Digital Badge #J

After reading Chapter 11 and creating the classroom Jeopardy game seen above, through flipquiz.com, I was able to have a better understanding on how teachers and students work together to use technology for  better assessment learning.  My first thought about assessments were that they only pertained to the students and that they were created just to target where they stand and how to then categorize them after reviewing the results.  But reading this chapter and learning all these key terms, I was able to enhance my idea of assessments, their roles for both teacher and students, and how engagement in the classroom and outside the classroom are really important for the student to grow academically.
In this chapter they introduced how assessments are more like an evaluation towards who we are and what we hope to be when it is all said and done; a "self-reflection" more or less.  Test assessments and performance evaluations come in many ways and forms.  This is the area of the chapter I wanted to elaborate on because it was very intriguing to learn that as the student takes these assessments and performance evaluations, the teachers are also participating in them as well.  For example, we are all comfortable saying that a teachers role is to grade the work done by their students.  In this case, the students took assessments, homework, and now the teachers do their own assessments, grading the homework, and working on how to reach out to the students who didn't do so well for the next class.  But that is not where the comparisons of constant learning ends.  Whether it be writing assignments, school participation, individual performances, open book tests, or even observing and coping with behavioral challenges, both the students and teachers are always learning and growing together.  This is why engaging everyone in your classroom  to participate in a discussion or presentation is plausible.  By thinking beyond the norms and using some technology all students could receive the same attention and education as everyone else.  Students and teachers are not that different in these democratic schools and classrooms.
One way that one can really improve their classroom and the engagement of all students is by using a technology simply known as a "Clicker."  The clicker is self explanatory and easy to use.  It is used by students to click and display their answers anonymously or as a group or individually on the board.  The book described using it to answer questions on a friendly educational competition game of  Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.  Like the tv game show, the students will answer questions rapidly and correctly, in hope of obtaining the highest amount of money, points, as possible.  The Jeopardy game I created above is another example of that system.  By using the Classroom Jeopardy game, the students can be grouped and work towards a common goal.  The game help them work together on having a better understanding on Chapter 11 and the key terms.  Not only does it give the classroom an opportunity to do something fun and creative, but it allows all students to answer individually.  So those students who are shy or hardly participate or probably learn differently, will only have to click their button and say an answer without further explanation.
Overall, I can definitely see myself incorporating this type of technology in my future classroom.  Also, having a better understanding on the importance of engaging students in performance assessments and reflective learning can help me have a greater edge when becoming an overall effective and up to date teacher.

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.