DEN Blog Network » Assessment http://blog.discoveryeducation.com Connecting our global community of educators. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 01:18:06 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Michigan, are you ready?! http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/02/16/michigan-are-you-ready/ http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/02/16/michigan-are-you-ready/#comments Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:59:54 +0000 Max http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/?p=23485 Cheryl Lykowski is ready. Gina Loveless is ready. Scores of other passionate, technology-using educators are signed up and ready.The Discovery team is ready. I just landed in Kalamazoo, MI today so I am definitely ready!

So, I hope you are ready and as excited as I am about the Day of Discovery happening this Saturday, February 18th! Attendees will experience a full day of learning, sharing, and FUN… DEN style! If you haven’t already signed up to be there, do so now at http://dodkzoo.eventbrite.com.

Kalamazoo RESA
1819 E Milham
Portage, MI 49002

]]> http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/02/16/michigan-are-you-ready/feed/ 0 PhotoPeach Creates Interactive Assessments http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/02/02/photopeach-creates-interactive-assessments/ http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/02/02/photopeach-creates-interactive-assessments/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:00:21 +0000 Karen Ogen http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/?p=22617

Last week at the FETC (Florida Educational Technology Conference) I attended a session about online tools that can be used for assessment by Kyle Schutt.  Although I have used PhotoPeach before, I had forgotten that the program had the ability to create a quiz from your images.  This makes PhotoPeach a great assessment tool.

Simply upload your photos to PhotoPeach.com, choose a title and music, and then edit your finished slideshow to add captions.  One of the captions options is to add a quiz.  You type a question and provide three possible answers, marking the one that is correct.  A question can be added to each image in your slideshow if you wish.  Your finished slideshow can be embedded on your website so that students can review independently in class or at home.  Or, you can play the video on your SmartBoard or interactive whiteboard as a whole group assessment.  Have students take turns going up to the board and choosing the correct answer.  Assessment can be fun!

 Here is an example:

]]> http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/02/02/photopeach-creates-interactive-assessments/feed/ 2 Are You Headed to the Zoo? http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/02/01/22563/ http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/02/01/22563/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:05:04 +0000 Max http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/?p=22563

Hello Everyone! February is here. That means we are only a couple of weeks away from our first 2012 MI Day of Discovery! If you have already made plans to attend the Kalamazoo DOD we look forward to seeing you there. If you have yet to sign up, please do so here: http://dodkzoo.eventbrite.com.

The best part of the day will be all of the sharing, networking, and collaborating with one another. We are going to have a lot of fun! Are you ready? ;)

]]> http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/02/01/22563/feed/ 0 New York Governor Encouraging Implementation of Evaluation Systems http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/01/31/new-york-governor-encouraging-implementation-of-evaluation-systems/ http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/01/31/new-york-governor-encouraging-implementation-of-evaluation-systems/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:21:38 +0000 Jason Altman http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/?p=22486 As discussed in a previous blog, “Educators ‘Score’ Evaluation Tactics Low,” New York state educators, administrators, and government officials are locking horns over the implementation of teacher evaluation systems that include student assessment results. The latest wave of activity featured a statement by state governor Andrew Cuomo that districts must adopt new evaluation systems or risk losing state funding (for the full Wall Street Journal article see http://on.wsj.com/nyedeval). Cuomo gave unions and the state education department 30 days to settle the lawsuit that was filed in efforts to delay the implementation of evaluation systems that incorporate student test results. He is in part motivated by the potential loss of “Race to the Top” funding that required that such a system be adopted.

Teachers are resistant to the speed at which these systems are being implemented, as evidenced by the petition mentioned in the previously noted blog post, and the lawsuit mentioned in the Wall Street Journal article. I worry about the “READY, FIRE, AIM” approach to implementing these systems as states and districts rush to meet federal guidelines, or hurry to have a system in place as they adopt common core standards and move to a new set of large-scale assessments. How will we evaluate the effectiveness of teachers of special populations (special educators, English Language Learners, etc.)? What system will prove most effective in evaluating educators who do not teach subjects that are tested in state systems? And how can one measure growth from year-to-year if the subject was untested the year before, or if the state’s scoring system is not on a vertical scale?

