It was about two year ago when I was participating in a coaching cycle at the school I work at. During this cycle i had the opportunity to work very closely with one of the technology coaches at my school. It was the technology coaches job to work closely with teachers to find way to incorporate different types of technology into their classrooms to make lessons more effective and engaging. After discussions we decided that it would be assessment (specifically formative assessment) that we would approach in my classroom. At the time (and currently) my school did not have and abundance of technology, so we needed to think realistically when choosing the web 2.0 tool that we would use. The tools we did have access to were laptops, and occasionally the students personal devices. Knowing this we decided to explore the tool GoFormative. When I first looked at the tool, i thought it would only help me with formative assessments in the classroom. Boy was I wrong.
The reason that I made it a goal to focus on formative assessment within my classroom was because how valuable they can be to both teachers and students. It is a type of assessment that allows teachers to assess a students understanding a determine if lessons moving forward need to be adjusted to meet students needs. It also gives teachers countless opportunities to provide students with personal feedback that can help them grow as learners. This is where GoFormative comes in.
GoFormative is a web based tool that is great for student assessment and student responses. It is a tool that can be used in all technological atmospheres, whether it be a school with 1 to 1 access, flipped classroom models, or even schools/classrooms with limited technological access. Teachers have the ability to create classrooms and track students progress. GoFormative is can also be accessed as a guest so it is great to use for professional development as well!
As a teachers, i am always looking for new ways to both deliver material, and assess student learning. GoFormative presents bot of these. Teachers are able to upload audio, images, text, videos, or even upload their own documents. They have the ability to assess students with auditory responses essays, multiple choice, true false, short answer, and a variety of mathematical options.
By having access to all of these question types, you can also give students options to how they would like to respond to a question or prompt, allowing them to really highlight their strengths in order to show their understanding.
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When I began using GoFormative most of my usage came in the form of bellringers(do nows) and exit tickets, and I used them strictly within the classroom. While this is still a common way for me to use GoFormative, I have now found so many new ways to use it to enhance the learning within my classroom (an outside my classroom!). In a one-to-one classroom, GoFormative can be constantly used to assess student learning with quick comprehension checks. It also gives students who don't necessarily participate, an opportunity to share their ideas since you anonymously post answers on a SmartBoard. This also give students the opportunity to reflect on their peers work (this is also a great tool to use in professional development!). FInally, GoFormative is phenomenal resource for teachers who like using the flipped classroom model. By uploading videos and assigning them ahead of time, the teacher can also pose questions to the students, and review their answers to help them drive their instruction for that class period.
The other aspect of GoFormative that makes it such a useful web 2.0 tool is the ability to track students progress. Every assignment/question/activity can be assigned a point value. As you grade each item it is stored in a database (below) that allows teacher to really analyze a students growth. It can also track students success based on certain standards (and the site is compatible with most standard systems).
I hope that you have found this blog helpful, and i hope that it inspires you to explore GoFormative as tool within your classroom. As you explore please feel free to post any questions or concerns you come across as using GoFormative. At most importantly, please post any exciting new ways that GOFormative has positively affected your classroom!
References
10 reasons why teachers use Formative (goformative.com). (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2019, from http://community.goformative.com/thoughts/2016/2/8/10-reasons-why-teachers-use-formative-goformativecom
GoFormative. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2019, from https://technology.hermitage.k12.pa.us/k-12-resources/goformative
Media, R. C. (2016, January 07). Formative for Teachers - www.GoFormative.com. Retrieved February 10, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keB7CkAgT5E
Rogowski, M. (2019, February 09). Formative Review for Teachers. Retrieved February 10, 2019, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/formative
Rushton, A. (2005). Formative assessment: A key to deep learning? Medical Teacher, 27(6), 509-513. doi:10.1080/01421590500129159
10 reasons why teachers use Formative (goformative.com). (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2019, from http://community.goformative.com/thoughts/2016/2/8/10-reasons-why-teachers-use-formative-goformativecom
GoFormative. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2019, from https://technology.hermitage.k12.pa.us/k-12-resources/goformative
Media, R. C. (2016, January 07). Formative for Teachers - www.GoFormative.com. Retrieved February 10, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keB7CkAgT5E
Rogowski, M. (2019, February 09). Formative Review for Teachers. Retrieved February 10, 2019, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/formative
