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Responsible AI Adoption: An Organizational Self-Assessment

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

How do you bring about change regarding AI adoption in your school or district? Change management is a massive job that can easily fail due to many factors. Let’s explore how to shift from one phase of District AI Adoption to another, identifying indicators for each phase of progress. You will also get access to a self-assessment you can take that provides specific feedback.

Reviewing Responsible AI Adoption Phases

In a previous blog entry, Responsible AI Adoption, I shared a five AI Adoption phases school districts go through. Some districts or schools may get stuck in a particular phase with no desire to move to the next one. Others may step back from their use in the face of opposition, lack of funding, or an inability to maintain their place. That is to say, AI adoption is fluid and subject to change.

The five adoption phases are briefly described below:

  1. AI Secured. At this phase, AI usage is prohibited or discouraged.
  2. AI Exploration. In this phase, guardrails are available that allow exploration of free versions of digital tools.
  3. AI Pilot Programs. Managed AI tools are introduced for specific purposes.
  4. AI Unification. A clear district-wide approach to centralized AI use is in place and it is integrated into key areas.
  5. AI Everywhere. AI is fully integrated into school district policies, procedures, curriculum, and guidance is available to all.

It is unlikely that any school is at Phase 5, and getting there may take years of sustained effort and massive funding. And getting from Phase 1 (AI Secured) to Phase 3 (AI Exploration) involves constructing new ways of teaching, learning, leading, and outreach.

The first step has to involve assessing where you are now. Let’s take a look at a tool that can assist you in achieving that.

School Organizational Self-Assessment

Take a moment to complete this assessment online. You will be prompted to ask several questions before getting your results.

A custom GPT
https://tinyurl.com/tceaassess

You can also complete a paper version of the assessment:

Moving Towards Your Target

Now that you have an idea of what phase of AI Adoption your organization falls into, you may be asking the real question of, “How do I get my school or district to move forward to the next phase?” One thing is for certain. You can’t do it alone. It will require a concerted effort from everyone on your team. If you are a school district leader and lack the trust, relationships, and political capital to get things done, shifting phases from Exploration to Unification may be impossible.

Shifting from Phase One to Phase Two

To move from Phase 1: AI Secured to Phase 2: AI Exploration, a school district needs to shift its stance on AI from prohibition to cautious exploration. Here are some suggested steps that identify where to focus your efforts:

  • Policy Revision: Update district policies to allow for the exploration and use of AI tools for educational purposes. Clearly outline any restrictions or guardrails that teachers need to be aware of.
  • Professional Development: Provide teachers with training and resources on how to evaluate and use AI tools responsibly. This could include workshops, online courses, or access to experts in the field.
  • Account Management: Set up individual teacher accounts for approved AI tools, allowing them to start experimenting in a controlled environment.
  • Communication: Inform parents and the community about the district’s decision to allow AI exploration. Emphasize the focus on responsible use and the potential benefits for student learning.
  • Pilot Projects: Encourage teachers to pilot AI tools in their classrooms and gather feedback on their experiences. This will help the district make informed decisions about future AI adoption.

The transition from Phase 1 to Phase 2 involves a shift in mindset and policy. What’s more, teachers and staff must have the necessary support and resources to explore AI tools effectively and responsibly. And, they have to believe it’s necessary.

Transitioning from Phase Two to Three

To transition from Phase 2: AI Exploration to Phase 3: AI Pilot Programs, the school district needs to:

  • leverage the learnings and insights from their exploration phase
  • implement AI in a more targeted and structured manner.

Some approaches it can take include:

  • Identify Goals and Target Areas: Based on teacher feedback and the district’s overall objectives, identify specific areas where AI can have the most impact. These could be improving writing skills, supporting struggling students, or enhancing STEM education.
  • Select Appropriate AI Tools: Choose AI tools that align with the identified goals and are suitable for use in the classroom. Consider factors such as ease of use, data privacy, and accessibility.
  • Develop Guidelines and Training: Create clear guidelines for teachers on how to effectively use AI tools in their pilot programs. Provide targeted professional development to ensure they feel confident and prepared.
  • Launch Pilot Programs: Introduce the selected AI tools into specific classrooms or grade levels, focusing on the targeted areas. Monitor the pilot programs closely, gather feedback, and measure the impact on student learning and engagement.
  • Expand Access: Based on the success of the pilot programs, gradually expand access to AI tools to other teachers and subject areas.

The key shift in this is focused implementation. It is worth getting a team together to set clear goals, strategically select AI tools, and saturate everything done with professional learning on blending AI into their work. What do AI use cases look like? How do they save time? How much time do they save? How do they make the work of teaching, learning, and leading less difficult?

Original TaskTask DescriptionAI-Redesigned ProcessBenefitsTime Spent BeforeTime Spent AfterAI ToolSample Prompt
Lesson PlanningDevelop detailed lesson plans that align with curriculum standardsUse AI to generate lesson plans based on TEKS/standards with embedded activitiesQuick and consistent lesson planning2 hrs20 minsChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity“Create a lesson plan for 5th-grade Science on ecosystems, aligned with TEKS standards. Include objectives, materials, activities, and assessment strategies.”
Differentiated InstructionCreate differentiated activities for diverse learners in the classroomAI-generated activities tailored to different learning styles and needsEnsures every student has an appropriate activity1 hr15 minsChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity“Design three differentiated activities for a 3rd-grade math lesson on fractions. Include options for visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners.”
Grading and FeedbackGrade assignments and provide personalized feedback to studentsAI-assisted grading with auto-generated feedback based on student performanceReduces grading time and improves feedback quality4 hrs1 hrChatGPT, Perplexity“Grade these 10 student essays on the topic of renewable energy. Provide personalized feedback for each, focusing on strengths and areas for improvement.”
See more AI use cases and sample prompts

Stepping from Phase Three to Four

Stepping from Phase 3: AI Pilot Programs to Phase 4: AI Unification suggests a broader blending of AI across the district. To get this change going, consider these tips:

