CYBER GUIDE As Educators, we really should be 'reflective practitioners', in order to ensure we are providing our students with the very best educational tools. Here are some tools that can help your reflections....  CURRIC. APP. LINKS Evaluation and Reflection Tools 4U
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REFLECTION & EVALUATION TOOLS 4U What is 'reflection'? Reflect (verb): to think carefully, especially about possibilities and opinions While this type of reflection is most often applied to students, as educators, we too, should be 'reflective practitioners'. Ask yourself the questions: What worked? What didn't? How could I approach things differently in the future? So, what's 'evaluation'?Evaluate (verb): to judge or calculate the quality, importance, amount or value of something. Basically, when you're asked to evaluate something, you're being asked to decide if it's worthwhile or not. You need to take into account validity, bias and influence and whether or not it's useful for your purpose. There are a number of ways you (and your students) can Reflect and Evaluate... Which Web 2.0 applications can be used? Evaluation and reflection are integral to learning. There are literally hundreds of ways that you can use Web 2.0 tools for evaluation and reflection ... you just need to think outside the square!
Web 2.0 improves on traditional websites by providing two-way interaction. The information is user-generated - they read information, and actively engaging with it. Online interaction is an environment which allows information to be 'trafficked' constantly amongst multiple users. As users can become more directly involved in online interactions, it makes sense that they will do more than just read the content. This capacity for interaction makes Web 2.0 applications ideal for evaluation and reflection activities. Wikis A Wiki is a perfect tool for personal reflection and shared reflection. Individuals can use it as a type of 'diary', while groups can use it as a 'workspace', where opinions and advice are shared. See my page Wikis4U for more information about setting up your own Wiki. Examples of Wikis in the Classroom History Happening is a student-centre wiki that allows participants to comment and reflect on what they are presently learning in the classroom. Also have a look at this Book Study Wiki set up by a Primary School class to show their reflections on a novel they are reading. Student wikis can be public like Mooniy's Wiki or private like Christian P's And, believe it or not, there are wikis that give you the opportunity for you to post a question or comment about using wikis in the classroom! Blogs
Blogs (or Weblogs) are another great way to 'reflect'. Generally, they are personal, but operate in the public domain, where others can log on and comment on your postings. My Blogs4U page can walk you through setting up your own blog. While you're at it, check out My Blog on this site and My E-Rock Blog on the Companion Site.
In the classroom, Blogs are useful little critters... students can log their reflections on any number of things, and because the entries are dated, they are great to show how understanding of a topic can evolve! Look at this Book Study and Reflection Blog
Online Forums
Another fab reflection tool is an Online Forum. Generally, they are subject specific, and they're a great way to share and reflect on strategies, information and challenges, as well as offer advice and opinions to others. Check out Teachnology, Teacher Focus or e-Forum — an Australian site with links to a number of teacher forums.
What do student forums look like?
Straight up, why not check out my E-Rock Have Your Say Forum? Most of the forums online are closed forums to protect the privacy of students.
Be Tween Talk is a well-moderated forum for 8 to 13 year old children. Membership is free and takes only minutes. Children must register to be able to post questions or replies, design a ‘tweenie’ avatar, or play in the arcade.
You will have noticed the simplicity of kids' discussions. As educators you'll want to get them thinking more deeply about issues as they share their ideas.
Socratic dialogue is a discussion technique that you can use with students to deepen and broaden face-to-face or online discussions. The theory is, that if you teach students Socratic dialogue techniques, the quality of the discussion and the depth of understanding will improve.
It goes something like this ...
Pose a 'big question' of interest to the students or of relevance to the topic of study.Older students then formulate responses to the 'big question' that:
Or younger students might simply formulate a response that includes:
Find out more about Socratic dialogue.
Try these activities based on children's literature ... Danny's Egg and I Did Nothing Perhaps you're interested in setting up your own forum? Check out my Forums 4U page for help. What about Online Quizzes for Evaluating and Reflecting?
Ever see those ads online for IQ tests that take minutes to complete? While these might not be the best quality that doesn’t mean that all online quizzes need to be like them. There are a wide range of tools available for creating your own interesting and self-paced online quizzes. These can enhance student learning and supply immediate feedback to the user. It has been found that students can react quite positively to the use of these tools. My pick of the Online Quiz Makers is: ProProfs Quiz School With a few simple clicks you can create a scored or personality styled quiz with custom design of colours and your own scoring system.
Surveys
Want Feedback Now? – Go Online Try asking your students what they think!
It's a great way to find out whether you're 'hitting your target' in the classroom. This article gives a quick guide to developing your own questionnaires and surveys.
Online surveys allow you to get feedback quickly and easily from your students. Whether it be to gain their preferences for lesson styles or giving an opportunity for students to evaluate you as an educator anonymously, online surveys can give you information to which you wouldn’t otherwise readily have access. Have a look at this list of some the best online survey programs for some hints and tips!
Online surveys are a great tool for this, so check out my Surveys 4U page for some ideas. Check out the Have Your Say Survey on the E-Rock Companion Site for more ideas about how to embed surveys in the curriculum!
The Webtools 4u2 Use blog on Wikispaces (which takes ages to load) recommends 5 popular quiz and polling tools for you to 'test drive' and stacks more for you to 'explore'.
Kathy Schrock's Website contains a number of critical evaluation surveys - encompassing everything from websites to blogs and podcasts. It's really worth a look!
How can I use surveys with students? Free Online Surveys are usually easy enough for even primary school students to create simple surveys that allow Boolean (yes/no) or multiple choice responses.
It's important the kids know:
Kids can learn about survey design by completing surveys themselves. Get students to print off and analyse these paper based surveys. Then they can discuss how they might create a similar online survey. KidzEyes is a website specifically set up to collect the kids points of view. It encourages kids to complete online surveys on a range of topics. Parental permission would be required before engaging students with sites like this one. Debate the issue at our Cyber Safety 4U Forum. |
