your testing materials. Would you be willing to share the actual tests you
use?
Anne Patrick
apatrick@bakerdemschool.org
Baker Demonstration School
> I think to truly measure what students know, you have to actually have
> them do it, and see if they can. Having a survey asking students if
> they know how to do something is not the same.
>
> In the past, I have created benchmark assessments for grades 2, 5, and
> 8. I have not yet implemented this at my current school (second year
> here). These assessments had three parts: oral, written, and
> practical. The oral part was done in the classroom with questions such
> as copyright, uses of technology, etc. It was formally evaluated with a
> rubric ensuring all students were participating in the discussion. The
> second part was a written test. The second grade one took about 15
> minutes, the fifth grade one about 30 minutes, and the 8th grade one
> about 45 minutes. It was terminology and short answer.
>
> The practical part was given to small groups (no more than 10 students)
> and asked them to do a variety of tasks including word processing,
> drawing, create a multi-media presentation, find and evaluate
> information on the Internet, create a spreadsheet, use a brainstorming
> application (like Inspiration). The 2nd grade was 1 hour; the 5th grade
> was 90 minutes, and the 8th grade had two hours to complete it. They
> were allowed to use any help they could find on the computer.
>
> The final check list evaluation was given to the parents, went in their
> cum folder, and was sent to the High School for 8th graders.
>
> It has been four years since I have given it, so I would need to add
> some Web 2.0 tools to see how well students can use these tools.
>
> It was very eye-opening when I first gave this in the late 1990s. Some
> kids flew threw the material and others weren't even able to do simple
> word processing. Apparently, they always had help from someone to do
> the things they didn't know, never actually learning how to do it on
> their own.
>
> Since then, I emphasize the need for students to figure things out on
> their own. If they are stuck, what tools do they have on the computer
> that can help them? How is the program similar to others they have
> used, so they might use what they know about the other program to learn
> the new one?
>
> I hope this helps.
>
> Renee Ramig
> Seven Hills School
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: A forum for independent school educators
> [mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Peter Gow
> Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2008 11:20 AM
> To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
> Subject: QUERY: Student tech competency
>
> We've been talking quite a bit about laptops and digital natives at our
> place, but I'm vaguely aware of considerable variance in student
> technological savvy and usage, especially but not confined to the Web
> 2.0
> competencies that are presumed to be universal among our kids.
>
> I'm wondering if anyone has undertaken any kind of very current baseline
> survey to gather information on what kids actually do know and what kids
> actually do use (and use regularly and well) from among the juicy menu
> of
> 2.0 products and services available. I guess I would be interested in
> recent results as well as in particular instruments; we use SurveyMonkey
> all the time here, which would obviously be the way to go in conducting
> a
> survey (among kids who check school email and are inclined to do online
> surveys, anyhow).
>
> I would be especially interested in any ideas about how to learn about
> principled outliers--the families who don't permit, the kids who won't
> IM,
> people who are privately boycotting Google or Microsoft--and how those
> folks have been brought into 1:1 programs or even "discovered" as
> teachers
> require more and more work to be done using the tools of the New
> Technology.
>
> In a nutshell, what I want to find out reality as to whether "all" the
> kids are truly doing and able to do all the things that they are all
> purported to be doing.
>
> Any guidance would be appreciated.
>
> Cheers--Peter Gow
>
>
> Peter Gow, Director of College Counseling and Special Programs
> Beaver Country Day School
> 791 Hammond Street
> Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
> www.bcdschool.org
> Tel. 617-738-2755
> FAX 617-738-2701
> Skype: petergow3
>
>
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