  • Evaluate & Refine: Thoroughly evaluate the outcomes of your pilot programs. Identify what worked well, areas needing improvement, and collect feedback from teachers and students. Use these insights to refine your approach to AI implementation.
  • District-wide Policy: Develop a comprehensive AI policy that outlines district-wide guidelines for AI use, including data privacy, ethical considerations, and acceptable use cases.
  • Centralized Management: Implement a centralized system for managing AI tool access and usage across the district. This ensures consistency, facilitates monitoring, and helps address any concerns related to equity and access.
  • Expand Integration: Based on successful pilots and teacher readiness, strategically expand the use of AI tools across different grade levels and subject areas.
  • Professional Development: Provide ongoing professional development opportunities for teachers, focusing on advanced AI integration techniques and best practices.
  • Curriculum Alignment: Collaborate with curriculum specialists to incorporate AI tools and concepts into the curriculum, ensuring alignment with learning objectives and standards.
  • Regular Assessment: Establish a system for regular assessment and evaluation of AI’s impact on student learning and achievement. Use data-driven insights to inform future decisions and improvements.

In this step from Phase Three to Four, you are scaling-up of AI adoption. This will involve district-wide coordination, standardizing practices, and refining curriculum, teaching approaches with AI.

Progressing from Phase Four to Phase 5

The progression from Phase 4: AI Unification to Phase 5: AI Everywhere represents a complete integration of AI into the fabric of the school district’s operations and culture. At this point, we can only imagine what this might look like.

To get there, you might take these steps:

  • Seamless Access: Implement a single sign-on system for all AI tools used within the district, providing seamless access for both students and teachers.
  • AI in all aspects of learning: Embed AI tools not only in the curriculum, but also in administrative tasks, professional development, and student support services.
  • Comprehensive Guidance: Continuously update and refine AI guidelines and support resources to address emerging challenges and opportunities. Ensure all stakeholders, including students, teachers, administrators, and parents, are well-informed about responsible AI use.
  • Community Engagement: Actively engage the community in discussions about the role of AI in education. Foster an open dialogue and address any concerns related to ethics, privacy, and equity.
  • Lifelong Learning: Promote a culture of lifelong learning around AI, encouraging teachers and students to stay abreast of advancements and explore innovative applications.

Moving from Phase Four to Five means that AI has become an integral and ubiquitous part of the schooling experience. In this environment, AI powers teaching, learning, and decision-making at all levels.

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6 AI tools to use to transform the way you check for understanding through formative assessment.
Artificial IntelligenceAssessment

Revolutionize Formative Assessments with AI-Powered Tools

by Diana Benner
written by Diana Benner

Formative assessments play a vital role in understanding student progress and adapting teaching strategies for better learning outcomes. With the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), educators now have access to a wide array of tools that can transform the way they create and use formative assessments in the classroom. Let’s explore some AI-powered tools that help teachers develop effective formative assessments:

What Is Formative Assessment?

Formative assessment is an ongoing way for teachers to check student understanding of what’s being taught. It gives the teacher information about how students are doing while they are still learning new material. Formative assessments can help identify concepts students are struggling with so teachers can adjust instruction, review, and reteach if needed. Examples of formative assessment include questioning during class discussions, quick writing or drawing assignments to show what they learned, practice quizzes, exit tickets, and more.

Six Tools for Creating Formative Assessments

1. ChatGPT

You can always ask ChatGPT or your favorite AI chatbot to create a formative assessment. An example prompt you could use is, “Generate a list of [number] formative assessment ideas related to [insert topic] for my [grade level and subject] students.” Just replace each bracket with the information for each prompt. You can also ask ChatGPT to align your formative assessments with specific learning objectives. In addition, differentiate your formative assessments by asking ChatGPT to give you five assessment ideas using a variety of modalities like exit tickets, quizzes, graphic organizers, etc.  

2. Conker

Conker is an AI tool that permits teachers to generate formative assessments in the form of multiple choice, mixed, read & respond, or fill-in-the-blank questions.
Screenshot by Emily Horn | Conker Create Page

Conker lets you create fast quizzes and formative assessments that can be differentiated by question type, grade level, and more. It will also allow you to copy/paste reading material to generate quizzes. All you have to do is open Conker and provide details about the quiz you want to create. Conker will then create a short formative assessment you can assign to students with a code or export it to Google Forms. You can even create a printable question sheet and answer sheet. There is a limited free plan, and teacher registration is required.

3. Magic School AI

MagicSchool is an AI with many tools available to teachers. Explore everything from lesson plan generation to formative assessment creation.
Screenshot taken by Emily Horn | MagicSchool’s Magic Tools Page

Magic School AI offers several tools and features that can be valuable for creating and implementing formative assessments in your classroom. This tool allows you to quickly build multiple-choice quizzes tailored to specific topics or standards. You can customize difficulty levels, question types, and answer keys to assess students’ base knowledge and readiness for new learning. In addition, you can generate quick reflection prompts or questions to collect student understanding at the end of a lesson. Then, you can quickly analyze the responses to identify areas for further clarification or address common misconceptions before moving on. There are both free and paid versions of the program. Learn even more about Magic School AI here.

4. QuestionWell

QuestionWell is an AI that provides teachers the chance to input topic, choose question type, and generate questions from text, YourTube, URL, uploaded documents, or imported questions.
Screenshot by Emily Horn | QuestionWell’s Create Set Page

QuestionWell generates questions so teachers can focus on what matters. Start by identifying the topic, content, and grade level. If you have text you want your formative assessment based on, you can provide it, but it isn’t necessary. Then, the AI will write questions. In the free version of QuestionWell, you can create a multiple-choice quiz with 20 questions. Once the questions are generated, select which ones you want to include in the quiz. Then, you can export the questions to tools like Google Forms, Kahoot, Canvas, Microsoft Word, and more.

5. Quiz Wizard

Quiz Wizard is an AI tool that lets teachers create formative assessments from topics, documents, texts, links, or audio/video.
Screenshot by Emily Horn | Quiz Wizard’s Create Content Page

Quiz Wizard is an AI-powered tool that generates multiple-choice questions and flashcards that can be used for formative assessments within seconds. The process is straightforward and involves you entering the topic of your choice into the tool, and Quiz Wizard takes care of the rest by generating unique questions and answers. The content can be exported to other platforms, like Microsoft Word.

