Sunday, October 25, 2015

"GoFormative" " New Technology for a New School Year



In many classrooms, formative assessments are given during the learning process in order to modify teaching and learning activities to improve student attainment, but are difficult to administer and grade in a timely fashion without the assessment's initial purpose getting lost. Goformative.com, a new website that I learned about during ISTE this past summer, has transformed the way in which I assign and grade formative assessments. "Formative" is a user-friendly website which allows teachers to create original or embed preexisting material into short assessments. A simple quiz takes only minutes to create. 

Formative

Intervene in the moments that matter most.



The true beauty of "Formative", though, is the ability to grade - and send feedback about - students' results in real-time. Students were enthused to receive scores and feedback instantly, and as a teacher I find it exhilarating to see and mark students instantly. The first time that I launched the website, I showed the results on the SmartBoard, capitalizing on the pulsing excitement in the room. 


I've been in constant contact with the founders of Goformative.com since my discovery of the website - from a private Google Hangout with one of the primary founders, tweets with them on Twitter, and live chats where I have asked specific questions and received specific responses via email. I look forward to using this program throughout the year and tracking students' progress in a more efficient and exciting way. 

by Mrs. Shira Techiman
Math Teacher and Enthusiast