Is it really that bad?

Standardized testing... is it really that bad?

I have been asked through numerous social media outlets to sign petitions opposing standardized testing, but I can't determine whether they are really that bad. It is clear to me that the petitions focus on the negative aspects of standardized testing, but I am wondering what about the positive aspects?

In my current courses at the University, which are full of students who will be entering the work force as teachers in the next few months, the topic of standardized tests has come up. In my classes, people cringe when they hear about standardized tests. Tension fills the room and I wouldn't be surprised if saliva was shot to the floor over the mention of the words "Standardized Tests".

I have come to the realization that standardized tests and assessments are widely used in schools already in order to determine reading levels or student achievement levels.  We can understand our students' needs and possible exceptionalities with none other than the "dreaded" standardized test.

They exist in our schools and education system already, so is creating and administering more standardized tests really a bad thing?

I have looked at a few blogs, some about the myths of standardized test others opposing standardized tests, and read some reasons as to why standardized tests are good or bad.

My Background I grew up in a province where standardized tests were the norm. In Grades 3, 6, 9, and 12, I completed standardized tests that were produced and distributed by the province, based on the curriculum that is created and mandated by the province, and results were analyzed by the province.  The results were often used to rank schools, which may not be the best practice, but the results also made it apparent what areas the province needs to focus on, what parts of the curriculum may need to be re-vamped or what resources may need to be made accessible to all teachers to improve students' learning. The results also let classroom teachers, schools, and school districts know what areas they need more support in and what areas they may want to focus on.

While this information is valuable, the ranking of schools may result in problems in schools that are ranking below average, although a below average rating could also provide the school, students, and teachers to strive for a better ranking next time.  It all depends on how you look at it.

What I learned from Standardized tests-

• I learned how to study and pick out the important points that were taught and discussed
• I learned how to work through various types of questions- multiple "guess"/choice, true or false, short answer, long answer, fill in the blanks, you name it and I probably know a strategy or two on how to successfully answer it
• I made meaningful connections to the content in order to remember it, what was taught needed to be valuable in order for students to succeed
• I learned about test anxiety, how to cope with it and how to work with it
• I learned what it would be like to write a final exam in university- everyone being herded into the gym, complete silence, and having a time limit in order to complete the test
• I also learned what it feels like to write an exam that is worth a large percentage of my grade, again something else that prepared me for university 
• I learned how to write paragraphs, essays, and written responses in order to please anonymous scorers/graders- I knew my test was going to be graded by some great teachers from around the province, so I made sure my answers showed not only that I knew the answer, but that I also composed it in a way to prove that I could write, I was also able to show my creativity in my answers and show how I can apply knowledge to different situations

I feel that my high school and previous standardized testing experiences prepared me for university, and I know there are many nay-sayers out there saying "What if you don't go to university, is this really beneficial?" Right now I would say yes, it teaches the importance of deadlines, personal motivation to complete a task, and working under pressure.

Negative experiences with standardized tests-

• Competition- I have a twin sister, and when we got the results mailed out, I was always below her, I didn't perform poorly, but in my eyes, I was never as good as my sister, and this created an academic competition in our house
• The stress- students break down, freak out, due to the stress, especially in Grade 12 when one standardized test is worth 50% of your final grade.  Your Grade 12 grades are used to get into any type of post-secondary schools
• Test Anxiety- I know a lot of students who suffer from test anxiety, and this only appeared in their life once they were required to write a standardized test worth 50% of their grade
• A one shot deal- Tests are only a snapshot on one day of all the information I learned, it was apparent what classes I was confident in and which ones I was not, but I found that the grades I had received on the in-class component and the grades on the standardized test parts were very similar, in fact, sometimes I performed better on the test than I had throughout the semester

I don't know anyone who failed a standardized test or who failed a course because of a standardized test.  I'm sure those people exist, but I am not aware of anyone who has. So my question is why are these tests considered so bad by so many people? Are our preconceived notions or ideas based on our neighbours to the south about standardized testing making us unable to see the possible benefits? Are our concerns over the negative impacts of standardized testing more important than any possible benefits?

I understand the financial concerns that the money and time used for creating, distributing, and grading these tests could go to more resources and improving schools or programs already in place, but then I got to thinking that the people at the Ministry of Education are the "government" that is making this decision.  From my understanding most of the people working with the Ministry of Education are/were teachers themselves.  Would these people "waste" money because they can?  Would they want teaching to become an assembly line , producing machines that can answer specific questions rather than critical thinkers? I highly doubt it.

So considering all of this, is standardized testing really that bad?

Tech Task #10

So for some reason, the time I miss online class is the time that the two people present don't have to do a tech task. I'll admit, I get jealous, and I was in a different class, even ask Stephanie, she was with me.
All joking aside, I don't mind doing tech tasks, so here it goes but...

