Informal Assessment and Digital Media in Adult Education

PIDP 3230 – Evaluation of Learning
Vancouver Community College
Kathryn Truant
May 16, 2017

Objective:

What is informal assessment and how is it enhanced by digital media? Informal assessment provides feedback to instructors on how well students are learning so that they can alter their teaching to make learning more effective (Angelo & Cross, 1993). Adult learners use digital technology to engage in “everything from informal surfing on topics of interests to formal higher education courses” (Merriam & Bierema, 2014, p. 196). Should instructors use digital media to enhance student learning in order meet course goals and objectives? Will digital media enhance an adult learner’s essential skills? “Essential skills include the skills associated with literacy . . .  but goes beyond to also include thinking skills, oral communication, computer use/digital skills, working with others and the skills associated with continuous learning” (Government of Canada, n.d. para. 1).

After viewing the videos created by former Provincial Instructor Diploma Program 3230 students on the topic of informal assessment, the video that interested me most is Victor Law’s, Kahoot! An Informal Assessment Strategy (2016). Mr. Law describes Kahoot! as an online assessment application, where instructors create multiple choice quizzes for students to complete on their own devices.

Reflective:

I love technology! Kahoot! appears to be a user-friendly assessment tool. Although the application is low on Bloom’s Taxonomy – remembering and understanding (Forbes, 2015, para. 5,6), it shows promise as an instrument of informal assessment. Kahoot!’s quizzes are designed to “break the ice [and] revise topics, reinforce knowledge, recap learning, pre-assess and practice before exams” (Kahoot!, n.d., para. 1,3). After watching Victor Law’s video, I am also learning that creating an educational video is challenging!

Interpretive:

Informal classroom assessment provides early and ongoing feedback during a course. Digital media is an ideal method to provide informal assessment, especially when web developers create learning specific software. “Online platforms, networks, and communities facilitate lifelong learning, including new skill development and personal growth” (Merriam & Bierema, 2014, p. 196).

I want to learn more about Kahoot! because it looks like fun, and it will help my individual classes receive personalized instruction tailored to the required outcomes. Each person is individual, and so is each class. Mr. Law’s video is informative and provides an internet link to access Kahoot!; it inspired me find out more about the application. However, a preview of the website would have made the video itself more appealing. Digital media needs to be comprehensive, attractive, and engaging.

Decisional:

In formal adult learning, informal assessment techniques are invaluable to the instructor and the student. At the onset of a course, an instructor can determine how much the students already know by quizzing them on prior learning and professional experience; this validates and reinforces the learning experience for the student. During the course, an instructor can gauge how well the students are learning, and the students can participate in their own success in the class because their responses help to direct the instructor. I look forward to learning how to create an instructional video in subsequent assignments in this course. I also plan to use established digital media like Kahoot! as a platform for informal assessment because it is inclusive, comprehensive, and fun! Digital media enhances adult learning and builds on the necessary essential skills in our digital age.

@ Please refer to my Resources page for works cited