Holy Moses... It's May?!!?
I'm gonna get all weird and cliche and say, "Where on earth did the time go?" Seriously. Was that Superman-like blur that whizzed past me just this entire school year?
I am my mother.
I used to snicker, scoff, and full-on eye roll at my mom who would always make comments alluding to the quick passage of time. She was old. You know...40-something old. Now I've joined those ranks and am here to say that I just can't wrap my head around the fact that yet another school year is heading toward the record books.
We have a couple of weeks left with an amazing group of seniors. These seniors were once my sixth graders. They're still supposed to be 12 (enter my mother's voice again). The rest of the bunch will leave the halls another week or so later. There is still so much left to do.
Teachers are beginning to wrap their heads around what their year-end evaluations will look like. Will it be a video? A speech? A paper? An electronic bulletin board collection of learned material? Being a 1:1 school has afforded us many options for evaluation and on-going formative assessments. Our teachers are becoming more and more progressive with the ways in which they determine that material is learned. I work with some pretty awesome people.
This week, I met with a class who is using iMovie to do a wrap up of material for a Current Events course. The design of this course is amazing, and it is yet another example of why I want to return to school as a kid again (minus the awkwardness that came from having had stick-thin legs and size 11 feet).
While iMovie is just one option for our Mac 1:1 environment, many video creation tools like Wideo, Masher, or Powtoon are terrific, free alternatives to retell and collect learned material. What's even better? Allowing student choice in the medium for which they create. There's no better way to get authentic work than to strike the interest chord.
So, as you get ready to wrap up your own year, give some thought to a new way to assess learning.
Scratch the 14 page multiple-choice-a-palooza (They really kinda suck for judging REAL learning). Instead, try a video or other digital representation of their learning. Couple it with a clear rubric of your expectations. Here is one of my favorite sites for ready-made and editable rubrics for any project. I triple dog dare ya.
I am my mother.
I used to snicker, scoff, and full-on eye roll at my mom who would always make comments alluding to the quick passage of time. She was old. You know...40-something old. Now I've joined those ranks and am here to say that I just can't wrap my head around the fact that yet another school year is heading toward the record books.
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credit: cpsobsessed.com |
Teachers are beginning to wrap their heads around what their year-end evaluations will look like. Will it be a video? A speech? A paper? An electronic bulletin board collection of learned material? Being a 1:1 school has afforded us many options for evaluation and on-going formative assessments. Our teachers are becoming more and more progressive with the ways in which they determine that material is learned. I work with some pretty awesome people.
This week, I met with a class who is using iMovie to do a wrap up of material for a Current Events course. The design of this course is amazing, and it is yet another example of why I want to return to school as a kid again (minus the awkwardness that came from having had stick-thin legs and size 11 feet).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGB9aoH353z5cjSKMxN1R5asxZuqHtDP9_55_QGws3HVfREtZ8tn_0EdSYdAUe_y33uCLg8RKjIT9Ruxua0w0RjV7fAnoE6_9-ylp-Fqynm8Sr84Q9TE7Tcl0kUT5cVn471zDNcwwYgSpr/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-04+at+1.53.28+PM.png)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOpXInCih_mPZmea8sKLmT8U_IkN5Ctmz0uiMKZ4z7HobZ5rXWwGzKlAB1hKG6MMbgEl4E5ruAOY6Sy-5mdh_RiHHGJgo8HkR9dIPqkcTkZHqM3JcsafY0RYBPTgdvYMV1cZz77wGbHiG/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-04+at+1.54.27+PM.png)
Scratch the 14 page multiple-choice-a-palooza (They really kinda suck for judging REAL learning). Instead, try a video or other digital representation of their learning. Couple it with a clear rubric of your expectations. Here is one of my favorite sites for ready-made and editable rubrics for any project. I triple dog dare ya.
Since my kid is one of those seniors....I agree, they should still be 12 :)
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