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Digital Formative Assessment Options 33 Digital Tools for Advancing Formative Assessment in the Classroom

• By Kathy Dyer • January 21, 2014

I came across a great blog post the other day – Formative Assessments Are Easier Than You Think – that told the firsthand account of a teacher, Steven Anderson, who implemented formative assessment in his classroom. He used a sticky-note version of an exit ticket to elicit evidence of student learning and in his words, “what a difference that made.”

Formative assessment is ‘easier than you think’ and with all the digital tools and apps now available for mobile devices it’s even easier. We’ve shared some digital tools before and with the five tools that Steven shared combined with our earlier suggestions there are now 33 digital tools that we’ve uncovered that are free or inexpensive and help teachers implement formative assessment in their classrooms. Here they are:

A few of Steven’s discoveries:

Lino – A virtual corkboard of sticky-notes so students can provide questions or comments on their learning. These can be used like exit tickets or during the course of a lesson.

Poll Everywhere – Teachers can create a feedback poll or ask questions. Students respond in various ways and teachers see the results in real-time. As Steven indicates, with open-ended questions you can capture data and spin up tag clouds to aggregate response. You should note that Poll Everywhere has a limit to the number of users. Mentimeter (which we’ve listed below) does not which makes it a little more functional.

Socrative – Engaging exercises and games that engage students using smartphones, laptops and tablets. MORE on Socrative on page 5.

A recap of those we’ve previously blogged about:

AnswerGarden – A tool for online brainstorming or polling, educators can use this real time tool to see student feedback on questions. MORE on AnswerGarden on page 4.

Ask3 – This app for the iPad allows students and teachers to collaborate on lessons both in and outside of the classroom. Questions can be posted to specific classrooms set up in the app, and students can add their thoughts, answers, and thinking to the whiteboard.

AudioNote – A combination of a voice recorder and notepad that captures both audio and notes for student collaboration.

BubbleSheet – An app that allows students to complete assignments and common assessments using an iPhone or iPad Quizzes up to 10 questions are free.

Coggle – A mind mapping tool designed to understand student thinking.

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Conceptboard – This software facilitates team collaboration in a visual format – similar to mind mapping, but using visual and textual inputs. Compatible on tablets and PCs, Conceptboard can work from multiple devices.

Five Card Flickr – Designed to foster visual thinking, this tool uses the tag feature from photos in Flickr.

ForAllRubrics – This software is free for all teachers and allows you to import, create and score rubrics on your iPad, tablet or smartphone. You can collect data offline with no internet access, compute scores automatically and print or save the rubrics as a PDF or spreadsheet.

Formative Feedback for Learning – An iPad app that is designed to foster and encourage communication between students and teachers. Through a conference setting it uses icons to prompt discussions. Dylan Wiliam, our resident formative assessment expert, says, “Formative Feedback for Learning looks very useful. I can see myself recommending it to others.”

Google Forms – A Google Drive app that allows you to create documents that students can collaborate on in real time using smartphones, tablets and laptops.

iBrainstorm – An iPad app that allows students to collaborate on projects using a stylus or their finger on screen.

I>Clicker – A device that helps facilitate all student response to polls, questions and other teacher-led discussions.

iLEAP Pick a Student – Helps the teacher pick a student from the class, and uses turn-based selection so every student is selected before a student is picked again. Supports multiple classes and has a number of selection options.

InfuseLearning – A platform by which teachers can engage all students on any device, getting valuable formative feedback along the way. MORE about Infuse Learning on page 4.

iThoughts – This mind mapping app for Apple’s iFamily® is a great visual tool to help you brainstorm ideas, plan projects and themes, and set goals. As students discuss ideas and possible answers to discussions, educators can visually see the path that their thinking takes, helping to understand how students are learning.

Mentimeter – Allows you to use mobile phones or tablets to vote on any question a teacher asks, increasing student engagement.

Padlet – Provides an essentially blank canvas for students to create and design collaborative projects. Great for brainstorming.

