Literacy and New Technologies

Tonight's presentation is on Literacy and New Technologies.  
You're encouraged to follow along on your laptop and click through the various links and resources at your own pace.
For a brief introduction on the topic, watch the youtube video below.

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In the comment section below, please write a few words, thoughts, or questions you might have about  
Literacy and New Technologies.

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Click HERE when you're done and wait for further instruction.

Three questions about assessment and new technologies...

1. How can technology be used to assess learning outcomes?

One way that technology has been used to assess student learning is through the development of computer-based examinations. These exams often serve as a summative assessment, consisting of multiple choice questions and administered at the end of a unit of study.
(How many of you have taken an online course where you've been required to take timed, multiple choice exams through WebCT?)
I've also seen these types of assessment practices used to test reading comprehension of grade 1 students: each child reads an on-screen story and answers multiple choice questions after each "page". At the end of the story, a results page indicates how well a student did on the quiz. 
Aside from the immediacy of results, these computer-based exams do not differ greatly from the paper and pen tests usually assigned. 

E-portfolios can also be used to assess student understanding. Students can use various software programs to design and organize their own digital portfolios that can illustrate the process they've taken to complete assignments, as well as highlight finished projects. Electronic portfolios not only allow students to include multimodal works (including film and image based assignments), but they can also be easily modified and updated as a student moves through grades. 

(Click here for an article by C. Paul Newhouse for more information)

 Although these assessment practices use technology, they do not address how educators can assess multimodal projects created by students, which brings us to the next question...

2. How can we assess multimodal work created with new technologies? 

Claire Wyatt-Smith and Kay Kimber suggest that we need to shift our understanding of assessment from assessment of learning to assessment for learning. This shift implies that assessment is an ongoing process, where educators and students work together to help students meet required outcomes. These outcomes should be negotiated and decided upon through discussion between students and teachers and should change with each new task and type of software being used. 
The students role as designer in creating their multimodal work is an important element in assessment, and students should be encouraged to reflect on their decisions throughout the creative process. These reflections will provide insight for the teacher on why and how students chose particular words, images, video, colours, etc to make-meaning for their intended audience. 
(For example, I chose the image for my blog banner because it incorporated both books (a traditional form of literacy) and computers (new technology) and thus visually illustrated the blog's title "Literology" - a combination of literacy and technology).
 Wyatt-Smith and Kimber also argue that text-based assessments and rubrics may "flatten" the "magic" of multimodal presentations, and as such they should be avoided when assessing student work. Rather forms of technology and digital tools should be used to offer feedback or to allow for interactions with peers and online communities. 


This [pdf] outlines three principles for multimodal assessment as developed by Claire Wyatt-Smith & Kay Kimber


3. How do we assess literacy when students have created multimodal work?
We had a tough time finding research that specifically addressed literacy assessment with, or through, the use of new technologies. So we've decided to hear some of your suggestions. 
A few things to consider:
What definition of literacy do you need to have to assess your group's "assignment"?
How might you explain to a parent how your group's "assignment" illustrates or encourages literacy?
Does your assessment strategy generate comparative results?
Do you think this picture is hilarious? 

Assessment Activity:

Ok EDU 7133, here are some example assignments about anti-bullying for you guys to look at. They are presented as alternatives to a traditional written text about anti-bullying. Have a look at them, dicuss with your group, and hopefully you can come up with some suggestions about how to assess these digital texts. Good Luck!

Group 1: An anti-bullying text from a famous pupil: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USgEmz5WHsA

 
Group 2: Who doesn't love facebook? Go to www.facebook.com and enter email: edu71338@hotmail.ca and password: literacy. Do some facebook creeping on your 3 friends and check out 'your' comments too.

Group 3: For all you history lovers out there! http://www.capzles.com/#/db552cf8-78ab-4058-8dc6-db52e7a058cb/. To get more info click on the photo, then at the top, click 'show details' and then you can use the arrows from there to go back and forth.

Group 4: A new twist on the traditional poster: http://edu7133.edu.glogster.com/stopbullying/


Remember to post your thoughts on Twitter as you go! After, we'll discuss as a class what you came up with.