology in connection with the ISTE standards?
The use of assessment technology plays an important role in allowing both the teacher
and the student to align with ISTE standards. By integrating assessment technology into the
classroom setting, the teacher has met the ISTE standard through the design and development of
digital age learning experiences and assessment (Isteorg, 2015). The utilization of assessment
technology allows the student to meet ISTE standards (Isteorg, 2015) via digital citizenship and
technology operations.
Concluding Paragraph for Software to Support Assessment

This assignment has outlined the importance of integrating technology to support student
assessment in the classroom. A comprehensive examination has been completed of the
technology tools entitled Socrative, Edmodo and Polleverywhere. Summative and formative
assessments have been defined and compared. After describing the benefits of technology in
assessment, and confirming the alignment of ITSE standards for both teachers and students, it

has been made quite clear that technology not only has a place in student assessment, but should
be made an integral part of this instructional process.

References
Batsila, M., Tsihouridis, C., & Vavougios, D. (2014). Entering the Web-2 Edmodo World to
Support Learning: Tracing Teachers' Opinion After Using it in their Classes.
International Journal Of Emerging Technologies In Learning, 9(1), 53-60.
doi:10.3991/ijet.v9i1.3018
Cornelius, K. E. (2014). Formative Assessment Made Easy: Templates for Collecting Daily
Data in Inclusive Classrooms. Teaching Exceptional Children, 47(2), 112-118.
Hoover, N. R., & Abrams, L. M. (2013). Teachers' Instructional Use of Summative Student
Assessment Data. Applied Measurement In Education, 26(3), 219-231.
doi:10.1080/08957347.2013.793187
Isteorg. (2015). Isteorg. Retrieved 10 May, 2015, from
http://www.iste.org/standards/iste
-standards/
Salend, S. J. (2009). Technology-Based Classroom Assessments. Teaching Exceptional
Children, 41(6), 48-58.