6. Quizizz AI

Quizziz AI offers searchable quizzes by topic and provides the opportunity to create your own formative assessments.
Screenshot by Emily Horn | Quizziz AI’s Create Page

Quizizz AI is an artificial intelligence-powered tool that can generate multiple-choice questions with four answer options. The tool can also automatically determine the appropriate number of questions to generate for a formative assessment from the content provided. You can create a quiz by uploading a document, entering text, or pasting a link to a webpage. Quizizz AI offers free and paid premium versions.

These AI-powered tools offer not only instant feedback but also insights into individual student needs, allowing you to tailor your instruction effectively. By leveraging these AI tools, you can create a dynamic and adaptive learning environment, fostering student engagement and growth.

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AI-Mazing Modern Assessment is...
Artificial IntelligenceAssessment

AI-Mazing Modern Assessment in the Age of AI

by Lindy Hockenbary
written by Lindy Hockenbary

How do I assess learning when generative AI can complete traditional assessments with a high level of accuracy? This seems to be on every educator’s mind, for good reason. I propose one solution: modern assessments!

What Is Modern Assessment?

Modern assessments exhibit the following key characteristics. They are formative or summative assessments of learning that:

  • Appeal to the students’ world of instant answers, rapidly evolving technologies, and sharing with authentic audiences via social media
  • Bring what students do in their spare time into the classroom
  • Purposefully amplify the human advantage by focusing on synthesizing information and using it to create visual, multimedia products
  • Allow for collaboration with AI (and/or fellow learners) but cannot be completed fully by AI

By requiring students to create, think critically, and problem solve, modern assessments are AI copy-and-paste-proof! 

Graphic explaining the characteristics of modern assessment outlined in the article.
Created by TCEA | Access the Template

Example Modern Assessment: Snaps

Explain in a series of Snaps or a Snapchat video what characteristics identify art from the Impressionist movement. You must:

  • Provide at least three examples of Impressionist art. Use these three examples to identify the characteristics described. Use annotation to specifically point out these characteristics.
  • Use an AI image generator to create an example of Impressionist art exemplifying the characteristics of Impressionism. Explain how your AI-generated image exemplifies these characteristics. Make sure to label the AI-generated image appropriately.
Example modern assessment using Snaps in Canva
Example modern assessment using Snaps in Canva
*AI-generated image created with Canva

Snaps are the output of the app called Snapchat. Snaps can be images or videos, which makes it easy to integrate them into many learning outcomes easy. There is almost always text, images, annotations/drawings, and stickers over the top of the image or video.

While it is possible for students to seek answers from an AI chatbot regarding the identifying characteristics of art from the Impressionist movement, the true essence of this assessment lies in their ability to comprehend and synthesize that information into an authentic creation. Through original thought and creative expression, students engage in the process of crafting a unique final product. Adding annotations is key to ensuring the thinking is student-generated and one reason why Snaps are a great format for modern assessments.

This is also a great example of how we can collaborate with AI. It’s our new world, and collaborating with AI both in and out of the classroom is a skill students must learn.

Tools for Creating Student Snaps

I recommend three tools for creating school-friendly Snaps: 

For older students:

For younger kiddos:

Canva for Education

Among the numerous tools available for student creation, Canva for Education stands out as a top choice. I have even created a Canva Snap template to make it as easy as possible. Simply copy the template or share this template directly with students. Then, add your own content. 

Canva Snap template to use as a modern assessment
Access the Canva Snap Template

Additionally, you can easily recreate the Snap template in Adobe Express.

Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint

Yes, you can create so much more than slideshows in Google Slides and PowerPoint! Use this slides Snap template. If you would like it in Microsoft PowerPoint form go to File>Download>Microsoft PowerPoint.

Google Slides Snap template for a modern assessment
Access the Google Slides Template

Book Creator

This is the best option for younger students. Use the “portrait” style book to get the “look” of a Snap. Then, each page of the book becomes one Snap.

Snapchat Videos

Adding student voice via a Snap video even further ensures integrity and comprehension of assessments. You can create Snapchat videos directly in Canva. Canva has a screen record feature that will allow students to add their voice over the Snap. Book Creator offers an integrated screen recorder feature as well for easy addition of student voice. For slide creations, use a screencasting tool such as ScreenPal or Screencastify. 

Single Point Rubrics for Modern Assessments

I often receive the question: “These modern assessments sound great, but how do I assess them?” The answer is simple: single point rubrics! Well, the answer is really rubrics, but I am particularly fond of single point rubrics. A single point rubric includes a single column that indicates expectations for proficiency. Here is an example single point rubric for the impressionist art Snap assessment:

Areas for ImprovementCriteria for ProficiencyAreas That Exceed Expectations
Provides at least three clear examples of Impressionist art.
Uses the three examples to accurately identify the characteristics of Impressionist art.
Creates an image using an AI generator that clearly exemplifies Impressionist characteristics.
Provides a clear explanation of how the AI-generated image showcases the characteristics of Impressionism.
The AI-generated image is appropriately labeled, indicating it was generated by AI.

There are many benefits to using a single-point rubric over other rubric types:

  • Less text
  • Easier for students to read
  • Easier for students to find expectations
  • Easier and faster for teachers to make
  • Easier and faster for teachers to provide feedback

Have a generative AI tool, such as ChatGPT, help you create single-point rubrics for your modern assessments. This example rubric was generated by ChatGPT when I used this prompt:

Please create a single point rubric for this assessment: <enter assessment instructions<.

More Snap Ideas

  • Labs: #LabSnaps show the steps to complete a hands-on lab or explain one step of the lab in detail. #LabSnaps can also explain the safety elements of lab equipment. Any content area that completes hands-on labs could use this idea: science, woodworking, automotive, culinary arts, interior design, or fashion design.
  • Music: Create Snap videos of music excerpts and explain where and why accents were added. Or create a Snap video of how to clean and care for an instrument. 
  • Health: Create Snaps to demonstrate correct positions for stretching, weightlifting, or sports techniques.
  • English/Language arts: #BookSnaps are a great way to summarize any text from an assigned reading or explain figurative language. The annotations and audio components will ensure the summaries are in the students’ words.
  • World languages: Create a Snap video of a conversation in another language and add captions.
  • Culinary arts: Create #FoodSnaps to analyze specific elements of a dish: plating, taste, texture, etc.

