It appears that most of us belive that standardized testing is here to stay. That's an unfortunate reality. In fact, testing of this sort should, but rarely does, guide learning and teaching. That's whay I am enamored with the online resources we read about this week. To be able to give my students assessments that not only tell them that they ae either right or wrong, but guide them toward a better understanding of the content; that's what I have been missing. I believe that this week's readings could ignite a paradigm shift in the way we assess kids. I feel that it is imperative that we begin to look at assessments not as the culmination of learning, but as a part of the process of learning. Tools such as Diagnoser allow this to happen in a techno
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All of a sudden, the floodgates began to open this week and the possiblities flowed in. This week's discussions centered around the opportunities to learn along with our students, as we construct new understadning together. Web 2.0 tools will afford a classroom the opportunity to collaborate and construct knowledge in ways we would never have thought possible a decade ago. The higher level thinking skills which are so critical in a students true understanding of a topic come into play as students begin to qestion, discuss, and even debate topics in a community forum.
I have been using the social networking site, edmodo.com, with my social studies students for a few weeks now. And the discussions have been superficial, at best. But, as I have begun to push their thinking in the classroom, they have extended theior thoughts on edmodo. Now, they are beginning to use the forum as a means to construct and clarify understanding, not just to communicate regurgitated facts. This afternoon, we engaged in a classroom discussion where students discussed how online collaboration will result in better understanding of the topic. I am very eager to see how their discussions unfold in the next few days. I have also become very interested in file-sharing, such as GoogleDocs. A way in which multiple students can contribute to a common research file and collaboaratively construct a project. An additional resource I have found is a list on edudemic.com (http://edudemic.com/2010/07/the-35-best-web-2-0-classroom-tools-chosen-by-you/). This lists several popular resources for educators to use, as well. In summary, the flood of information is both exciting and overpowering as the same time. I can see where these flood waters are taking us, but I'm just not sure how to navigate them. Should I let the current take me wherever it goes, or should I try to chart my own course? |