First off, I need to confess, I don't like listening to the sessions when they are not live.  So this session was painful for me to listen to because I was not listening live.  The reason I made it through was because of the amazing presenters and all the great ideas they shared.  I really missed the interactive aspect of the course and being able to add to the chat and ask questions.

Heather Durnin- Heather's school uses Google apps and Google e-mail accounts in their school.  I think that is a great idea, and really wish I would have had a Google account before I entered University and required it for a class.  Allowing students to have instant access to some of the great apps that are available through Google is something that I would hope more school districts would move towards. Hopefully the students will have access to their Google accounts once they move to a different school, and hopefully it's an e-mail address that will follow them that they can use in the future.

Photo from Ross Murray on Flickr

I also love the concept of their radio station 105 the Hive that allows students to exhibit their creativity in a way that can be heard by anyone at any time.

"Giving students a global audience- with a radio station-

 speaks to the strengths of students who can better show 

their knowledge and strengths through an oral/verbal medium."

Heather Durnin

Allowing students to be able to express themselves in unique ways is great to see and makes me very excited. The students can share their recordings with friends and family all across the country. I adore this concept and think it would be great for middle years and high school, yet could be expanded to include elementary students as well.

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/epsos/5765590819/

Royan Lee- I don't know why, but as son as Royan talked about his Ikea tables all I could think of was 99 cent breakfast at Ikea and of Darwin, the Ikea monkey. If only the closest Ikea was closer than a 6 hour drive... oh well.  I really appreciated how Royan talked about his own classroom and how the set up facilitated and encouraged collaboration.  One of the important points I took away was to construct a classroom environment that supports collaboration and teamwork.  As an educator I will need to be willing to provide or find the devices needed to incorporate technology into my lessons and classroom, but I will also need to provide the spaces that support collaboration and collaborative learning, such as work tables, work areas, and comfortable spaces where students can go to work together and share their experiences. It's so easy to forget the importance of the physical environment that work occurs in and this was a great reminder that I, as a future teacher, will need to consider of how I will  provide an appropriate working environment.

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/vegas/388116980/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Clarence Fisher -I love the concept of Stalking in English Class, combining research and recording the information.  It's like a scavenger hunt on a person. The fact that it leads to discussions on what is appropriate to have online, and how it relates to online safety and privacy is brilliant. This is a great example of providing real people, with real online content, and giving it a real life context in order for students to understand the power of the internet and what is shared online.  I am sure this activity was a great wake up call for some students and will impact what they post online and how they use the internet.


While these are all focused on the middle years, there are so many possibilities on how to adapt and modify these activities for an elementary classroom.  

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryanrocketship/135759277/sizes/m/in/photostream/

I was thinking a fun beginning of the year activity might be to have a teacher that has a blog (hopefully near the top of a Google search of their name) leave secret messages, or even QR codes for students to find online and follow in order to learn about their teacher. Who doesn't love a scavenger hunt, and who doesn't like learning about their teacher?!?
Sorry for my excitement, but I would LOVE to create a scavenger hunt for my nephew to follow to learn about his Awesome Aunt Kendra, and since he lives in a different province I am sure I could create an online scavenger hunt, maybe even a WebQuest for him to learn about me. 

I am always thankful for teachers who are willing to share their lived experiences with us and these sessions always leave me wondering, how would this work in my future classroom.
Here are some questions I would need to consider before bringing these ideas into my future classroom.

• How do you get your schools and other teachers on board?
• How do you make sure that these things are continued on, throughout their years at school?
• What do you do about FOIP and privacy concerns?

Tech Task #9

I am always curious about what the Internet has to to say about me, so here's Tech Task #9, Google yourself and take a screenshot. I enjoy seeing some of my accomplishments online and am proud of the online footprint that I have created.

Tech Task 8

Okay, tech task 8 has been a challenge. The first challenge was deciding what to make a QR code for. I finally decided on ginger doll knits, an online store on Etsy that is run by my older sister.
I made the QR code through Google, which is very simple and easy. All I had to do was go to goo.gl, the google url shortener, type/paste in the url and click "shorten url". Next, I clicked details which brought me to the code and will allow me to track who sees the code. This was very easy and it's pretty nifty. 

The second part of the text task was to blog from a phone. Luckily I own a smartphone so I can send emails from my phone to blog to my blogger account. I'm sort of amazed at how all this works! All I had to do was setup an email through my blogger account settings that will blog an email received directly to my blog.
I am going to send an email with the QR code attached to it so hopefully it shows up on my blog. If not, I will create another post with the QR code for you to follow and check out.

No Data, No Problem!

