Software to Support Assessment

Software to Support Assessment

Introduction

The relationship between technology and learning is not as easy as it seems. Assessment in the field of education refers to the measure and extent of student learning. Key facets of assessment in classroom setting include the following (SMART, 2011):

The assessment should remain focused on the learning in students

The assessment is incomplete without collection of information as well as analysis and correct implementation of that information

The assessment data must be used to gain important insights and bring improvements to the system of education.

The paper discusses the role of technology in ongoing effort to assess student learning, difference between formative assessment and summative assessments, the pros and cons of using technology to assess student learning and use of technology as a sole measure to assess student learning.

Discussion

Technology can facilitate the ongoing efforts to assess student learning in many ways. It supports the assessment in that it is help when it comes to development of curricula, and development of assessment tools. The technology has made it possible to not only assess student learning across multiple subject areas but also to assess multiple dimensions of the performance and learning of students. In addition, the flow and transition between the different functions that are expected to be performed by the class instructor becomes very convenient (Yarnall & Penuel, 2005). These include, but may not be limited to, creation of lessons for the class, management of class and assessment of student learning. The latest technology on student assessment is aimed at keeping the students focused on learning, encouraging students to engage in collaborative learning and assessing the understanding in students easily. Some examples of latest software are SMART Classroom Suite which is an interactive software and Handheld Software (Spurlin, 2006).

There are two major types of assessments. These are ...