I hope this article sparked ideas for using Snaps with your students to assess their learning and put their critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills to use. How will you get started with modern assessments in your classroom?

Article Summary by ChatGPT

In response to AI’s capability to ace traditional assessments, the blog introduces “modern assessments” that prioritize critical thinking and creativity, making them resistant to AI replication. These assessments require students to synthesize information into multimedia products, exemplified by the “Snaps” task where students explain Impressionist art characteristics. Tools like Canva, Google Slides, and PowerPoint are recommended for creating these assessments. To ensure authenticity, students can reflect via screencast videos.

Learn more from Lindy, along with thousands of other educators, at TCEA’s 2024 Convention & Exposition! She will present seven sessions, two of which dive deeper into AI. Don’t miss Lindy as she leads If You Can’t Beat AI, Challenge AI: The Human Advantage and AI-mazing Modern Assessments. Not into AI? There are hundreds of sessions to choose from on topics like digital tools for learning, research and best practices, and more.

See All TCEA’s Sessions
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empty desks in a classroom
Educational ResearchGood Teaching

Powerful and Easy Digital Tools for Formative Assessment

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Interwoven into instruction, assessment has many benefits. Its biggest benefit? Aiding students and teachers in closing the learning gap. In the Fall of 2021, I attended TCEA’s Campus Technology Specialist Academy (CTSA). One of the sessions, led by Destiny Wagner and Kristofer Thurston, offered several gems related to using digital tools for formative assessment. These gems became some of my favorite takeaways. But before diving deeper into the tools, let’s take a look at formative assessment.

digital assessment
Reach out to Destiny Wagner (email: edtechdestiny@gmail.com) for more info on their excellent session.

What Is Formative Assessment?

In the Amazing Learning Design Outline (ALDO), I highlight the importance of assessment. Assessment is critical to crafting feedback that closes the learning gap. That gap, of course, is between where the student is now and where they need to be. Did you know that formative assessment can double student learning gains? Formative assessment is an ongoing, low-stakes assessment that provides such feedback to both students and teachers regularly. In other words, to gauge where students are in their learning, they must be assessed before, during, and after learning. And these assessments can tie into a wide variety of strategies.

digital assessment
digital assessment
Step 2 of Amazing Lesson Design Online (ALDO)

It is also important to note that students are active collaborators in closing this gap since they are involved in the formative assessment process. Some have organized a list of assessment criteria teachers can use, and you can read the complete list in this online document (PDF). But today we’ll focus on assessments that I’ve grouped into understanding checks, checklists, and self-assessment tools. 

Get PDF version
Get PDF version – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R4LmCIqn6vuupDer7478Vww0X3tu14j_/view?usp=sharing

When working with students, keep these three tips in mind when providing feedback:

1. Ask the four questions:

  • What can the student do?
  • What can’t the student do?
  • How does the student’s work compare with that of others?
  • How can the student do better?

2. Take advantage of single-point rubrics to convey expectations.

3. Connect the feedback language you use to specific success criteria. One example might be, “How will I know I have learned this?” Be sure to share that feedback at the start of the lesson (adapted from source).

Group 1: Understanding Checks

Checks for understanding are one aspect of formative assessment. ASCD even published a book on the topic. It can be defined as:

The frequent, interactive checking of student progress and understanding. These checks for understanding identify learning needs. They also allow the teacher to track and adjust teaching.

Adapted from Source: Todd Finley’s Dipsticks to Check for Understanding via Edutopia.org

An example of a type of understanding check is the pre-assessment. The goal of pre-assessment is to discover what students know and to identify what they need to learn. Students can use these to set learning goals and also predict how well they will do.

One idea for formative checks for understanding also comes from Dataworks’ TAPPLE concept:

  • (T)each first
  • (A)sk a specific question
  • (P)ause, Pair-Share, and Point
  • (P)ick a random non-volunteer
  • (L)isten to the Response
  • (E)ffective Feedback
digital assessment
Screenshot by author

Are you already thinking of some ways you could use digital tools to (A)sk a specific question about what students have learned, or to (P)ause, Pair-share, and Point?

Since digital tools are flexible and can be used for a wide variety of purposes, they may lend themselves well to checks for understanding. In their session, Destiny and Kristofer shared several powerful and easy digital tools that could be used for understanding checks. Among those tools shared were:

  • Baamboozle. A versatile tool that students can use to create or participate in a wide variety of games. View video.
digital assessment
Screenshot by author
  • Mentimeter. Provides student polling and creates open-ended results in word clouds out of responses. View video.
  • Pear Deck. Perform “on the fly” assessments with social- emotional health check-ins. It works well with a variety of Google and Microsoft Office products. View video.
  • Plickers. Print coded cards that students can use. The teacher relies on a free app to scan student cards. The direction of the card shows students’ response. View video.
  • Poll Everywhere. Assess students with a simple poll. View video.
  • Socrative. Set up multiple choice, true/false, or short answer assessments. View results in real time via a teacher dashboard. View video.
  • StrawPoll. Create easy-to-embed, mobile-friendly polls students can complete. View video.
digital assessment
Straw Poll Example – https://strawpoll.com/swau1ugve/r

StrawPoll has become one of my new favorites but others at TCEA rely on Gimkit, Kahoot, Quizziz, and Quizlet. Of course, there are others, such as EdPuzzle, Playposit, and more.

free templates

Adapted from David Perkins (2003) The Ladder of Feedback and John Hattie (2014) The Power of Feedback | Get Your Own Copy.

Group 2: Checklists

Use checklists and rubrics to identify and clarify success criteria for students. Think of success criteria as a to-do list for learning intentions. This short twelve minute video can provide some background on success criteria.

One easy tool you can use to create a checklist is simply Google Sheets. Here’s a quick video on how to do that:

You can also create rubrics for students directly in Google Classroom. Here is a quick six minute video on how this can be done.

