I love the power of rubrics. I think they are an excellent communication tool. In class, the students and I write them together to make sure that my expectations are clear. This also allows them a chance to say what they think is the most important. This shared activity gives both of us ownership of the process, the learning, and the product.
As another assessment tool, we use clickers quite a bit in class. Many times, I have pulled out the CPS units (clickers) to do a quick check of where everyone is on a TEK. It is great because even kids who aren't sure about their response (and would never answer out in class) feel comfortable to click the remote and enter their answer. I love that I can check all answers and reteach if needed. It is also very nice to let something else do the grading! :)
I have not used Kidspiration or Inspiration in a few years. After looking over the website, it looks like they have made some adjustments. I want to spend more time playing with it and see how we can incorporate it into our curriculum.
Having a wide variety of assessment tools is a great way to spark new creativity. It also give students a choice. I love giving them an expectation and letting them choose how they want to proceed. Many times, their ideas are far grander and and more wonderful than I ever could have created.
Wow! Our last blog post! This class has seemed like a whirlwind of activity. However, I needed this refresher before I welcome kids back into my classroom on the 25th. So many of these tools we have used and are currently using at school. However, my mind has been challenged to find new ways to use them. I want to encourage them to blog and tweet with me. I want to see collaboration and creativity used in Voice Thread. I plan to show them Prezi as an option of a project product. I can't wait to see what they do with it. We will continue to use Wordles and Google because I love all of the possibilities with both of those. This class has been a welcome refresher for this veteran teacher. I am excited about the 2014-2015 school year and the wonderful possibilities that the Web 2.0 tools have to offer my children.
