The first assessment tool that I explored was Kahoot (www.kahoot.com). This program is already used by several teachers at our school, so I knew that students may be somewhat familiar with how it works. I found that there was an abundance of art quizzes, ranging from elementary art and principles of design to specific design techniques and vocabulary. These quiz offerings would definitely help meet our students’ needs in formative and summative assessments, as it would give me insight into who is meeting, not meeting, and exceeding objectives. Art tends to diversify itself, and I’m usually able to connect with all learners because art doesn’t rely on language, or even ability. I do think that Kahoot would benefit language learners, as well as those with special needs.
The second tool that I found useful was Quizizz (www.quizizz.com). It was interesting that even though I was familiar with Kahoot and unfamiliar with Quizizz, I actually found Quizziz to be more useful (and therefore effective) for me in the art room. The access to quizzes from different areas is amazing, and I feel the memes and suggestions make it more relevant to modern age learning. Also, I appreciate the options to make collections of quizzes, all of which increase student engagement and my engagement as well.
My initial experience with Screencast-o-matic was with a prior course. I quickly forgot, but then easily remembered, how to start, pause, record, and upload. I did feel frustrated that I didn’t know more, and even though I explored different aspect of the application, I felt the need to focus more on the assessment tools and readings, and less on the screencast. Looking back, I could benefit from an entire course/module just on screencasting, but I appreciate the chance to review my screencasting abilities in an effort to present what I’ve learned about formative assessment. As an art teacher, I will continue to explore this tech tool, as one of our county objectives is to teach artistic behavior and encourage student choice. Implementing blended learning/flipped classroom for students I see every 2-3 weeks is challenging, but if I recorded lessons (even if just for those who want to access on their phone), so that those students could preview a lesson, it would be more beneficial than not. Also, I could record lessons for students to view in-class, or have fifth grade students record a first grade lesson as demonstration of understanding. As I explored Screencast-o-matic, I believe the connections between instruction and assessment as connected to blended learning and student engagement are too beneficial to ignore.
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