Presentation by: Alexis Birner, Louisa Chan
Session: A | Time: 9:00 AM-9:40 AM | Location: Room 206
This presentation proposes formative and summative assessment methods informed by an educational pedagogy of multimodality and multiple literacies, facilitated through the use of technology such as an iPhone or iPad.
A multiple literacies pedagogy, whereby meaning can be made and shared through visual, oral, tactile and written modes (Cope and Kalantzis, 2009), is especially relevant in the 21st century classroom and in an world with an increase in technology tools. While many of these modes have existed in classroom contexts for decades, they have not always been validated in schools as ways for students to share their understanding or to make meaning (Kress, 2000); rather, the written mode has been prioritized, limiting how a child can express their full knowledge and understanding.
Many educators and theorists are now advocating for a pedagogy that recognizes and validates multiple modes of communication, and acknowledge that in order for a student to fully express their understanding, many modes they use to communicate must be taken into consideration. As such, educators are left with the challenge of measuring and documenting learning presented in non-traditional modes.
This presentation is presented by two elementary school teachers, one who teaches a combined kindergarten/grade 1 class, the other who teaches a combined grade 6/7 class. In this particular presentation, we will share how teachers can be empowered with simple technology such as one iPhone to truly capitalize on multimodal assessment methods. This presentation will share assessment from both the kindergarten/grade one classroom, as well as from the grade 6/7 classroom. In both situations, our students use multiple modes for sharing knowledge. The students presented in these samples are empowered by having their knowledge validated in a mode other than a test, worksheet or written activity. This is done with the support with minimal technology, such as a teacher’s personal iPhone and a digital assessment platform from British Columbia, called FreshGrade.
Abstract: 587