PowerPoint Presentation

From blogs to e-portfolios: new ways of assessing studentsRussell Stannardwww.teachertrainingvideos.comPresentation at the University of Oxford Exeter Collegewww.teachertrainingvideos.comA bit about meHow assessment has changed and whyWhat this meansWhat can technology do to help ( lots of examples of what I have done)Conclusions

I have created a on-line version of this presentation where all the videos work. It also includes a link to a free book from the British CouncilTodays talkwww.teachertrainingvideos.comWorkPart time lecturer at the University of WarwickNILE associate trainerCurently working on VideoForAll project ( EU funded)WritingHave regular columns in the ELT Professional and the Teacher TrainerAwardsFounder of teacher training videos.comWinner of -Times Higher Outstanding Initiative in ICT-British Council ELTons Technology award-University of Westminster Excellence in teaching & learningRussell Stannardwww.teachertrainingvideos.com

www.teachertrainingvideos.comwww.teachertrainingvideos.comFree step by step videos to show teachers how to use technologyUsed by 350,000 teachers a yearHas a newsletter with 19,000 subscribersAn example video from the site ( video will download before playing)Provideswww.teachertrainingvideos.comOk now lets talk about assessment and technologyBased on Chapter in recent British Council Book Innovations in learning technologies for ELTwww.teachertrainingvideos.comAssessmentPast NowFor the teacher/school/student/employersDiscrete language itemsSome writing/readingReflected ideas about language learning, about assessment etcLearner is devoid from the processNarrow definition of what assessment is.

More stakeholders than ever. Parents, students, teachers, external examiners, employers, institutions, government etcMuch wider view of what language learning isLearners have more say in the process ( autonomy)Totally different understanding of what assessment is and can do.www.teachertrainingvideos.comIt is about communication ( Hymes 1972)It has a top down process as well as a bottom up processKnowledge of grammar does not mean the ability to use a languageMy memories of foreign language learning include long lists of vocabulary words and multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and discrete item tests.(Choa, 1999)Language learning needs to be grounded in needs/reality/through tasksWhat do we know about language learningwww.teachertrainingvideos.comIt can be a factor for motivationNeeds to reflect what is taughtCan have Washback (Podromou 1995)It is part of the learning process ( feedback)Can be formative, summative

Most teachers no longer view assessment as something that only occurs after the fact. Rather they recognise the benefits of conducting assessment before, during, and following teaching and learning. (Stoynoff, 2012: 527)

It can even be a source for learning (Tomlinson 1995)What do we know about assessmentwww.teachertrainingvideos.comReading texts are often more interesting and related to the students lives/interestsSkills are integratedWriting is often better contextualisedListening might be global, specific, include different accents, do different thingsMore and more speaking exams ( in pairs, groups etc)Real skills.giving presentations, discussing, etcConcrete examples of change.www.teachertrainingvideos.comHow do we include a greater range of skills in our assessments?Particularly how can we get the students to do more speaking work?

One possible answer is through technology?Challengewww.teachertrainingvideos.comWatch this demonstration of a technology and think about how this could be used for assessing your students formally/informally.Discuss with a partnerWhat might you ask them to do?How often?How would feedback be provided?Other factors to consider

Vocaroo ( downloads before playing)Examplewww.teachertrainingvideos.comSoWe need to reflect our new knowledge of language learning in the assessments we create ( formal and informal)We need to be aware of the wider implications of any assessments we setWe may even want to involve students in the process of assessment ( autonomy/motivation etc)

www.teachertrainingvideos.comStudents make regular recordings in pairs/groups/individuallyThey peer assess/self evaluate their workThey can keep all their recordings in a blog (downloads before playing)They can choose a certain number of recordings that they ask the teacher to provide feedback on.Vocaroowww.teachertrainingvideos.comPresent.Me allows students to upload PowerPoint presentations and then add their voiceIt includes a webcamThe tool is free and very easy to use.The recordings can be shared or embedded.Example of how the tool worksI have worked with this tool to develop students fluency/speaking.Here is an example of a student recordingWhat feedback could we provide to him?Present.Mewww.teachertrainingvideos.comSimilar in some ways ot Present.MeCan we used to get students speaking in pairs/groups/individualsAllows students to upload video, pictures, presentations etcThen add their voice to themThen share them over the internet or embed.How it works ( downloads before playing)Have done extensive work with the tool for speaking activities.Student 1Student 2MybrainSharkwww.teachertrainingvideos.comInfluenced by work of David Kluge and Peter Schneider (on line references)Set up clear activitiesMake them regularHave some sort of peer/self evaluation of the recordings ( pair students)Offer teacher intervention periodicallyStudents choose the recordings for formal evaluationWork with my student Lu Lian showed that regular recordings resulted in improved fluencyMy experience with speaking assessmentswww.teachertrainingvideos.comUse blogs as a key assessment toolStudents can..WriteLeave commentsAdd up digital content they have createdBuild an audience for their blogsBe creative in the designUse social networks to shareWritingwww.teachertrainingvideos.comEasy for other stakeholders to viewWide range of resources ( writing, reading, videos, audio, discussions)Easy to update and changeContinue after the courseWashback ( Podromou 1995)Evidence of digital literacy ( Tomlinson 1995)21st Century SkillsAdvantageswww.teachertrainingvideos.comRestrict to one type of media ( for example only write once a week)Use as repository for other content ( audio recordings, video etc)Use in a much wider context to assess a whole range of skills ( reading, writing, speaking, vocabulary , pronunciation etc)(Cummins, P and Davesne, C 2009)Example ( downloads before playing)How to set up a blog ( downloads before playing)Blogging www.teachertrainingvideos.comICT can broaden the types of assessments we set upThey can engage studentsProvide them with 21st Century SkillsCan provide information to a range of stakeholdersCan cover the skills/competences students need to provide evidence of language ability.Are not that difficult to set up

www.teachertrainingvideos.comConclusions

Click on the book ( FREE)www.teachertrainingvideos.comKluge, D. Boosting Speaking Fluency through Partner Taping ITESLJ-available at http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Kluge-PartnerTaping.html Shneider P. Using Partner taping ITESLJ-available athttp://iteslj.org/Techniques/Kluge-PartnerTaping.html

On-line referenceswww.teachertrainingvideos.comChoa, C-C (1999) Theory and Research: New Emphases of Assessment in the Language Learning Classroom, in Egbert, J and Hanson-Smith, E (eds) (1999) CALL Environments Research, Practice and Critical Issues. Alexandria, Va.: TESOL.Cummins, P and Davesne, C (2009) Using Electronic Portfolios for Second Language AssHymes, DH (1972) On communicative competence, in Pride, JB and Holmes, J (eds) (1972) Sociolinguistics, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972.essment. Modern Language Journal 93: 848867Lam, R and Lee, I (2010) Balancing the dual functions of portfolio assessment. English Language Teaching Journal 64/1: 5464Prodromou, L (1995) The backwash effect: from testing to teaching. English Language Teaching Journal 49/1: 1325.Stoynoff, S (2012) Looking backward and forward at classroom-based language assessment. English Language Teaching Journal 66/4: 523532.Tomlinson, B (1995) Testing to learn: a personal view of language testing. English Language Teaching Journal 59/1: 3946.Referenceswww.teachertrainingvideos.comHow to use VocarooHow to use Present.MeHow to use BloggerHow to use myBrainSharkLearning the technologies I presentedwww.teachertrainingvideos.comSign up to my newsletter ( sent out twice a month)Follow me on Twitter

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