Lesson 7: Evaluation of Technology Learning

Ganancial, Estela L.  BSEd General Science 4

MW 3:00-5:00 PM

Educational Technology 2

Lesson 7: Evaluation of Technology Learning

Content

            The standard student evaluation of learning outcomes must change. This is justified by the fact that not only has the new generation changed into digital learners, but the traditional world has metamorphosed into digital world. Assessment needs to conform, not to the literacy of the past century but the new literacy of the 21^st century. This is the literacy that uses digital tools in preparing students to face a high-tech world. Teachers must adopt new mindset both for instruction and evaluation. Evaluation must be geared to assessment of essential knowledge and skills so that students can function holistically. It must use evaluative tools that measure the new basic skills of the 21^st century digital culture, namely: solution fluency, information fluency, collaboration fluency, creative fluency, media fluency, and digital citizenship.  These six fluency skill reflect the process skills of the students. The standard paper tests will prove inadequate in assessing new learning. As they involve in process skills, there’s also a need to focus on the 4 D’s (define, design, do, debrief) that empower students to solve problems using higher-level theoretical and practical thinking.

            We have the term mass amateurization which is the change in evaluation approach that implies a mass reach of student outputs. The personal and group activities in school should aim at bridging the gap between amateur creators of outputs to professional creators of future outcomes and products in the real world. The process involve idea conception, planning, layout and graphics designing, editing proofreading, and publishing.  The use of desktop publishing is a good example. The internet also is a good avenue for publishing creative outputs such as wikis, blogs, videos, and etc.

Experience

           

During our Edtech 1 days, our instructor had been exposed us to so much projects that require process skills and less to paper works. We were always learning by doing which means we worked in group to accomplish a certain task. We were assessed based from our outputs that’s why we need to work hard and aim for good always by giving our best to create the best output to satisfy our evaluator. The first half of semester was more on not so hard activity such as creating weird inventions and prototypes. The second half was more on rigid work outputs such as movie poster making and short film making. We were able to held short film festival that I was considered it to be the best accomplishments in my Edtech 2. In my high school days, in my computer subject, we were required to make a newsletter as webpage. It was a challenging task for me, I admit, but the moment I engaged on it, I found it enjoyable because I worked for it by group. I was so happy that time because I received a high grades from that output.

Reflection

            As I reflect, I can see that the type of assessment being employed in educative process really need to go beyond for an effective teaching and learning process. They say, digital learners appear smarter than with so much exposure to technology. As they engage in learning, it should be that assessment must fit to their performance as in processed performance. We all know that learners today are not just passive but their curiosities make them interact to the digital world. Since we are now on the K+12 curriculum which is an outcome-based education, standardized tests are not enough to measure the totality of their learning. It should be more than that at least to assess their outputs.

Application

            As future science teacher, I already expect that most of my future students will be digital learners. It is a good strategy that I would employ IT-based projects and I think that will fit for science. Science really requires process skills enable student to understand the concept.  I will still use paper-and-pencil tests but for some instances only such as diagnosing their prior knowledge or refreshing their ideas. But to appreciate their learning, I would require my students to go beyond the four corners of the classroom to explore the environment.  From that technique, they could develop those skills into competencies preparing them to be globally competitive individuals in their future careers.