We must carefully consider the implications of the answers to these questions to ensure that we have soundly developed systems, being used in similar ways throughout the country so that an effective educator in one district or state shares sameness with an effective educator in another.

]]> http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/01/31/new-york-governor-encouraging-implementation-of-evaluation-systems/feed/ 0 Florida Test C To Predict Student Proficiency On FCAT 2.0 http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/01/30/florida-test-c-to-predict-student-proficiency-on-fcat-2-0/ http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/01/30/florida-test-c-to-predict-student-proficiency-on-fcat-2-0/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:22:41 +0000 Jason Altman http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/?p=22389 Just a note for our partners in the “Sunshine State.” The Florida Department of Education has formally set the new FCAT 2.0 state assessment achievement level cut scores. Since the predictions made by Discovery Education interim benchmark assessments are based on these decisions the Florida Test C interim benchmark will be a predictive measure of these new FCAT 2.0 achievement levels. Previously this year, Florida Test A and Test B interim assessments used a different model to score student achievement levels (this model consisted of 20% of students in Level 1, 60% in Levels 2 and 3, and 20% in Level 4). Please know that this change will not affect any reports that Discovery Education previously generated for districts. Good luck to you all on capturing actionable student data during the coming test window.

]]> http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/01/30/florida-test-c-to-predict-student-proficiency-on-fcat-2-0/feed/ 0 Great Collection of STEM Resources on one site http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/01/13/great-collection-of-stem-resources-on-one-site/ http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/01/13/great-collection-of-stem-resources-on-one-site/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:25:38 +0000 David Andrade http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/?p=21807 By David Andrade

 

I created a permanent page at the top of my blog for STEM Resources. The page has resources for students and educators for science, technology, engineering and math organized by sub-topic. It obviously includes a lot of Discovery Resources.

I decided to do this to collect these great resources in one place to make them easier to find.

Are there any you think should be added?

 

]]> http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/01/13/great-collection-of-stem-resources-on-one-site/feed/ 2 Making School Relevant for Students http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/01/08/making-school-relevant-for-students/ http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/01/08/making-school-relevant-for-students/#comments Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:06:39 +0000 David Andrade http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/?p=21669

David Andrade, http://tinyurl.com/edtechguy

(photo from victorisawesome.wordpress.com)

 

Today I overheard this comment by a student in one of my physics classes: “I like this class because I actually learn something real that I can use.” I was very happy to hear this.

 

I try to relate what I’m teaching and what students are doing to something they know. This is something teachers are taught to do, but it’s not always easy. In physics, I relate the concepts to daily activities. For example, today we were exploring the concept of torque. The students learned about extending the length of a tool (lever arm) to increase the torque. We talked about how this could help them when changing a tire or working with a nut and bolt. I work hard to find things like this that I can use to make the learning more relevant. I don’t want a student to ask “Why do we have to learn this?” I want them to know right away how what they are learning is relevant to them. I don’t come up with all of the ideas myself. I find a lot of ideas from textbooks (yes, you heard that right) and my personal learning network. I’ve found some great resources online over the last few years.

 

Relevance in the classroom has always been a major idea in education, but I’m seeing more and more discussions about this topic in the education area lately. Students know that there are certain skills and knowledge that they need for the future.

 

In addition to making the content relevant to them, I use project based learning to help them develop computer skills (presentations, online research, blogging, graphing and calculations with excel, publishing, etc.), communications skills, teamwork, problem solving, self learning, and critical thinking. These are the kinds of things they really need to know and be able to do in the future. (see this article “10 Important Skills Students Need for the Future”.)

 

Another good way to make school more relevant is to let students have a choice on how to demonstrate their learning and use some creativity. Let them choose whether to write a paper, create a website, create a multimedia presentation or write a song to demonstrate their understanding. Let them be creative and have time to explore topics that they are interested in. Differentiating teaching and learning helps also.