Group 3: Self-Assessment Tools

Self-assessment tools are used by students to take their own measure. As you might imagine, many of the digital tools shared so far would also work well for this purpose.

Becton Loveless offers these suggestions for students designing their own assessments:

  • Explain what self-assessment is and why it matters
  • Show a model of what it looks like, preferably from previous students
  • Teach students different strategies of self-assessment
  • Have students practice creating assessments, then discuss as a group
  • Conference with students throughout the process

Becton also offers several low-tech examples that may get you thinking. Among those examples you can adapt and use digitally, consider these:

For example, PBIS Rewards offers several ways to create rubrics online. My top three in that list include iRubric, Rubistar, and Teachnology Rubric Generator. And a web search on rubrics will yield many PDF-based rubrics.

Choosing a Digital Tool

Which tool you decide to use will depend on the depth of complexity and funding you have available. For example, Mentimeter, StrawPoll, Plickers are free. With the others, there may be costs associated depending on the features you want. The important point to remember is that creating low-stakes assessments is your focus, and these assessments should always connect to the learning objectives.

Feature Image Source

Photo by MChe Lee on Unsplash

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exploring assessment
Good Teaching

Exploring Assessment: Two Tools for Educators

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Many of us are on always on the hunt for quiz game tools that can make assessment easier and more enjoyable. Others may be looking for dashboards for student assessment data. In this blog entry, we’ll review why assessment is so important. Then, we’ll take a look at two tools that lend themselves to teacher and organizational use. Let’s get started!

Research on Assessment

When you think of assessment, you may be considering it in light of feedback. As you know, the feedback strategy enjoys an effect size of d=0.70. This makes it a powerful strategy. When used in a consistent manner, it results in almost two years of growth for each year. The need for assessment flows from the need to provide informed feedback.

exploring assessment

Formative assessment allows us to track student learning, progress, and understanding. Think of it as a radar system that shows the gap in understanding, the gap between a student’s current stage of understanding and the target level.

exploring assessment

Get PDF version

When working with students, keep these three tips in mind when providing feedback:

1. Ask the four questions:

  • What can the student do?
  • What can’t the student do?
  • How does the student’s work compare with that of others?
  • How can the student do better?

2. Take advantage of single-point rubrics to convey expectations.

3. Connect the feedback language you use to specific success criteria. One example might be, “How will I know I have learned this?” Be sure to share that feedback at the start of the lesson (adapted from source).

Did You Know?

Sign up for TCEA’s Assessment-Based Feedback course. The course is available online and is self-paced, which means you can move through it as you wish. You will not only learn more about evidence-based strategies, but also about new digital tools that align to each strategy. See a list of more courses online.

Two Tools for Teachers

As you might imagine, there are many digital tools to assist you with assessment. Let’s examine two solutions.

Assessment Tool #1: Quizalize.com

This assessment tool comes with a variety of features, some available for free. Features include:

  • Standards-tagged quizzes: Use quizzes for low-stakes practice testing or retrieval practice
  • Differentiated follow-up activities: Offer students more experience and practice testing activities
  • Data-based discussions: Explore learning gaps with students
  • TEKS-aligned content for a variety of content areas: Track mastery data

Quizalize offers a “Mastery Dashboard” that provides quick insights into student learning gaps. You and the student can use the visuals to figure out the best next steps. You can also synchronize classes to Google Classroom.

Image Source: Quizalize.com

See pricing online. Note that the Quizalize Teacher Basic account is available for free. It offers three classes and five activities. It comes with a teacher dashboard, team live game, and online results, as well as a preview dashboard. To get more features, annual pricing plans are available.

See more videos online.

Assessment Tool #2: Edcite.com

Ready to get Edcited? This assessment tool offers a rich feature set, including the following:

  • Ready-to-use assessments
  • More than 60 tech-enhanced item types such as drag and drop, select text, math keypad, and graphing
  • Easy sharing to students
  • Instant data access
  • Works well with a variety of learning systems that include Clever, Canvas, Google for Education, and Microsoft, among others

Listen to this teacher share her perspective on this tool:

Teachers are able to sign up with Google, Microsoft, or Clever for their free account. Districts and schools can request more information online.

You can see Edcite in action via their featured collections. These are collections of assessment for different content areas. For example, the Hispanic Heritage collection includes assessments such as:

  • Latin America
  • Latinas in Space: Upper Elementary ELA Assignment
  • The Seven Independence Days of Hispanic Heritage Month

In that last one, students “review geography, identify national flags.” They also analyze videos about Mexican Independence Day.

edcite

These two assessment tools offer a more institutional type of solution that can be invaluable to a classroom teacher. Many will consider the dashboard and data tracking components essential tools. And what campus/district doesn’t have a need for two assessment tools like that?

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screenshot by author - blooket
Educational ResearchWeb 2.0 Tool

Assessment-Based Feedback Tool: Blooket

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

By now, most of you have tried Kahoot!, Quizlet, Quizziz, and many others. These tools work as game-based student response systems that provide you with formative assessment options. The teacher creates a free account and then can design quizzes with embedded images and video or use one of the many pre-created assessments. Students rely on an internet-connected device to respond, earning points as they score.

All of these assessment tools and many others such as Knowt offer teachers and students a way to engage in practice testing. They also provide pre-assessment and post-assessment data for instructional coaching. In this blog entry, I’ll introduce you to yet another formative assessment tool you may be unaware of.

First, though, let’s review some of the scientifically-based research around two key concepts: practice testing and assessment-based feedback.

Digging into the Research

As you already know, “formative assessment [serves] as a way to improve the caliber of still-underway instructional activities.” Contrast formative assessment with summative assessment. The latter is “a way to determine the effectiveness of already-completed instructional activities” (source: ASCD). A deeper definition of formative assessment appears below:

Formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement of intended instructional outcomes.