Rushton, A. (2005). Formative assessment: A key to deep learning? Medical Teacher,27(6), 509-513. doi:10.1080/01421590500129159
10 reasons why teachers use Formative (goformative.com). (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2019, from http://community.goformative.com/thoughts/2016/2/8/10-reasons-why-teachers-use-formative-goformativecom
GoFormative. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2019, from https://technology.hermitage.k12.pa.us/k-12-resources/goformative
Media, R. C. (2016, January 07). Formative for Teachers - www.GoFormative.com. Retrieved February 10, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keB7CkAgT5E
Rogowski, M. (2019, February 09). Formative Review for Teachers. Retrieved February 10, 2019, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/formative
Rushton, A. (2005). Formative assessment: A key to deep learning? Medical Teacher,27(6), 509-513. doi:10.1080/01421590500129159
10 reasons why teachers use Formative (goformative.com). (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2019, from http://community.goformative.com/thoughts/2016/2/8/10-reasons-why-teachers-use-formative-goformativecom
GoFormative. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2019, from https://technology.hermitage.k12.pa.us/k-12-resources/goformative
Media, R. C. (2016, January 07). Formative for Teachers - www.GoFormative.com. Retrieved February 10, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keB7CkAgT5E
Rogowski, M. (2019, February 09). Formative Review for Teachers. Retrieved February 10, 2019, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/formative
Rushton, A. (2005). Formative assessment: A key to deep learning? Medical Teacher,27(6), 509-513. doi:10.1080/01421590500129159
Formative assessments seem to be taking the world by storm! While I have been to many PD's on formative/summatives, I have never heard of GoFormative. Normally suggestions from presentors are google forms and Plickers is an easy way to quickly assess students, but this brings it to another level! I love that you can track students data based on standards and the questions they answered correct or incorrect-- very powerful to help small group and reteach.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that sparked an interest for me is the idea to use GoFormative within a flipped classroom. I have thought/tried flipping my classroom for a few lesson, but I always seem to hit a snag. Have you used GoFormative to flip your classroom? Any tips or tricks?
Lastly, as a math educator, I noticed that some of the needed math tools are not bolded. Can a teacher buy an individual license or does it have to be school/district?
I enjoyed reading your blog and I look forward to hearing back from you!
PS- I tried to view your blog on my phone and the dark blue background overtook the writing and was very hard to read. I'm not sure why, but it may be something to look into in case someone needed to view it through a mobile device.
I'm glad that you found the post useful! THis is one of the web2.0 tools i love to discuss because it has made such an incredible impact in my classroom.
DeleteFirst I'll address your questions. This is a GREAT tool to use when flipping a classroom. You can upload videos of yourself and link questions right to them. If you use any blended classroom tools (i.e. schoology, edmodo, etc.) you can link GoFormative right to it. It is also fully compatible with Google Classroom. It's also great to use with centers, that way you can instruct/assess students without physically being with them.
You are also able to buy a premium subscription as just a teacher. I know they offer a 30 day trial, but the monthly cost is about $13 (pending on if you go yearly or monthly). But it would be even better to get a whole district on board! That is definitely a downfall (especially as a math teacher) to have those certain features unavailable in the regular version.
Also, thanks for the heads up on the formating!, I will look into that right away, and hopefully get it fixed asap.
Thanks for your valuable input,
Joe Logan
Hi Mr. Logan,
ReplyDeleteI feel like every blog I look at, I wish I made! Your background is catchy and your font choice is tech-y! The graphics you included are eye catching, and your subtitle for your blog post is helpful for readers. Readers can read your subtitle and get an idea if this post is one to read.
With that being said, your post is one to read! I like that you explained formative assessment to readers, so they have an idea of the purpose in education, if they did not know otherwise. Then you explain GoFormative. Data tracking is crucial, and links with student achievement. The fact that you address that GoFormative can be used for PD, allows your blog to expand its audience. Now, teachers, admin, and even universities can obtain valuable information from your post.
Thank you for including the image of the student tracking. As a teacher, it is helpful to quickly view how the data will be displayed. I still use paper pencil, and I would rather use this-I don't need to worry about misplacing data, or storing it in a 3 inch binder, if it is stored electronically!
Nice Post!
-Liz Davidson
The data storage is one of the best parts of GoFormative! Especially when trying to tack certain skills and showing growth in students ability. I will admit, there are still aspects of my grading that I keep on paper, but slowly but surely I hope to go fully electronic.
DeleteThe PD aspect of GoFormative was something I felt necessary to include. I know how many in-services and PD days I've sat through and feel completely disinterested. When GoFormative was incorporated I can still I was truly engaged, especially when I started thinking about all the ways I could use it in the classroom!
I'm glad you enjoyed the post, if you ever use it in your class I'd love to hear what you thought.
-Joe