Day 2 - Assessment Summit - ATL

Today I saw both Doug Reeves and Thomas Guskey speak regarding assessment, both of whom are phenomenal presenters. I'm ready to make changes in the way to give and use assessment in my classroom tomorrow!

Doug Reeves presented some powerful data about the cost effects of keeping the status quo. It costs tax payers $15.4 billion annually from high school dropouts alone. This comes from social programs, health care, and safety concerns. In the state of Georgia alone, 1 year of high school dropouts cost the state $746 million. By lowering the drop out rate in Georgia by 5% the state would realize a savings of $276 million per year (original reference pending).

He noted that change needs to occur at a systemic level immediately - not within a 5 year time span because our students don't have 5 years. He also impressed upon us that we don't need proof of the effectiveness of change, we only need proof that what we are doing is not working. The entire premise of change needs to rest on one factor: student achievement. If we are not doing something that directly effects student achievement, then it should not be done. Of course, he also noted that we may not realize that something is effective right away - some of the gains take time to actualize. This is the whole notion of making a change and actually giving it fair chance to demonstrate it's benefit.

With all of that said, his focus is on the feedback presented from assessment. Feedback needs to be accurate, timely, and effective. Students need correct information quickly to make changes to their behaviors and learning and they need to be able to see results. He presented a great change tracking tool to allow students to see their own gain over time.

Of course, many of his ideas throw out the whole currently accepted notion of grading on a 100 point scale. He piggy backed off of Marzano's presentation using a 0-4 scale with 3 being the benchmark that we expect all students to achieve.

Guskey also presented information on change over time in the methods and use of assessment. He urged everyone to consider granting additional opportunities for demonstrating mastery by using an analogy: getting a drivers license. If you do not successfully pass the test, you are told exactly what you need to work on and are allowed to re-test until you are successful, with no regard to the number of times it took to be successful, only the notion of success. This presents a culture of success and it's importance, as opposed to mastery being contained in a discrete time frame fabricated at the whim of the instructor.

As simple as this notion is, it throws everything out the window from "the way it was done". This means that EVERY student can be an "A" student when they demonstrate "A" mastery/performance. It does not, however, mean that students must master the content by the date of the end of the unit. What a powerful motivator to students who traditionally struggle. This gives students an opportunity to fail, remediate, and demonstrate mastery, earning the same marks as anyone else who masters. This could be the life changing experiences as students would know that they had the opportunity to be an "A" student, as the arbitrary letter only represents mastery of the content not all of the other factors which do not encompass mastery, such as time frame, participation, interaction, etc.\

More information regarding Doug Reeves and his research can be located at www.leadandlearn.com.

Ahead of the Curve Summit - Atlanta

Although it has nothing to do with technology in education, I saw Robert Marzano speak last night at the 2008 Solution Tree Summit - Ahead of the Curve. He presented a solid rationale for moving away from the traditional 100 point scale and provided solid methods to move towards a true rubric scale along with conversions to both letter and percent grades. Several educators expressed how difficult it would be to convert to this new method of grading though with the information Marzano presented, I feel it's a feasible and viable alternative. Marzano presented a simple and easy to apply to a variety of topics rubric and demonstrated how mastery could be tracked in 3 different ways: single assessment, trend over time, and final evaluation.

Today Doug Reeves, Thomas Guskey, and Stephen White are presenting regarding grading, assessments, and the use of data.

Entry 8 - Wireless Devices

A major hurdle of wireless devices, such as cell phones, in the K-12 educational sector is district policy. Administration needs to understand the potential of data devices for the classroom, moving away from the view that students will use these inappropriately. Let's face it, many punishable behaviors in a school are not necessarily bad; they are simply misplaced. In the working world, an adult would not be "in trouble" if he or she were texting at their work place. It may be frowned upon as the timing may be bad, but it's generally considered acceptable adult behavior. Perhaps if administration understood the benefits of data devices and saw these outweighing the negatives then cell phone use would be more prevalent.

CTIA - The Wireless Association found that 4 out of 5 teen agers, about 17 million, have cellular devices (http://www.ctia.org/media/press/body.cfm/prid/1774). With the infrastructure already in place, it's an easy connection to make. If we are put off by this technology simply from the fear of misuse, then it is our duty to teach students responsible and acceptable use of these devices.

Entry 7 - Use of Synchonous Tools

Steve Wexler of The eLearning Guild Research in his 20 June 2007 states:

PowerPoint presentations to a virtual audience is the MOST frequently used feature, and ranks the highest for Ease of Use within SLS among The eLearning Guild’s members. This will be an interesting data point to watch in the future. 20 years of trainers and educators creating PowerPoint presentations builds quite a large library of content. So, are we delivering the same PowerPoint presentations virtually that we used to deliver in the classroom? Will instructional designers begin to design courses utilizing different tools and modalities leaving out the need for PowerPoint presentations?

This brings up a good question as new technologies are emerging, along with the prevalence of Web 2.0 tools. We assume that as time progresses many of the available tools along with emerging technologies will replace the "standard", PowerPoint. Of course, technology is making PowerPoint presentations more accessible via the web. Sites such as authorSTREAM allow one to upload presentations, sync them with audio, and make them more interactive. How long will PowerPoint be the standard for presenting information? Are there tools that will replace the ubiquitous digital presentation tool?

It may be difficult for the educational sector to break away from PowerPoint as the Microsoft Office products are deeply embedded in education. Of course, as long as it proves to be a useful tool, why would we move away from it? If it ain't broke, don't fit it.

The full article can be viewed at: http://www.elearningguild.net/research/?cat=4

Entry 4 - Bloggin about wikis

A wiki is a website that allows multiple users to create, add, or modify it's contents. Wikis are an excellent way of creating a collaborative knowledge base for a class or group. Students assist each other gain a better understanding of the material and become more involved in their educational process.

Wikis lend themselves to some awesome group projects. Being a blend of both asynchronous and synchronous collaboration, as wikis allow students to work on a project at the same time or on their own from anywhere in the world.

Jessica Merrit from Smartteaching.org provides some excellent ideas for using wikis in the classroom (link). My biggest hesitation is the lack of control though a course management system such as Moodle would alleviate my issues with accessibility.

My students: Beware - watch for a wiki assignment headed your way!

Entry 5 - Beware of Sarcasm

I've recently been introduced to a tool called Twitter that allows you to submit information regarding what is occurring at any given moment, either by internet or by text message. This allows you to instantly be more connected to anyone that might care.

Suppose you are watching NCIS as you might find me doing Tuesday nights, 8 PM, CBS. You could instantly let your contacts know that you are enjoying the show or even are frustrated about the incessant election commercials. Now the use is beyond me as my private life is well, PRIVATE. Yes, there is a point to being connected but there is also, in my opinion, a ceiling - obviously mine is a little lower than some. So if you want everyone to know what you are doing, Twitter is for you and thus, you are a Twit. Check out http://www.toprankblog.com/2008/05/five-new-twitter-tools-you-should-know/ to enhance your twitter experience.

Open Source Software

Check out my video:
Open Source Software for Today's High School Student

Slacker

Yes - I've been a total slacker. Actually, I've been an injured slacker as I ended up in the hospital emergency room back injury. I'm back up and running now though!