Pick Me! – An easy to use app for the iPod, iPad and iPhone that facilitates random student selection. Can be organized by class for convenience.

PollDaddy – Quick and easy way to create online polls, quizzes and questions. Students can use smartphones, tablets, and computers to provide their answers and information can be culled for reports.

RabbleBrowser – An iPad app that allows a leader to facilitate a collaborative browsing experience.

QuickVoice Recorder – Another free voice recording app for the iPhone or iPad that allows you to record classes, discussions or other project audio files. You can sync your recordings to your computer easily for use in presentations.

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Random Name/Word Picker – This tool allows the teacher to input a class list and facilitates random name picking. You can also add a list of keywords and use the tool to have the class prompt a student to guess the word by providing definitions.

SMART Response VE (for SMARTboards) – A cloud-based software that enables students to respond to planned and spontaneous questions and take quizzes using any of their favorite Internet-enabled devices, from anywhere.

Tagxedo – A tag cloud generator that allows you to examine student consensus and facilitate dialogue.

ThinkBinder – A collaboration tool that allows students to ask questions and discuss topics in a group, share, create and work together on almost any project.

TodaysMeet – This online collaboration tool allows educators to create a “room” in which students can share ideas, answers and thoughts to lectures and lessons. Educators can view student responses in real time for evidence of learning.

VoiceThread – Allows you to create and share conversations on documents, diagrams, videos, pictures or almost anything. This facilitates collaborative student discussion and work.

Vocaroo – A free service that allows users to create audio recordings without the need for software. You can easily embed the recording into slide shows, presentations, or websites. Great for collaborative group work and presentations.

Wordle – Generates tag clouds from any entered text to help aggregate responses and facilitate discussion.

XMind – A mind mapping software for use on computers and laptops.

This is a great list of digital tools and we’d love to have your suggestions on what we can add to it. What other tools are you using in your classroom or school? Share your additions in the comments section below and let’s build an even larger list! Dyer, Kathy. "33 Digital Tools for Advancing Formative Assessment in the Classroom."

Ed. 2014. Northwest Evaluation Association, 21 Jan. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. <http://www.nwea.org/blog/2014/33-digital-tools-advancing-formative-assessment-classroom/ >.

Free Digital Formative Assessment Tools: Important Thoughts Before Implementing December 1, 2014 By: Michael Gorman

Technology and the interactive web provides ample opportunity to gauge student understanding and learning in ways not possible just a few short years ago. Not only can the formative assessment process be engaging, it can also be owned by students. In this post I wish to explore some of those tools that allow teachers to take short temperature reads while involving students in their learning. Before introducing the tools I have several thoughts and ideas that should be considered before using any tool provided on the web. Remember that student privacy is very important and any tool used should be approved by the school district and sanctioned in some way with the District AUP (Acceptable Use Policy. With this in mind you should:

• Read and be aware of your district AUP (Acceptable Use Policy) • Read the Terms of Use and Privacy Statement of all web programs used in

classroom

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• Do not sign up students for accounts, or put in an online class list, without checking district policy

• If a tool states that students not have to sign up… still be sure that students do not leave a digital footprint that leaves an identity

• Educate and encourage students to practice proper digital citizenship at all times

The sites listed below allow for some wonderful interaction. Please enjoy and use with you students in both an educational and responsible manner. Take a moment to explore the program, learn and reflect on possibilities, and investigate through the terms, privacy, and your school AUP, how they can best serve your students.

Kahoot – This is an amazing formative assessment tool that allows an educator to: • Make quizzes • Start a discussion • Create A Survey

If your students like a gaming environment complete with a leaderboard… then this will be a hit in the classroom. Content questions can be used and teh teacher has access to all results. How do you get started? All a teacher needs is a free Kahoot Account which can be obtained at https://getkahoot.com/ .The below manual explains how to make an interactive activity with Kahoot. Remember this is a Web 2.0 Tool. It is suggested for students to use nicknames or first names only. Enjoy the tutorial. You can also learn more from the manual.

