Assessment and Evaluation using Technology

Technology provides instructors various present day tools that can be utilized in any classroom environment. Utilizing the proper technology, instructors can monitor and assess their student’s production and capabilities in the classroom. Nevertheless, if there is a collaboration of students having a hard time with ideas or even performing poorly on a particular subject matter, technology can provide aid for the instructor to aim in on their own methods, probably because if the student is not comprehending the idea, then there is possibly an issue with how the instructor is presenting the information. An example of a technology tool that can aid the instructor to evaluate their instructional program is called “Diagnoser”. Various science and math instructors are utilizing this particular technology tool that inquires a variety of questions that are created to observe comprehension. Utilizing the student’s replies, the instructor can get an insight into the student’s previous understanding or knowledge of the concept. When the instructor makes the observation, they can create a lesson plan based on the students needs (www.diagnoser.com).

I feel that when an instructor utilizes this sort of technology tool, so they can aid students in recognizing their weaknesses and their strengths, they are demonstrating that, “teaching, learning, and technology work together to achieve the ultimate goal of effective knowledge transfer. When you consider the process of teaching and learning as a holistic system, you can begin to sense how all the elements of the process, from the learning environment to teaching strategies, to learning activities, to support technologies, and interact the support of the learner. When you take the time to carefully examine each component and its interaction with other components, you are better able to design an effective process that will help you teach and help your students learn (Lever-Duffy, J. and McDonald, J., 2011, pg.84).”

Every instructor should have the main goal of aiding in students education, but each student is different, therefore, they have various learning styles. Instructional design theories and principles can aid instructors to comprehend the process of learning and based on the comprehension, instructors are capable of creating lesson plans that integrate a variety of resources for each student within the classroom.

A previous MATLT activity that demonstrates attainment of program learning was from my EDU652 class, where we were asked to create and effective test or survey instrument.  I aimed in on a parent survey for students attending a K12 program online, focusing on if the student’s needs are being met and if the parents are also involved with the program.

Surveys can involve businesses, groups, students, parents, and teams in gathering data to aid in decision-making about services, products and other various programs that may need the input of information on various subjects. Many use surveys in all aspects of business and even in life and can also be used for assessments and evaluations. Surveys can be utilized for monitoring and evaluating a student’s progression and comprehension of materials and to gain an understanding of a student’s needs. Feedback from surveys can be an important part in deciding whether or not the survey was successful so you can move forward with your agenda or not.

In my redesign, I would incorporate various assessment an devaluation tools that can be effective, while providing formative and summative assessments, whether individually or combined, to make assessments and evaluations easily effective (Garrison, C. and Ehringhaus, M., 2014). Some other technology tools that can be useful for assessing and evaluating may include pretests, essays, posttests, student observations, performance assessments, student interviews, achievement tests, interactive simulations and/or online games. Utilizing computers is a great way to manage and interactive simulation assessment because it could be easily used by students, whether in group or individually and can produce immediate test results (Niko, A., 2001).

These particular technology tools can be useful in collecting and observing data and information, they can interpret results and communicate findings whether it by through emails, report cards, classroom grading, feedback or student interviews. In my redesign I would incorporate website examples and visual applications technology and tools to can be helpful in assessments and evaluations. Training in these technologies in schools, in both the instructors and the students, will be useful for challenges of the 21^st century, especially in the area of employment.

The instructional design theories and principles that I utilize in my redesign comes from Merrill’s display Model Theory and cognitvist theory. Merrill felt that to create a proper and complete program at a minimum the aspects of the design should include the following fragments: objective-which describes an equilateral triangle (remember-use), generality-connects (relationships, attributes), instance-representations and attributes, and elaborations-they aid in context and prerequisites (Dabbagh, N., 2014). Cognitvist teaching strategies help students to incorporate new data and information to their previous knowledge, enabling them to make the proper adjustments to their existing framework to accommodate that data or information. While cognivists permit the use of “skill and drill” strategies in the memory of formulas, facts and lists, they aim in the importance of methods that aid students in presenting new material. An example of this is asking the student to present new material based on their own thoughts and ideas that can aid them in incorporating it by making them re-expressing the new concepts and ideas in their existing vocabulary (Dabbagh, N., 2014).

The implementation and design confrontations that I had dealt with during the redesign process was having the ability to connect the instructional design theories and principles with my redesign by making sure that the theories and principles that I had chosen would correlate with the redesign of my projects. Often times the theorists ideals run simultaneous in concept but position different processes, so you may have to examine each one individually to make sure they represent the theory or principle that you support. I succeeded in this challenge by researching the theorists and theories that rendered to that theory and how they both produced similar outcomes when combined to together.