After spending a little time looking around http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/
I finally found an article that was a little interesting. "Beyond the Bubble: Technology and the Future of Student Assessment" dealt with the inadequacy of standardized testing that came into existence before today's computers and has remained virtually unchanged since. I particularly liked the idea that technology can change the way that we assess student achievement and make it more efficient too. While this article was interesting, I was not overly impressed with the rest of the site. I didn't see much that would be helpful to me, and don't see myself spending much more time looking through the information on the site.
About Me
- D Baker
- I grew up in Escondido, CA, and went to college in Santa Barbara before settling on the Central Coast in the city of Lompoc. My wife and I are both teachers. She currently works with kindergartners while I teach sixth grade. We have three daughters that are all school age.
Posts
One interesting application of new assessment that I have seen revolves around the TOEFL test. This test is taken by tens of thousands of high school students who wish to study at an American university. It is accepted for undergraduate work and graduate level work.
ReplyDeleteSeveral years ago, many undergraduate university students were rightly complaining that they couldn’t understand their teachers’ assistants – many of whom originated in India and China. While they could legitimately understand complex grammar structures, they could not explain something in clear English. In response the paper and pencil TOEFL test was replaced with computer based tests that included an oral section where the student’s voice would be captured and put into an MP3 file. The students were given a prompt such as, “After listening to Professor Lloyd, what are the four main points of the lecture?” After the TOEFL test taker responded, the MP3 file would be sent out to be evaluated for both content and clarity.
I think when you look at the point of the site as being one that links business with education, it really serves a great purpose. Companies can get involved in helping schools better understand the needs in the current and growing needs in the workplace, which is a very important aspect to what we do as educators.
ReplyDeleteMagan
Standardized Testing is a great example of how education is not keeping up with technology. I bet that I would be amazed at the amount of money the state put into their standardized test. The money and time could be better used somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteThere are some good articles and ideas on this site, but I agree that the site was not the best. I think that the navigation on the site was lacking.
Tyler