I have a confession  to make.  I am one of "THOSE" people.
 You know, the ones who cannot update their Facebook Status or compose a Tweet and publish it while in the middle of nowhere.
The thing is, I lack Data.
My cellular device lacks a data plan. 
After moving to Regina I realized I don't really need Data on my devices because there is wireless in most locations I can be found.  There is free WIFI downtown and at the University which meets my needs.  While I have felt like I don't need to be connected to the digital world when I'm out and about, there have been times where I would have appreciated having a connection to those who are online.

So for Tech Task 7 I created a recipe with IFTTT (IF This, Then That) that allows me to be connected with my Facebook profile in a one direction sort of way. If you want to check it out, go to IFTTT and search for Recipe 3021550.

IFTTT Recipe Created by Me

I can update my Facebook Status from my cellphone through a text message.  Whatever message I text to a number, that message is then posted to my Facebook page as a status. 
I am excited that I am now able to update my status without the use of Internet, but the one downfall of this recipe is that there is no way to see who has responded to your status, unless you have internet access and access to your Facebook page.

Tech Task #7- IFTTT

By Sharese Ann Frederick CC-BY-SA-2.0

Are you tired of sharing things on Facebook then Twitter, or on your blog and then Twitter? I know I was but here's a solution for you!

Then IFTTT is what you need!
Please Note: I am not claiming that Billy Mays endorses this product, rather that you read the above passage in your best Billy Mays voice.

I was very fortunate to be introduced to this website yesterday evening, I have explored it, investigated it, and discovered some of the cool things you can do.  
It's very easy to sign up. Just put in your information, find the confirmation e-mail in your inbox and voila, you're ready to go.

Here are the basics:

1. You find recipes you are interested in or create your own

2. Every recipe is like a hypothesis, although it's not hypothetical, it will actually happen

     If....then.....

3. If... is a trigger. The trigger is what you will do. 

4. Then... is the action.  The action is what will happen once the trigger is present.

5. It's like a science experiment, without the mess.  If the clear liquid is vinegar, then carbon dioxide will be produced if baking soda is added.

6.  You must activate the different triggers and actions to have access to your accounts, but this is safe to do and you should not worry.

7.  Next everything becomes automatic, so when ever the trigger happens, the action will then follow.

If you are feeling really adventurous you can also create your own recipes.  It's a simple 7 step process where you select the trigger and action and what you want to occur, but I would recommend looking at the Recipes others have created and shared because there are some cool ones that exist.

Here are 3 recipes I am now using.

 If/When I add a new photo on Instagram, it will be posted on Facebook. I'm new to the Instagram world so I hope this will help me share my photos.

 If/When I add a photo on Instagram, it is also uploaded to my Flickr account. Chances are very high that once I upload a photo to Instagram I usually put it on Flickr, so why not have this become an automatic action, saving me time.

If/When I post on Blogger, a link is then posted on my Facebook profile.  I know I will find this one useful because I know a lot of people who have asked me to let them know when my next post is up on Facebook, but I don't have time to write on their wall or send them a message, so hopefully this will help.



The only problem I encountered was that there was no Pinterest icon to use as a trigger or an action.  I would LOVE to have my blog posts appear on Pinterest without pinning them myself, but this has yet to be an option. 

Image from a Screenshot of my Pinterest Homepage

There are some recipes where Pinterest is the trigger, yet I was unable to find a way to make Pinterest (as a feed) into an action. If you have any insight about this I would love to hear from you. 

Who is that guy, and why is he important?

Okay, so the other morning I got up and was looking at some amazing photos from  SPACE!!

If you're not already, you NEED to get a twitter account and follow @CMDR_Hadfield.

Not only is he an astronaut but he will be the FIRST Canadian to ever command the ISS.  That's the International Space Station for all you non-space people.

Chris Hadfield is pretty awesome to say the least.
He's up in space, taking photos, recording songs, eating space food and doing science experiments in zero gravity.

Here are some of the things he has accomplished.

Photo of Regina from Space From @CMDR_Hadfield

I was disappointed the other day when my roommate asked me "So who is that guy? Why is he so important?"  Maybe my Southwestern Ontario roots are taking over, but Chris Hadfield was born in Sarnia.  That's right, the nearest major city to where I grew up.

He is also a Canadian currently in space!

Chris Hadfield has definitely made Ontario and Canada proud.
Did you know he has an airport named after him?  Not only that, but it's an international airport (with flights to Detroit and other US destinations?)

Sarnia Chris Hadfield Airport

The Chris Hadfield International Airport was the first airport I ever went to and the first airport I ever flew out of!

I guess I am a proud Canadian when I consider that another Canadian is in space and watching the world go by, so if you have yet to see his work, I highly recommend you start following him, because it makes me feel like I am an astronaut, without the flying and zero gravity.