Formative assessment has distinguishing features that include it being:

  • A process rather than a single event
  • A tool useful to both teachers and students
  • A source of assessment-based feedback to both teachers and students

As you may already know from TCEA TechNotes blog entries on feedback (d=0.64), assessment-based feedback must do the following:

  • Focus on the task or product, identifying whether it is correct/incorrect or provide suggestions for improvement
  • Provide information about processes students go through to perform a task or develop a product
  • Give insight into students’ ability to self-monitor and direct their learning through goal setting, self-assessments, and identifying next steps

What are some digital tools that can provide feedback insights to task or product? In addition to formative assessments, what are some ways student learning can be improved? Practice testing (d=0.46) is one approach. Practice testing is also known as retrieval practice or test-enhanced learning.

That video will give you an overview of practice testing and Knowt. Allow me to introduce you to a new tool you can use for retrieval practice.

Introducing Blooket

Another exciting digital tool, Blooket, supports teacher and student accounts. With a free account, teachers can use Blooket to host a question set with a specific game mode. This game is displayed via screen/projector, then students compete on their own devices. Blooket tracks student progress, keeping a record of student responses. In turn, students are able to track their statistics via global a leaderboard ranking. They can also buy and sell “blooks” and avail themselves of community-wide events.

Here are some observations from teachers:

  • “In Blooket, you’re given 8+ different possible game modes that use the same question set. Kids can gain points in different ways in each game mode. Blooket enjoys a ‘classic’ mode that is like regular Kahoot. Kids love it because they can play a different game mode to keep it interesting.”
  • “Many of the games are fun and encourage classroom engagement.”
  • “You can play it live or assign it as homework. It has made this year so much more fun for my classes since it works with distance, hybrid, and in person students.”

As you might imagine, Blooket’s game modes offer variety. “It offers power ups and random sabotage things you can do to other players,” says another teacher. You can follow these steps to get started:

  1. Start with a question set. You can make your own, import one, or find one.
  2. Decide on a game mode. There are several game mode choices. Find one you like.
  3. Host a game and allow students to play. Students use a game identification number to join the game.
  4. Play the game. As students play the game, they answer questions that target content that has been taught in class.
  5. Review results. Students and teachers can review the performance data to identify areas of growth.

Don’t let the blocks turn you off from using Blooket with secondary students. One high school Spanish teacher (@SenoraCMT) raves about her use of Blooket in this way:

We were reading a chapter in Kristy Placido’s Noche de oro eBook and I wanted to pre-teach some of the vocabulary. Not pre-teach… more like pre-expose! So I made a Blooket.

After playing our first Blooket, I wanted to add one for ALLLLLL the things my students were studying so I made one for my book Bianca Nieves from Fluency Matters, I made one for my Huellas 1 Future and Conditional level 3-AP unit Atrévete, and Kristy Placido made one for my Huellas 1 ART based level 3-AP unit Bajo la mesa! When my Spanish 4 group finishes reading, I’ll make one for our next Huellas 2 unit, Orangután en mi habitación. (Find out more about the Huellas Curriculum here.)

Now that we know how it works, let’s take a look at some of the available features.

A Few of Blooket’s More Recent Features

Blooket has an amazing amount of features that enhance game mode learning. Some new free features include the following:

  • Extend/Reopen Homework
  • Discover Tab Filters
  • Automated Group Subscriptions
  • Button to Set Time Limit for All Questions
  • Remove Students from Homework

More features are available at a cost. Those include:

  • Removing the 60-player limit (+ Only)
  • Merging Question Sets (+ Only)

Curious about what Blooket looks like? Let’s take a  look at pricing before I turn you loose to watch a few videos.

Blooket’s Cost

“I do pay for Blooket premium because it allows me to duplicate sets and have more in-depth reports,” reports one teacher. Wondering how much Blooket costs? Remember, you get free access to many features such as creating and hosting question sets in a variety of game modes. The free version also comes with unlimited question sets and the ability to edit those. In the table below, you will see what else you can get if you decide to pay for it:

Look Before Leaping

Ready to see what Blooket looks like in action? Here is a quick two-minute video you can watch to get an overview. Below this video, you will find even more walkthrough videos you can take advantage of. Check out this fantastic video from Master Heebs:

Some additional videos you can look at before leaping into Blooket:

Please let me know what you think about it in the comments.

Feature Image Source

Screenshot by author.

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ChromebooksEducational TrendsGood TeachingGoogle Tips and TricksSTEM/STEAM

Tips, Tricks, and Tech Tidbits: Science, Assessment, Math, and More

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

I’m back with more interesting tidbits that I’ve picked up around the web and through emails and conversations with dedicated educators. I hope that you find some useful nuggets to use! (By the way, you can find the previous goodies here, here, here, and here.)

Science Journal for Kids and Teens

If you’re looking for non-fiction articles that are scholarly but also appropriate for students, take a look at the free Science Journal for Kids and Teens. The website includes hundreds of articles approved by scientists written for kids. While most of the articles I found were best suited for secondary students, there are a few for elementary. The site also offers a very nice filtering system, allowing you to search by reading level, scientific field, scientific methodology (a world of learning there for high school students), and more. There are even a few articles written in languages other than English.

Seven Little Words Strategy

Educator Erica Ramirez provides a powerful formative or summative assessment of student learning using Google’s Jamboard and the Seven Little Words strategy.

A Simpler Wikipedia

If you or your students are using Wikipedia as a starting point for research on complicated topics, there is a way to get a simpler version of most of their content. This link (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics) provides their normal article on quantum mechanics, definitely a tough topic to get through. But by just replacing the “en” with the word “simple” in the URL, you get a much easier to read and understand article (https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics). This works for almost all of their topics and would be a good trick to teach your high school students.

How to Have a Trouble Huddle with Students

It’s easy to get so bogged down in all that we have to accomplish in the classroom each day that we don’t really see the students. One technique that can help with that when problems arise is a trouble huddle, explained very clearly in this blog.

Using Google Slides in Virtual Math Classes

Personally, it would take a lot to make math interesting to me. I just never grasped all of its basic points. But I might have learned more about it if my teachers had access to Google Slides and these ideas for virtual learning. The article offers “five ways to teach mathematics online with Google Slides while promoting student collaboration and maintaining the integrity of effective mathematics instruction.”

