GOAL: Reading online texts and then following up with a KaHoot to check for understanding and comprehension using comprehension strategies practiced in class.

The perspectives of both Castek and Coiro give educators a real way to think about what electronic assessments should do for the students. Their hope is to get teachers to think about new ways to track assessment data to better design and implement literacy instruction with electronic texts (Castek & Coiro, p.546). The skills they listed include: “moving productively across different texts, finding and making sense of multimodal resources, and using crowd-sourcing techniques to ask questions of peers and other experts to make sense of ideas” (Castek & Coiro, p.546).  As a middle school teacher these skills are so essential to be taught at a young age. These kids are already so immersed into technology and using the internet that it is a great time to incorporate the use of these comprehension skills in terms of online texts. 

Coiro’s article on rethinking online reading assessments makes the recommendation of “incorporating curriculum-based measures of online reading ability into classroom assessment practices” (Coiro, p.60).  I want to figure out how to assess my middle school science students through the use of electronic texts while practicing the most important comprehension skills.  I haven’t begun anything like this in my classroom as of yet, but once I get more comfortable with the technology and planning on my own I hope to use it a lot. I want to wait to use the electronic texts and assessments because I want to make sure that I am teaching them the correct skills to search through and communicate their knowledge of the texts found online.

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After watching Jennifer Myers’ “Multimodal Assessment” video it made me feel better about my long-term plan to use e-assessments in science while teaching literacy strategies.  She stated that she uses “a variety of literature” and that the assessments look “at their literacy strategies and how are they coming about the answers using their thinking strategies”.  I’m looking forward to begin creating and finding informal e-assessments that incorporate not just content knowledge, but their science literacy skills.  She also points out a “21st century learning philosophy where students are asked to engage in the literate world around them”.  I truly think that by bringing technology into the classroom that the students will be more engaged and eager to learn about the ways that science can apply to their own lives and their world.  

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As a side note in terms of informal assessments one of my classmates told me about this great program.  It is called "Plickers."  Each student gets a laminated card that you set up to be attached with their name.  Then you put a question in and they choose A, B, C, or D.  Based on which one they pick they turn the card that direction and face it towards you.  Then with your phone you take a photo and the app creates the data for you.  This is going to be how I do ticket out the doors for now on!  I'm so excited to set up the app for all 5 of my middle school classes.