Assessment is essential in education. It must be done regularly and must be done for the student. Often, when assessment is complete, it shows that something must be changed in the way material is taught. As technology continues to grow in prevalence in the classroom, it is also important to choose the applications (apps) that will enhance a lesson or classroom. In their journal article, Medhipour and Zerehkafi (2013) point out that mobile learning removes the time and location restrictions that teaching has; students can access information anywhere and anytime. A teacher’s goal should be to move the desire to learn from extrinsic to intrinsic. If mobile apps accomplish this, then everyone wins. A good teacher is willing to learn about new possibilities. This page will point toward both opportunities for assessment and apps to use in the classroom.
Poll Everywhere
Assessment does not have to be a pencil and Scantron event. As technology is further integrated in classrooms, assessment can also be completed online. Even online, teachers sometimes gravitate toward a test format like a pencil and paper test. Poll Everywhere allows for assessment in a completely different form (Poll Everywhere, 2020).
The chosen assessment takes the form of a poll, which can be answered instantaneously. The teacher can show the results anonymously in real-time, so the class sees how it responds. Poll Everywhere also has downloads that allow it to work with both Google Slides and PowerPoint, which means assessment can be inserted periodically in the already created presentation.
This would be best used for assessment of the whole group and to get people discussing things. Engagement might increase as it seems less like a test and more like fun. It levels the field for those that are so shy they are unwilling to speak up in class. For those that struggle with writing or test anxiety, this can make assessment easier. As the teacher looks at how the group is answering, she knows that the material is adequately covered or perhaps needs to be retaught.
The International Society for Technology in Education Standards for Students [ISTE-S]), 2016) categories in which Poll Everywhere would fall mostly in the Creative Communicator and Empowered Learners sections; it is an assessment tool, so they aren’t creating a new artifact, but using a new medium to show knowledge. Poll Everywhere is free to use if it does not matter that the polls are limited. As always, teachers can upgrade to allow for more features.
Poll Everywhere
Assessment does not have to be a pencil and Scantron event. As technology is further integrated in classrooms, assessment can also be completed online. Even online, teachers sometimes gravitate toward a test format like a pencil and paper test. Poll Everywhere allows for assessment in a completely different form (Poll Everywhere, 2020).
The chosen assessment takes the form of a poll, which can be answered instantaneously. The teacher can show the results anonymously in real-time, so the class sees how it responds. Poll Everywhere also has downloads that allow it to work with both Google Slides and PowerPoint, which means assessment can be inserted periodically in the already created presentation.
This would be best used for assessment of the whole group and to get people discussing things. Engagement might increase as it seems less like a test and more like fun. It levels the field for those that are so shy they are unwilling to speak up in class. For those that struggle with writing or test anxiety, this can make assessment easier. As the teacher looks at how the group is answering, she knows that the material is adequately covered or perhaps needs to be retaught.
The International Society for Technology in Education Standards for Students [ISTE-S]), 2016) categories in which Poll Everywhere would fall mostly in the Creative Communicator and Empowered Learners sections; it is an assessment tool, so they aren’t creating a new artifact, but using a new medium to show knowledge. Poll Everywhere is free to use if it does not matter that the polls are limited. As always, teachers can upgrade to allow for more features.