An Alternative to the Bitmoji Classroom

High school teacher Emily Huff didn’t want to do the “cutesy” Bitmoji classroom for her older students. So she created a Netflix-like landing page for her Spanish class. She downloaded the original template from this blog and then changed it up to better fit what her students are familiar with.

Zoom Games

If you’re looking for a quick brain break for your students to help combat “Zoom fatigue,” try one of these 20 fun (and fast) games. Ranging from short movement breaks to fun learning activities to silly games versus the teacher, these can be done in any virtual learning platform and are sure to bring a smile.

#ScratchPals

Wouldn’t it be great for your students to collaborate with students around the world to “Code the World You Wish to See?” You can by joining in this free event that starts October 1, 2020. Students use Scratch as a platform for creative expression, #TeachSDGs for inspiration, and #DigCit to respectfully collaborate. You can register here or learn more about it here.

Online Whiteboards

This article offers three free online whiteboards that you can use with your students or in professional development that is held either face-to-face or virtually. All three offer great collaboration opportunities.

I hope that you find that these tips and tricks can help you in your daily journey to be the best educator you can be. Let me know in the comments below if these are “spot on” or if there are other topics that I need to be researching.

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Educational TrendsGood TeachingGoogle Tips and Tricks

Tips, Tricks, and Tech Tidbits: Emails, Assessment Tool, Virtual Backgrounds, and More

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

It’s time for another roundup of tasty educational technology resources and tips that you can use today. (Be sure to check out the first one in this blog series here.)

Be Safe as You Head Back to Campus

This tongue-in-cheek list of “foolproof” safety tips for teachers returning to their campuses in August will definitely get you laughing (and maybe crying a little).

Why You May Not Want to Read Your Unread Email

Want to see just how long it will take to go through all of those unread emails in your inbox? This simple calculator will tell you. (It was very depressing for my inbox!)

India’s Richest Man Launches a Free Zoom Rival

JioMeet, a competitor to Zoom, is now available. It does not cap free calls and can be used with a maximum of 100 users at a time. To ensure that its meetings are secure, calls on JioMeet are password-protected and, like Zoom, it also has a “waiting room” that ensures no unwanted attendees can barge into the calls. The JioMeet app is available now for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and even for the Chrome browser.

Another Free Assessment Tool

DOOZY lets you create free multiple choice and short answer quizzes and then share them easily with your students. No account registration is required for either the teacher or the kids, which is great. But that also means that data from the quizzes taken is not saved. You can also modify existing quizzes to save time.

Save the Planet with the Ecosia Search Engine

tips

Ecosia works like all of the other search engines except for one major difference. With their profits, they plant trees around the world, more than one million of them so far. As if that’s not enough reason to use them, they are also completely privacy friendly, which means they don’t sell your data to anyone or use third party trackers. And they have a Chrome extension.

Student-Created Virtual Backgrounds

Challenge your students to create their own virtual backgrounds for online classes. As TCEA member Scott Firenza shares on Twitter, “Not every student wants to turn on the camera to show others their environment. Have them create custom backgrounds: 1. collage about who you are, 2. all about a subject matter, 3. how does “subject matter” play a role in your life.”

Tips for Adding Videos to Google Docs

This great blog from Eric Curts offers four workarounds to providing videos in Google Docs.

Get Students Actively Engaged

Catlin Tucker offers these eight great ideas for engaging students during virtual learning. The ideas can work with any subject matter and for most age groups. Catlin provides excellent examples of each idea.

I hope that you found these tricks and resources useful. Have a great one to share? Please place it in the comments!

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repeated reading - child reading a book and laughing
Good TeachingiOS Tips and Tricks

Appifying Repeated Reading Assessments

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

What apps or tools can assist you and your students in tracking how fast you read? In this blog entry, we’ll extend our conversation on the use of repeated reading. In a previous blog entry, I focused on different ways to put in place repeated reading. Instead of the traditional go-in-the-corner-with-a-student, we can use technology.

Technology affords both teachers and students with infinite more opportunities to connect. In this blog entry, we’ll take a look at some ways to assess student fluency. But before we do that, let’s take a moment to review the repeated reading strategy.

Review of Repeated Reading Strategy

The repeated reading strategy, which enjoys an effect size of 0.75, involves:

Repeated reading is an academic practice that aims to increase oral reading fluency. … During repeated reading, a student sits in a quiet location with the teacher. The student then reads a passage (50 to 200 words) aloud at least three times.  The teacher calculates reading fluency. She does so by calculating words correct per minute that the student has read.

If the student misreads a word or hesitates for longer than 5 seconds, the teacher reads the word aloud. Then, the student repeats the word the correct way. If the student requests help with a word, the teacher reads the word aloud or provides the definition. The student rereads the passage until he or she achieves a desired fluency level (source: What Works Clearinghouse).

Now that we’ve reviewed a few aspects of repeated reading, let’s take a look at how you can assess it.

Note: Curious about the norms for repeated reading? Use Hasbrouck and Tindal (2006) Oral Reading Fluency Norms from Grades 1-8. Find them online in this free set of graphs from Jen Strange.

Assessing Repeated Reading

Ready to assess repeated reading? Providing this feedback to students can aid them in improving fluency.

Reading Rockets recommends one of the following approaches:

  • One minute reading. In this approach, the student reads for one minute as the teacher counts the total number of words read in a correct way. Make a note of the Words Correct Per Minute (WCPM).
  • Timed repeated readings. Like the previous approach, the student reads for one minute. He will do so several times (three to five times at least). The teacher counts WCPM for one minute. Graph results with a bar graph.
  • Words Correct Per Minute (WCPM). The teacher chooses a package and then times the student as he reads it. You can find tracking sheets available online at no cost.

Many educators use this approach in the classroom. But they may not realize it’s high-effect size and positive impact on reading fluency.

Appifying Repeated Reading

Would you like to use technology with repeated reading assessments? While not required, it can make the job of tracking WCPM easier. These tools can automate scoring and save teachers time. Let’s explore a few.

