Web-Based Assessment: Google Slides

Technology lesson - Kahoot!

Technology Lesson - Kahoot!

Technology lesson using Kahoot!

I used Kahoot! to assess student’s knowledge of letter recognition.  I incorporated multiple choice questions as well as true or false questions.  Kahoot! provides students with an engaging lesson to be competitive with their peers as well as show their knowledge of the objective at hand.  Kahoot! offers several ways to assess students through different types of questions such as true or false, fill in the blank, polling, and several others.  There is a time limit on each question that makes students think quickly as well as keep them engaged in the lesson.  Teachers must stress that while students need to answer the questions in a timely manner the most important objective to this lesson is to answer questions correctly.  I believe Kahoot! is a great way to keep students interested in the lesson rather than listening to a lecture for a long period of time.  I have never used Kahoot! before, but I like the game style to this learning platform that provides a fun and positive learning environment for students.  It also allows for teachers to get immediate feedback on how their students are doing and assess students where they are currently to see if there are any areas that may need more attention.

References

Roblyer, M. D., & Hughes, J. E. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching: transforming learning across disciplines. Pearson Education, Inc.

Gaming in the Classroom

 

Incorporating gaming into the classroom can bring on some challenges as well as provide many benefits for teachers and students.  A benefit to gaming in the classroom is that it allows for collaborative learning for students.  Students often learn from each other and gaming provides an opportunity for students to interact with each other as well as learn from each other.  Another benefit gaming in the classroom can provide is motivation and engagement for students.  Stansbury and Munro (2013) acknowledged that the pedagogical technique of gaming was favored by students but it also improved comprehension of materials above and over a lecture only control group.  When I was a teacher in a special education adapted curriculum classroom my students retained more information where they were up on their feet and interacting in games on their Chromebooks or our SMART Board.  Helstrom (2017) suggested another benefit to incorporating games into the classroom is that it provides immediate feedback for the teachers on what the students have been working on, what they have completed as well as how well each student is doing on the task at hand.  It also provides immediate feedback for students to see how they are progressing and what areas they may need more work.  While gaming in the classroom provides many benefits, it does bring some challenges for some as well.  Gaming does not suit all learning types and it is important for teachers to know their students before incorporating games into their lessons.  Also, cost and school resources may be another challenge teachers face where the funds are not there to support the games.  Standardized tests may be another challenge teachers face as many districts and schools are very much focused on the test and do not allow times for games.

References

Stansbury, J. A., & Munro, G. D. (2013). Gaming in the classroom: an innovative way to teach factorial designs. Teaching of Psychology, 40(2), 148–152. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628312475037

Hellstrom M., (2017) Gaming the classroom: the transformative experience of redesigning the delivery of a political science class.  Issues and Trends in Educational Technology 5(2). https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_itet_v5i2_hellstrom

The Importance of Data Collection and Analysis in Special Education

 

Data collection and analyzing the data is an important part of special education.  However, there in our district there has been a resistance from teachers when it comes to collecting data.  Ruble et al. (2018) notes that it is important to understand teachers perceptions of the barriers related to data collection to be able to better support the widespread practice in everyday classrooms.  As a district, we meet often to support our teachers with ideas on how to collect data and make it meaningful for them and the students.   When the IEP team comes together, the data is what supports the goals and objectives that are put in place for the individual student.  In my district, each special education teacher collects data on every student with an IEP.  Once the data is collected, the teachers must analyze the data to see if there has been growth towards the goals and objectives.  Several years ago the district put together a way for all teachers to collect data so it would be consistent throughout the county.  The data is collected by taking work samples or observations of the student’s work that is related to the individual goal.  We use a certain form for the teachers to fill out where they analyze the data, make notes such as if the work was independent or with support also whether prompts were needed to complete the task.  Another way we collect data is we have students keep a portfolio of their work.  When the IEP team meets, the student brings their portfolio and presents their work to show whether they see growth or discuss whether they need more supports in certain areas.  This has been beneficial to both teachers and students as it provides answers to whether the plan they have in place is helping the students meet their goals or if they need to reconvene and come up with other ideas to help students be successful. Riggleman (2020) explains that the benefits of data-driven efforts include timely instructional changes, better goals and objectives, and improved educational performance. It is our hope as special educators that we ensure a positive learning environment for our students and through data collection and analysis have proven to be effective in our county.

References:

Ruble, L. A., McGrew, J. H., Wong, W. H., & Missall, K. N. (2018). Special education teachers’ perceptions and intentions toward data collection. Journal of Early Intervention, 40(2), 177–191. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053815118771391

Riggleman, S. (2020). Using Data Collection Applications in Early Childhood Settings to Support Behavior Change. Journal of Special Education Technology. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162643420942763