Week #5: Online Assessment Tools

Online Assessment Tools

Being a teacher in today’s world means keeping up with the latest technology. The children of today’s world are blossoming and catching onto technological advances faster than kids of any generation. Keeping up, means reaching children where they “live.” Most children have access to electronic devices, reaching them to asses them while in the comfort of their own homes, helps to build academic skills outside of their classrooms. Interactive websites such as Kahoot, Quizz, and QuizSocket, enable educators to reach students from wherever they maybe. Education no longer needs to be confined to the classroom setting. 

The website Kahoot! (www.create.kahoot.it) has quizzes and trivia that allow for students to play “single” (student against computer), or as “team vs team” (multiple students/[players). One cool trivia game I came across quizzes the student(s) knowledge about the infinitely cool number known as: PI. Questions like: National Pi Day falls on? And gives various incorrect options and the correct answer.  There is another creative quiz that titled: “Celebrate Diversity.” Quizzes like these helps to open up students minds about the diverse world around them. 

How would these tools help me as a future educator? I feel that online resources such as these will help me not only connect, and develop an understanding of my students, but also help me encourage the students to know that learning is fun and can be addictive. Giving them opportunities to expand their minds and knowledge at the click of a button. This would also give me, as an educator, the chance to answer questions that the students may have after taking the quizzes. I can see websites like these creating “rich” discussion within the classroom. 

Week #4 The FLIPPED Classroom

The Flipped Classroom:

The “flipped classroom” is a concept that is relatively new to classrooms at the elementary level. This type of classroom is seen mostly at the college level. The flipped classroom is a forum for open discussion-dialogue and learning, What I liked best for the article titled: How the Flipped Classroom Is Radically Transforming Learning, the author makes note of the “usual” dialogue between parents and teachers at conferences. The parent will ask how their child is behaving, the author of this article points out that “behavior” isn’t an issue in a flipped classroom. No one is expected to sit still and hear a lecture for a period of time. Group discussion is the key factor in the flipped classroom. With group discussion, students are able to create dialogue that helps them learn from each other and retain information more successfully. This concept promotes self-learning, a big concept in higher education. By having classrooms like this, we promote self-learning, and college readiness. By giving the students the opportunity to learn this way, we also promote social skills in children early on.

The concept of the flipped classroom is “radical,” but it makes the most sense. I myself, have found that classroom with group discussion helps me to retain information more easily, it also helps me to develop my own understanding of the topic. I think that classrooms like this should not be limited to the college classroom, I believe group discussion should be encouraged right away. As a child, I was super “shy”—introverted, I believe if group discussion was promoted in my early education, I could have built those needed social skills faster, and more efficiently.

As a future educator, this is definitely the type of concept I will infuse into my own teaching styles. I will definitely make sure that the right supports are in place for children who struggle with social skills, giving them opportunities to be part of the group, in ways that are comfortable to them.