App #1: One Minute Reader

First up, let’s take a look at Read Naturally’s One Minute Reader for iOS devices such as the iPad. From their website:

The One Minute Reader reading fluency app for the iPad accelerates reading achievement. It combines the research-proven components of teacher modeling, repeated reading, and progress monitoring. The reader works at his or her own pace in an appropriate level of material. This motivating app guides the reader through the steps. The reader masters a story by reading along with audio.

Then, the student practices the story until he or she can read it with fluency and comprehension. The program automatically tracks the reader’s progress. The reader can print or email the story, the Story Summary (results from the story), and/or the Book Summary (results from the whole book).

The cost of the app varies. You can start with a free version, then buy more with in-app purchases. In-app purchases will get you eight books of five stories each (40 stories in all). The cost for each set of 40 stories is about $20 each. The books are available for different grade levels. Demonstration videos are available online for you to view. Get the iOS app online via the website.

App #2: MAP Reading Fluency Testing

A second app, the MAP Reading Fluency Testing, enables teachers to efficiently measure oral reading fluency. Learn more about it in Five Things to Know about MAP Reading Fluency. It uses an “online, adaptive assessment via a twenty minute assessment.” You can see what results look like in this blog entry. McKinney ISD (Texas) is featured in a case study. Costs vary.

App #3: K12 Timed Reading and Comprehension Practice

With many features, this $3.99 iOS app offers over two hundred and fifty stories in fiction and non-fiction and includes a fluency timer that calculates word per minute for each reading attempt. You can also see summary charts and graphs.

Bonus Resources

The web is full of resources for teaching reading and assessing fluency. Two more tools you may or may not be familiar with include these, even though they are not apps:

Istation ISIP Oral Reading Fluency

Many educators will be familiar with this final tool. Istation’s Indicators of Progress (ISIP) Oral Reading Fluency tool is a computer-based tool. It records the voices of students for automated scoring. Or the teacher can later listen and score the audio. It requires a headset with a microphone connected to a computer or laptop. Learn more about technical requirements online. Cost varies on several factors, so you will need to contact Istation.

Fluency Practice Passages

Although not an app per se, the Fluency Practice Passages website organizes texts that you can use with your students. Each text comes with a lexile level. Students can read these for one minute each.

Ready to get going with repeated reading in your classroom? In part 1 of this repeated reading series, we discussed various tools you can use. In this second installment, you now have an easy way to use iOS apps to assess fluency.

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formative assessment screenshot of testmoz
Content AreasGood Teaching

Formative Assessment Tools for Remote Learning

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Building a formative assessment toolkit is key at a time when remote learning is a necessity. In this blog entry, we’ll explore two tools you may be unfamiliar with. Before we do that, let’s review why quiz tools can accelerate student learning.

Retrieval Practice

In past blog entries, I’ve explored retrieval practice tools you can use for remote formative assessment. When you’re online, it doesn’t matter how remote you are. The key is being able to push students to take, and/or make their own, practice tests.

Research shows that retrieval practice has an effect size of 0.46. Since we’ve covered that in another blog entry, let’s focus on two exciting tools. Special thanks to Keith Schoch for sharing his insight as a comment on Class Discussions Gone Digital.

assessment toolkit

Expand Your Toolkit

Two new formative assessment tools that may have escaped your notice include Spiral and Testmoz. Let’s take a moment to explore each. Neither of these tools is free, but there are trials you can take advantage of. Before deciding to use this on a long-term basis, check with your school supervisor (or someone who controls the budget).

Quickfire Lite is one of Spiral’s free features.

Assessment Tool #1: Spiral

Offering a free account, a 30-day free trial, or $5 monthly/$50 annual fee, Spiral has some special attributes.

About Spiral

Spiral connects you to your students in class with a code. You can then carry out formative assessments, allow your students to collaborate on group tasks or ask questions during video.  Reports allow teachers and students to reflect on how to improve. Sign up for a free trial at Spiral.ac and contact them for institution plans. (Source: Spiral YouTube Channel)

They describe their features in the following way:

  • Free Features:
    • Google Classroom, Clever, and Edmodo integration
    • Verbal, formative assessment tool (record a question and receive student responses)
    • Run live activities with students for review and grading
    • Exit tickets
    • Student and teacher dashboard
    • Feedback and grading
    • Class roster
  • Fee Required:
    • Video-based activities, team activities, interactive activities
    • Ability to import presentations from PowerPoint/Google Slides
    • Collaborative activities for students
    • Out of class student assignments

Spiral makes the point that you do NOT need to integrate it with your school’s learning management system (e.g. Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Schoology). While this is nice, grading features would benefit from integration with more than Google Classroom.

Clip, one of Spiral’s features, reminds me of Flipgrid. It allows you to turn any public video into “a live chat with questions and quizzes.” As the teacher, you can watch the class as they engage in several activities. Those activities include answering questions posed via Quickfire Lite option.

Did You Know?

Sign up for one of our Google Certified Educator certifications. You’ll learn about more than Google Meet, as well as earn 12 CPE hours per course. Use these courses to get Google Educator certified. Find out more online.

Assessment Tool #2: Testmoz

Need to create tests for your class? Give Testmoz a try. With the free version, you can “build, distribute and collect the results of a basic test.” This includes up to fifty questions and one hundred results per test. Testmoz has a wide variety of features, but if you want all of them, you will need to pay $50 a year for it.

One nice offering from Testmoz is that they discount fifty percent for “government/non-profit school teachers.” At $25 a year, this makes Testmoz an amazing resource. And school districts can buy the source code for $10,000 so they can load it on their own server(s). Testmoz reminds of a free, open source quiz tool that I explored many years ago. The developer has done a nice job creating a simple, straightforward tool.

Many course management systems (e.g. Canvas, Moodle) offer features similar to what Testmoz offers at a fraction of the cost. This makes it easy to integrate or use. What’s more, Testmoz relies on email notifications for use with older students and offers a nice dashboard for teachers:

assessment toolkit

Formative Assessment at a Distance

If you find yourself in need for a fresh way to assess students remotely, consider Spiral with its dis-associative approach. Students simply enter a code and they are in. Testmoz, on the other hand, offers a rich feature set for question formulation. Remember that retrieval practice can accelerate student learning. How you accomplish it will depend on what tools you and your students have available.

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