Chapter 10 Discussion

Assessment activities are a way to evaluate student progress. Authentic assessment Jonassen, Howland, Marra, & Crimsond, 2008, as defined in the text, “means that learners engage in educational tasks that are meaningful and directly related to real tasks they may need to perform in the future” (p. 219). As such, an effective way of assessing students which goes along with authentic assessment is by performance assessment (Jonassen, Howland, Marra, & Crimsond, 2008, p. 218), which assesses a student’s progress by having them perform or engage in what they have learned. While portfolios are a good way of evaluating progress and generating feedback, I don’t see as the most effective method for a math class, which I plan to teach. I would most likely use teacher-created (not multiple choice) tests to evaluate, then go through an in depth-review of it so students know where they went wrong. After all, math classes (especially high school ones) are meant to teach students things they will likely use in other math classes, not necessarily how to use it in real life.

                An e-portfolio is a collection of digital artifacts, which showcase a student’s progress throughout a period of time. They may include typed text, videos and graphics, and other types of multimedia. As portfolios are a great way to monitor and assess student progress, an electronic portfolio makes compiling different works easy and fun. The teacher can place criteria on the portfolio to meet any need, be it time or material. So, students are not only compiling their ideas and work, but in a form that benefits them to the digital age we live in. I am not a fan of computer based tests, considering they are essentially the same as non-computer-based ones. In fact, a computer based test is less effective than a normal one because it eliminates a lot of students’ thought processes and quite often supports luck. Even though I have never had an effective computer-based test, I can see the potential for them. After all, video games are becoming more interactive, so why shouldn’t tests.

                I do not think that I will be using e-portfolios or computer-based tests that much, if at all. I believe  that students need to be able to do certain things (like calculus and algebra) before they incorporate technology into it. In my math classes, we are not even allowed to use a calculator except for large, complex numbers and equations. As such, since math tests should NOT be multiple choice, I doubt I will use computer-based tests. After all, I want to see the students work out problems, not just be able to figure them out on the computer, or worse, guess right.

References:

Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R., & Crismond, D.  (2008). Meaningful Learning with Technology (3^rd ed.).  Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:  Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright and Online Safety

Copyrights and fair use rules are put in place to respect the authors of published and unpublished works. They are meant to allow people to enjoy these works and use them to a certain extent without abusing the privilege and taking credit away from the authors. Thievery is illegal and immoral, and using something without permission, such as those protected by copyright, goes against the fundamentals of human morality, as well as the laws of the U.S. (and other) governments. After all, if you go through the time to write something and make a profit from it, you do not want people to cheat the system and steal it. To teach this to my students, I would start out by going over the legal consequences of violating copyright and fair use laws. Then, I would have them research the rules regarding copyrights and what they can do. The cyberbee quiz was also very helpful, and I could use that in class. When doing assignments, I would have them use a reference guide when needing to use an outside source of information.

Online/cyber safety refers to protecting yourself or others from online predators. Cyberbullying refers to being harassed by others online, which may sometimes be unintentional. While they are different, there are some similar characteristics. For example, both are dangerous and can overwhelm your students.  Both should be brought to the attention of a higher authority, such as you (the teacher), parents, and in drastic cases, the police. In fact, when someone thinks they are being bullied by someone online, this “bully” may actually be a predator seeking to harm the person. The best way to protect our students is to advise them on several things. For one, if you are doing research for the class, never register for anything unless the teacher gives you permission. If you see that registering or accessing something requires questionable information about yourself, do not do it. When accessing sites that only require a name, such as a public forum, use an alias. You may even have the class choose one to use universally for the class.

While I did know the importance of copyrights and fair use, I had no idea that the rules were that extensive (and I’m sure my previous teachers don’t know either). I thought that educational facilities had permission to use several resources online, and while they do, the amount that they can is limited, and cannot be taken outside the educational domain. Everything about cyberbullying and online safety was fairly commonplace to me. I was planning on being very careful where students got their sources from the beginning, although I do not plan to do anything that requires resources that much anyways. Growing up using the internet, I realize the importance of online safety and the danger of cyberbullies. I feel that I can present the dangers from my students, and at least give them sound advice on how to avoid potential dangers.

References:

U.S. Copyright Office. (2011). Copyright. Retrieved from http://www.copyright.gov/.

Cyberbee. (2011). Copyright Interactive Tool. Retrieved from http://www.cyberbee.com/cb_copyright.swf.