Assessment

Assessment is a hot topic in these days of accountability. It is important and there has been a shift in the methods of assessment. This should be reflected in the way that students’ use of Web 2.0 tools is assessed. At the elementary level I would expect students to be involved with the assessment. Students could pick a blog post, wiki edit/contribution, or collaborative project component and evaluate it using a rubric. The student could then choose an entry, maybe the same one, for the teacher to read and evaluate based on a rubric. A number requirement could also be part of the assessment. The number and focus of posts is part of our assessment for this course and is mentioned in Richardson’s book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts (pg. 49). In New Hampshire there is a new state expectation (not mandate) for all districts to implement e-portfolios from K-12. At our school students are collecting artifacts and completing self-evaluations. Fourth graders are pulling the portfolio together and it is saved and sent to the middle school. A few blog posts, wiki projects, or podcasts could and should be part of these portfolios. Imagine a high school senior hearing a podcast created in second, fourth and eight grades. The same growth could be demonstrated in the level of their blog post throughout the years.
David

Penpal Podcast

For several years now students in my class have had pen pals. My sister teaches in Pennsylvania – 450 miles way. Students write email letters to each other and then at the end of the year by writing a regular letter on paper and can exchange email addresses and postal addresses so they may remain pen pals. Students only use first names over the internet for security. Podcasts now seem like a natural extension of this activity. Students could record a brief podcast that might include a greeting and some information about themselves. I would not allow students toinclude a picture for security. For that matter, students could use a blog or wiki together. They might just share information about themselves, but they could also do projects together. If both classes have a common subject such as planets or states they could research information, share ideas, and even collaborate on a report/project together. Both classes could complete community service projects and then blog about their experiences. I feel like I am starting to think more out of the box for uses of these tools. Permission would be essential, though I already get parents’ permission before initiating email pen pals.
David