EDTC 6433 Module 2: ISTE Standard 2 - Student Blogging as Assessment

ISTE Standard 2: Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

 

Article: Learning is Messy

 

The second ISTE standard deals with the mechanics of a classroom; specifically, how technology is used to instruct and test (Standards). This standard requires teachers to use technology to find ways of instructing students by the methods they learn best by, and to help them explore topics that interest them. Teachers are also required to use technology to create many different ways to assess student learning (Standards). For a history class, technology might be used to provide an alternative to the traditional written test.

In an article for the New York Times, Matt Richtel (2012) describes three methods of teaching writing to students: assigning a traditional term paper, assigning a number of blog posts over the term, or both. According to Richtel, a blog post “gives the writer the immediacy of an audience, a feeling of relevancy, instant feedback from classmates or readers, and a practical connection to contemporary communications” that term papers do not offer (2012). Conversely, writing a paper trains writers in creating an argument and adequately supporting their conclusions. A class that uses both traditional writing and blog posts ideally offers both the exercise in critical thinking and the contributory nature of blogs (Richtel 2012).

One teacher who used a blog to recognize his students’ work is Brian Crosby, who published some of his students’ projects on his blog “Learning is Messy” and so gave them the opportunity to interact with their peers in other classrooms as well as experts (Dean Hubbell Pitler & Stone 2012). Interestingly, one video deals with the topic of bullying, a problem his students faced that year that the video helped to resolve (Crosby). In addition to improving their classroom, the video earned recognition and multiple awards (Crosby). Although not strictly academic, this is an example of students receiving recognition for their work. Recognition can dramatically affect student motivation in a positive way (Dean et al 2012), so blogging can be a useful tool for improving student learning.

The method of combining writing and a blog post probably makes the most sense for a history class, as it gives students a chance to thoroughly analyze a topic and then summarize it with their sources online. However, instead of handing in a paper to be summarized for the website, students might also have the option to turn in drawings, videos, or other types of media that are most relevant to their research topic and that can be displayed in entirety online. In this way, students have the opportunity to present their findings in the most practical method and post their findings in a place that will open the door for further discussion with likeminded students or experts that they would not otherwise be able to work with.

This project could also be turned into an assessment if the project instead covers topics taught in class; possibly, it could take the place of a test or final exam. Rather than sit for a test, students could produce a project in some technological format, such as a video or a computer drawing, and submit that as evidence of what they learned. Feedback from experts may have a particular impact if this project is treated as an assessment, as it will provide feedback from someone other than the teacher. My original question for this module had to do with improving students’ attitude about history class, and while this does not answer the question directly, the possibility of having a creative assessment might encourage students who do not like traditional tests to have a more positive attitude about history class.

Blog posting might raise some concerns for a classroom, particularly if parents do not  feel comfortable having their children posting on a website the entire world can see, or students themselves are uncomfortable posting their schoolwork online. Furthermore, a teacher hosting a classroom blog would have to oversee the posts very carefully to make sure no information is false and no content is inappropriate. Finally, depending on what media students use to present what they have learned, technology may play a very limited role. In order to fully meet ISTE Standard 2, student blogging will need a little more adjusting so that technology is present in all stages of teaching or a project. However, student blogging offers students the chance to present what they have learned in a medium they choose and then receive recognition for their hard work.

Sources:

Crosby, B. Student Videos. Learning is Messy. Retrieved from http://www.learningismessy.com/student-videos/

Dean, C.B., Hubbell, E. R., Pitler, H., and Stone, B. (2012). Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement (2^nd edition). Denver, CO: McREL, and Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Print.

Richtel, Matt. (2012, January 20). Blogs vs. Term Papers. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/education/edlife/muscling-in-on-the-term-paper-tradition.html

Standards for Teachers. ISTE. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-teachers