http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9VJN2F6
Description of and rationale for how the technology might be used with and preferably by students (Bloom's)
Survey Monkey is just one of many programs that can be used to create quizzes or polls for students to participate in. It is an effective digital technology for in-class discussions or student evaluation. They can be used in class or during a students free time. Digital quizzes can be extremely beneficial for online classes. I think it is more beneficial for students to take digital quizzes rather than written ones because they are able to view their results immediately rather than have to wait until the teacher finishes grading them. They are made aware of what areas they need to work on while the material is fresh in their minds. Many of my previous teachers would use such technologies as a review the week before a test. This way students can see where they stand on certain material, and the teacher is made aware of what things s/he needs to go over before the test. It is beneficial for both parties. If students are having trouble understanding a concept, it is made evident through the percentage of correct answers, and the teacher is given time to elaborate on it and help the students to reach their fullest potential. This is the idea of students and teachers being able to evaluate their progress and prepare for future learning. It is a quick and easy way for both teachers and students to receive immediate feedback.
Consideration of struggles for implementation (student, systemic, and/or hardware)
Digital quizzes are definitely a good way for students to evaluate their own progress in learning. A problem with this is the degree to which students take the quizzes seriously. In large lecture classes, it is easy for students to simply hand their clickers to classmates while they skip class. They may also not take the quizzes seriously if they are being graded on participation rather than accuracy. One issue that is always something to think about when using digital technology is the fact that things don't necessarily work all the time. Teachers must have a back-up plan if they lose connection to the Internet or if the receiving device fails to work. If a teacher designs a quiz through one program or technology, the format may not transfer correctly to another.
Consideration of the biases and trade-offs of the technology
If teachers are using digital quizzes outside of class time, they lose the opportunity to give students feedback. A student may receive their results immediately, but they do not get an explanation of why their answers were incorrect. In a written quiz that the teacher takes time to personally grade, they are able to write comments and give students feedback about the correct answers to the questions. Therefore, it is up to the teacher to decide when this technology would be beneficial to students. If used during class time, it is a great opportunity for class discussion of the material, but students are more likely not to take the discussion seriously because of the many distractions in a classroom.
Explanation of how the project meets the selected teacher standard and student standards
INTASC Standards: These in-class quizzes satisfy INTASC standard number six, assessment. The teacher is able to engage students through participation in quizzes such as these, while receiving feedback on how well the students are learning the required material.
ISTE Standards: On the same note, digital quizzes also satisfy ISTE standard number two for the same reason—teachers are able to assess their students' progress throughout the course.
Cite and evaluate educational research related to the tech use (261)
Bonwell, Charles C., Ph.D. (May 2000). Active Learning Workshops. Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom. Retrieved from http://www.ydae.purdue.edu/lct/hbcu/documents/Active_Learning_Creating_Excitement_in_the_Classroom.pdf.
I agree with most of the information in this article. One thing that really resonated with me was the comment that "learning is not a spectator sport." Learning is supposed to be engaging, not just students memorizing the material their teacher lectures on. There was much emphasis put on interactive learning in this article, and I believe that in-class activities is a great way to keep students engaged and motivated. Students will be much more motivated to learn to learn the information if it is necessary for their current class assignment/quiz/discussion than they will be for a test that is a few weeks away.
