Integrating Technology into Assessment Tasks

Stage 5 – Yr 9 Great Depression Oral/Research Assessment Task

Georges River College Penshurst Girls Campus

Rationale - Our motivation for re-designing our assessment task

•Use ICT to engage students

•Use ICT to enhance quality of learning

•Make the most of class time due to timetable changes

•Provide an opportunity for students to develop their oratory skills

The Assignment

•Part A: Role play to video •Part B: Create a sources collage &

bibliography•Part C: Written task•2 lessons in class•5 weeks to complete•Web cam- Debut Video Capture Software•Microsoft Research Auto Collage •Adobe Premier Elements 9

The results

Feedback from students•Student feedback – verbal, their work and

survey on www.surveymonkey.com•10 questions on instruction sheet, tasks, ICT,

learning, difficulties and improvements•53 of 60 students responded•Largely positive •Video and collage very popular, writing task

less so• ‘How to’ videos – helpful for majority of

students

Survey resultsQ8. What were the most enjoyable or interesting

parts of the assignment?

• “The making of the video, it was lots of fun. We had a few laughs but still did our work.”

• “The collage and the video but I found it hard to get the confidence to actually present the speech ... once I got it I felt great and glad that I didn’t have to do it in front of the class …”

Survey resultsQ9. Which parts of the assignment were the most difficult or least

interesting?

•Video - finding time to work as pairs, - writing transcript, - some technical difficulties,

especially sound.•Collage - Not hands-on enough for

some, - bibliography was time consuming, - connection to written part unclear

•Written - Challenging

Survey resultsQ10 How could the assignment be

improved? •Work in groups of up to 4 students for video

•Clearer instructions on assignment sheet

•Clearer expectations regarding quality of work

•More time in class for research

•Use own camera or preferred software for video

•ICT for written task

What we changed based on the feedback

• Split the task into two parts

• Wording of the tasks

• Question for written task

• Marking criteria

• More sources work in class

• More explicit instruction for written task

• Survey questions

Reflection: How it changed our teaching

• Collage & Written task – need more connection between these

two tasks & more scaffolding of written task

• Less is more

• Aware of the potential of ICT and that it extends beyond just

using Word and PowerPoint.

• Student views are important, especially in terms of developing

engagement in a subject.

• Survey questioning – Strong tool to use within the classroom

but questions need to be specific.

Future directions

• Other topic areas in Stage 5 History, e.g. WWI & WWII

• Cross-faculty uses – ‘How to’ videos have enabled staff from other faculties to consider using the DER laptops within their own subject areas in a more creative manner

• The development of a platform to showcase the work of students, e.g. a Wiki, blog, or website.