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Reflection on Technology Facilitator/Leader Standard #4
Assessment and Evaluation In the current age of accountability educational leaders are required to be more skilled in assessment and evaluation than their predecessors were (Williamson & Redish, 2009, p. 77). Effective assessment and evaluation strategies are necessary for determining if a program, a curriculum, or an action plan is working. The same is true for technology use in the classroom and for student’s technology literacy. While I was reading the chapter on standard four, I kept thinking about //No Child Left Behind// and accountability. The impetus for //No Child Left Behind// rests on a simple premise: With timely, concise, understandable information about gaps in student achievement, the public will hold educators, policymakers, elected officials, parents, and itself accountable for raising the level of education (Fege & Smith, 2002, p. 5). By now I am so used to the presence of TAKS that testing is like breathing. I have been a part of computer-based testing at the high school I work in for several years, helping to administer online TAKS field tests. I knew that administering TAKS online would speed up the process of receiving results, but one aspect I had never thought about was the fact that this type of testing eliminates the number of times the test data is touched, which creates possibilities for errors, before arriving in Austin. When testing electronically the student’s answer choices are submitted immediately, making the test more secure and reducing the chance for errors. The other High School Technology Apps teacher and I worked together to administer the online field tests, reminding each other about what worked the best the year before and what strategies we had decided to change to make the online TAKS test easier to administer. Assessing student technology literacy is another story. I was not involved at the elementary level until the 2010-2011 school year and have not been involved at the 7th or 8th grade level at all. Our K-6 students go to the computer lab once or twice a week to work on technology literacy, using purchased software for that purpose. Not only have I not seen any kind of formal assessment but it never crossed my mind that the students should be taking one, even though I knew there were technology TEKS and that students were to be proficient by the 8th grade. It would make sense for there to be a formal assessment of some kind. Researching and finding one that has already been created may take some time. Williamson and Redish (2009) suggest technologists should educate themselves regarding what types of technology literacy assessments are available, who is using them, how they are being implemented, and what results they are producing (p. 83). Creating a good assessment that would include a pencil and paper portion and an application portion could be a good technology action plan. Using technology tools to assess students in the core curriculum subject matter is another area that I have helped teachers with. Our school district has several sets of student response systems that have been used for assessment in the classroom. I have had high school students help with the creation of local tests, downloading of existing tests and input of student names. I like helping the teachers with this particular technology because when they see how much the students enjoy using the remotes, they are pumped. The perceived anonymity of the responses makes for more honest answers and thus more accurate assessment; students are neither deterred by the fear of “looking stupid” in front of their peers nor swayed by the answers of others (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.46). Every year during the week of In-service before school starts, I facilitate a workshop on data disaggregation using the software purchased through Region 5, TAPS. We spend the day studying the data, targeting the students that need help and planning with other grade level, or subject area teachers. Each year I informally evaluate this software for improvements and report my findings to the Principal. While technology leaders influence the direction of technology-based assessment and evaluation initiatives, technology facilitators integrate these initiatives into daily practice in schools and in so doing, demonstrate how technology can automate and enhance existing strategies as well as enable new ones (Williamson & Redish, 2009, p. 88). Technology Facilitator/Leader Standard 4 is one that I have performed every year without even knowing that there was a standard. I have a copy of the NETS·S, NETS·T, and NETS·A but did not have a copy of the TF/TL Standards. I have learned that there are things I was already doing that are covered in the TF/TL Standards, not because they were part of the Standards but because they needed doing.

Fege, A.F., & Smith, A.J. (2002). //Using NCLB to improve students achievement: An action guide for community and parent leaders.// Washington, DC: Public Education Network. Pitler, H., Hubbell, E.R., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). //Using technology with classroom instruction that works.// Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Williamson J., & Redish T. (2009). //ISTE’s technology facilitation and leadership standards; what every k-12 leader should know and be able to do.// Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.