 

Making school relevant to students is the best way to engage them and prepare them for the future. Show them how what they are learning is important to them now and in the future. Show them that the content they are learning can help them or serve them in some way and remind them of the other skills they are developing that will help them in life.

 

Related:

 

10 Important Skills Students Need for the Future

 

Project Based Learning

 

Science of Everyday Life

 

Create a Personal Learning Network

 

Should we force students to learn? or How can we change schools to engage students?

 

Differentiating with Web 2.0 Technologies

 

 

 

What do you think? How are you (or how can you) make school more relevant to your students?

 

 

 

 

David Andrade is a Physics Teacher and Educational Technology Specialist in Connecticut. He is the author of the Educational Technology Guy blog, where he reviews free educational technology resources for teachers, discusses ways to use technology to improve teaching and learning, and discusses other issues in education.
He is also a professional development trainer and presenter at conferences, helping educators learn new and innovative ways to educate students. He is also a Discovery Education STAR Educator and member of the CT DEN Leadership Council.

Disclaimer: The information shared here is strictly that of the author and does not reflect the opinions or endorsement of his employer.

]]> http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/01/08/making-school-relevant-for-students/feed/ 0 New Assessments Likely In Less Frequently Tested Subjects http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/01/03/new-assessments-likely-in-less-frequently-tested-subjects/ http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/01/03/new-assessments-likely-in-less-frequently-tested-subjects/#comments Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:43:13 +0000 Jason Altman http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/?p=21552 Seven of the 11 states seeking waivers from the core provisions of NCLB included additional testing as part of their waiver application. Many of these new tests would be in the subjects of science, social studies, the arts, and other subjects not currently required by NCLB. Here is to hoping that they win their waiver requests (if other caveats of their applications are up to snuff) and develop these assessments from the ground up to be accessible, innovative, and interactive, with some performance-based components. While most of these states are bound to one of the new common assessments for reading and math, they have a unique opportunity to push the envelope in these other subject areas. In turn, producing high quality assessment in these subject areas should elevate their value in schools and districts that have seen a drastic narrowing of the curriculum during the past decade. Education Week subscribers can access the full article at http://bit.ly/newtest7. The rest of us have access to Erik Robelen’s blog at http://bit.ly/vEnGwO.

]]> http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2012/01/03/new-assessments-likely-in-less-frequently-tested-subjects/feed/ 1 Be The Future – STEM resource from the Science Channel http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2011/12/21/be-the-future-stem-resource-from-the-science-channel/ http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2011/12/21/be-the-future-stem-resource-from-the-science-channel/#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:35:45 +0000 David Andrade http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/?p=21418 by David Andrade, http://tinyurl.com/edtechguy

 

Be The Future is a STEM resource from the Science Channel, part of Discovery Communications, that provides information, resources, links, lesson resources, and more from a variety of sources, including Discovery Education.

 

It is a new science initiative to help get students interested and engaged in science subjects and careers. There are classroom resources, quizzes, educational games and links to a variety of STEM resources from Discovery Education.

 

 

 

 

]]> http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2011/12/21/be-the-future-stem-resource-from-the-science-channel/feed/ 2 Get Discovery Education Flash Content on your iPad http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2011/12/15/get-discovery-education-flash-content-on-your-ipad/ http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2011/12/15/get-discovery-education-flash-content-on-your-ipad/#comments Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:39:29 +0000 David Andrade http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/?p=21259 by David Andrade, http://tinyurl.com/edtechguy

 

 

Discovery Education has a huge amount of great resources for educators, from videos to lesson plans to e-textbooks and more. Some of it is in Flash, so you can’t access it directly on your iOS device browser. However, iSwifter has partnered with Discovery Education to create Rover. Rover is an iPad browser that allows you to access Flash based content. The Flash content does not run on the device. It is streamed to the Rover app.

 

It allows you to browse and play Flash content, meaning you can now access Discovery Education’s massive resource collection of lesson plans, apps, and materials.

 

Discovery Education also has an iPad friendly site.

 

Related:

 

25 Free Resources from Discovery Education

 

 

 

 

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