Infuse Learning – This is a very easy formative assessment tool to get student response and even begin a classroom discussion. After the teacher signs up for an account a classroom is created with a unique ID number. Website to sign up for a free account. Students then go to the student sign in to a page using Class ID along with their first name or nick name. Remember to remind students to never put in personal or self identifying information when answering any question from Infuse Learning. If a teacher wants to use the advanced features and set up a class, they should be sure to follow their district AUP and read the Terms and Privacy policy for teh site. Infuse Learning can be used to input in the following formats: • Drawing • Multiple Choice • Open Ended Text • True False • Sort In Order • Numeric • Likert Scale

Infuse Learning works on a variety of devices and uses most browsers except Internet Explorer. Watch the below tutorial to see how easy it is to use.

Answer Garden – Welcome to another online tool to allow for Formative Assessment and engage students in discussion. Answer Garden allows the teacher to set up a website that gathers student input and ideas. As students answer a question prompt, their answers appear on the home Answer Garden screen set up by the teacher. Both teacher and students have an opportunity to see what the ideas of the crowd really are. It is simple to use. Since this is a open web tool students should be reminded to not answer with personal or identifying information. No student log in is required. Ways to use Answer Garden:

• Pose a Driving Question • Collect ideas and opinions • Look for adjectives that describe a character in a book • Use as a polling mechanism… large words most popular • Look for number of class that can get a correct answer • Incorporate in a Socrative Seminar

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• Align words to an idea, concept, place, or object • Compare and contrast using two Answer Gardens • Exit ticket of a learned concept • Get feedback on an upcoming test • Your idea

Answer Garden can also be uploaded to Wordle or Tagxedo to create a Word Cloud. In the area below take a moment to learn more about how to use Answer Garden. Explore these opportunities To Learn More About Answer Garden

• Check out this Quick Start Guide • Look at this Demonstration of Answer Garden • Learn more about Answer Garden with these Facts • Answer Garden One Page Direction Sheet

Quizlet – This is a wonderful study tool that allows for self-assessment by students. Quizlet has a variety of flashcards, tests, and study games that make learning fun and engaging for students of all ages. It is also be used on any computer at home or school, and on the go using the free mobile apps for iOS and Android. The free account allows teachers and students to create study sets, track study progress, and compete while working collaboratively with others. Note that the free version does include some advertisements. Along with creating a quizlet, it is also possible to find others that just might help from a large database made by others. While class set ups are not required, it should be noted that there are opportunities to set up a class and Terms and Privacy policies should be compared with school AUP if doing so. There are even ways to password protect each Quizlet. Take a moment to explore the following areas of Quizlet. • Teacher Resources • Student Resources • Help and Information Center

Socrative – This is an amazing feedback tool that allows the teacher to get some quick formative feedback on student learning, understanding, and reflection. It is based on the teacher creating “Quick Question” activities that can include Multiple Choice, True False and Short Answer They are intended to be quick and easy pulse checks with visuals. Students can use just about any device. It also allows for the student to remain anonymous. In short answer areas students should not post identifying information. As in all of these tools, it is sometimes best to have students use first name only, or nicknames. There are reports that are always available in the REPORTS section found after selecting MANAGE QUIZZES from the teacher dashboard. Reports can be downloaded or emailed after a class completes a Quiz. There is even a game feature. There are other advanced features that allow for class set up and student collaboration if it is appropriate for age of students. As always please be sure to check Terms and Privacy and see where your intended usage aligns with district AUP. Learn even more by exploring the below links:

• Socrative You Tube Channel • Garden of Blog Posts (Creative ways to use in classroom) • User Guide • Training Documents

Gorman, Michael. "Free Digital Formative Assessment Tools: Important Thoughts Before Implementing." Tech & Learning. TechLearning.com, 1 Dec. 2014. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. <http://www.techlearning.com/Default.aspx?tabid=67&entryid=8600 >.