Reflection 6.3 - Assessment in an Online and/or Blended Learning Environment

TechConnect Reflection Prompt:

This module has explored the use of technology tools for both formative and summative assessment. As you think about how you will implement formative and summative assessments in the online and ...

This week in my online class (this is an assignment and not my usual post), we considered grading and assessment.  Gee those are two things that I have become very passionate about the past couple of years read here for my "philosophy"  What is the Purpose of Grades in My Classroom.  However, now I am needing to combine my beliefs about grading and assessment and consider how to make it work in a non - traditional learning environment.  So here is my brain wrestling with this topic at a beginning level.

One of the things we studied this week was an article by Harry Tuttle, Web 2.0 Use May Not Be Formative Assessment which reminded me about effective formative assessment.  Mr. Tuttle identifies the following stages of formative assessment:

Student Responses
Monitor the Response
Diagnose the Response
Share Feedback Based on Diagnosis
Student Uses Feedback to Learn
Report Growth and Celebrate

To effectively do this in an online or blended learning environment I will need some tools.

• First I will need a Learning Management System (LMS) to facilitate the distribution of assignments and grading expectations and rubrics.  I will be using Schoology (a free LMS) since that is what my district will be implementing this coming school year.
• I will also use Schoology to facilitate student discussions and collaboration to help solidify the understanding of the essential standards of the unit.
• Next I will need to be mindful and deliberate in my use/creation of grading rubrics for unit assignments and assessments.
• I will utilize online tools such as Socrative, Google Forms, Google Drive, and other online tools to collect student responses and then follow Tuttles stages to promote student learning and growth towards the units essential standards
• Providing timely and meaningful feedback will also be important 
• Finally, I will implement the use of Doctopus (Google script) and Goobric (Google rubric)

It will take some time for me to become effective at implementing formative and summative assessments in an online/blended environment.  At least I will be able to model the process of learning and revision for my students as I go through this process.

Here is a sample lesson - first draft that I am working on:
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