Top Tech Tools for Formative Assessment

75 Digital Tools and Apps Teachers Can Use to Support Formative Assessment in the Classroom There is no shortage of formative assessment strategies, techniques, and tools available to teachers who use formative instructional practice in their classrooms. Here is an extensive list of 75 digital tools, apps, and platforms that can help you and your students use formative assessment to elicit evidence of learning. We didn’t just add any old tool to this list. Here are the criteria we used for those that made the cut: 20 Digital Tools for Classroom for Innovative Teachers & Students In the world we live in is, technology is literally everywhere and the kids adapt to it more than anyone else. Unlike teachers, students are being raised in a digital world. For students of all ages, it is absolutely natural to use technology in every aspect of their lives.

Lesson Planning Using The Four Critical Questions - Edunators If your school operates as a Professional Learning Community, chances are you’re very familiar with the Four Critical Questions originally developed by Rick DuFour. They’re essential whenever first starting a collaborative team in a school and well worth reviewing from time to time as you carry on your work. However, what if we re-imagined these questions through the eyes of our students? What sort of impact would this have on the way we lesson plan? Formative Assessment: Bridging the Research - Practice Divide “Teach, mark, move on: that’s the old paradigm. Today’s classrooms have changed. It is important to show the students where they are, how to improve, and where to go from here… It’s no longer about “this is your mark and that’s the end of the story”. ~ Secondary Teacher

5 Must-Have Google Search Tips for Students Is Google OK for formal research? Sure ... if you know how to use it. For those of us who remember a time before the internet, using Google for research might feel strange -- like being thrust from the cozy confines of a favorite library straight into the Wild West of the web. But in today’s world, it’s impossible to ignore Google Search as a legitimate tool for research. Most of us begin any simple quest for knowledge with a Google search. So it makes sense that more serious searches might start there, too. Top 10 Tools For The Digital Classroom There is certainly no shortage of tech-based tools to use in the classroom. In this article we’ll examine some of the best, focusing specifically on those that are designed for encouraging, enhancing, and managing learning. 1. Socrative

Three Easy Ways To Differentiate Instruction - Edunators Differentiated Instruction is a popular buzzword in many education circles, and while some teachers pass it off as “chaotic” or “too much work” the true Edunators amongst us have learned how to embrace this as one of the essential Weapons of Mass Education. While many teachers use Differentiated Instruction to provide more targeted instruction where kids need it most, usually after some bit of formative assessment, it can also be used as means of delivering initial instruction. There are essentially three ways in which teachers can easily differentiate instruction, give them a once over and see if there’s anyway you can tailor your instruction to meet the needs of the individual a bit more in your classroom. 1) Differentiate how students learn necessary course material. Whether it’s by taking notes during a class lecture, playing a game, reading a textbook, or watching a video at home, there are a variety of ways students can come to “know” course material.

5 Critical Steps to Doing Formative Assessments - Illuminate Education Formative assessments can make a big difference in the classroom. The evidence proves it. Many studies show that the average effect size of the impact of formative assessment on standardized tests is 0.4 to 0.7. The change in “effect size” is considered as going from moderate to strong. That’s a home run in the world of treatment effects. To give you an idea of its impact, that’s equivalent to moving a student from the 25th percentile the 50th percentile. 16 OER Sites Every Educator Should Know Open Educational Resources | Feature 16 OER Sites Every Educator Should Know By Dian Schaffhauser07/02/14 Open educational resources not only save students from triple-digit (or more!) textbook costs, but they also allow instructors to mix-and-match content for a more personalized, engaging learning experience. Here are 16 resources that offer a wide range of content and tools to help implement OER in just about any course.

10 Best Free Educational Apps for Students It was not long ago when smartphones were considered a source of distraction for students. Teachers and parents tried everything not to let smartphones affect the education of students. All their attempts ended in vain. But as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. Backward Planning – How Assessment Impacts Teaching and Learning - IDRA • by Nilka Avilés, Ed.D., and Kristin Grayson, Ph.D. • IDRA Newsletter • August 2017 • Assessments are a critical step in the education process as they determine whether the learning objectives of a lesson have been met. By showing students’ understanding of concepts taught, assessments enable teachers to see if their teaching has been effective.

33 Digital Tools for Advancing Formative Assessment in the Classroom 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: