Each year the 8th grade students must take a Computer Competency Exam to demonstrate they are competent users of technology. In the past this has involved using Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Last year the students also took a 21st Century Skills Assessment at Atomic Learning They did fairly poorly as they were ill prepared. I ended up not counting those scores. Instead, the bulk of the exam centered around the students following a series of tutorials and then uploading the completed product via our Moodle course. I attempted to create more of a portfolio concept as students were encouraged to upload additional artifacts that demonstrated their competency. Many uploaded podcasts we made in History and English classes. I was hopeful that the portfolio would spread to 6th and 7th grade assembling a collection so that by time the end of 8th grade rolled around, students had a strong portfolio illustrating that not only had they mastered software, but also were adept and comfortable with tools and skills of a 21st Century learner.
My idea was dealt a set back when the school decided to no longer install Microsoft Office but instead use OpenOffice and Pages. I was not opposed to the change as I used the savings to purchase a cart of iPod Touches. It did mean the Moodle course I created with linked tutorials was of no use.
Now I am trying to re-write the course/exam again keeping with the portfolio design and am finding it hard to keep my motivation. I plan to use Google Docs even though we did not follow through as a school and implement our own Google Apps for Education. I know most students have a Google account so we can get to the Documents. G-mail and Chat are blocked on campus as students must use FirstClass at school.
Anyway, I was making headway with design and inspiration, and then I found this video on the Atomic Learning Blog. My motivation changed from reworking the course/exam to writing this post.
As I finish this post, students in the lab next door are peer reviewing classmates podcasts done in their 6th Grade History course. How to connect the learning of all students?
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I disagree that the exam should move away from testing knowledge in Microsoft Office and instead use Google Docs. In both high school and now in college, I am shocked by the number of students who lack competency in Excel. This is an essential tool when analyzing data for science labs and projects in math, statistics, and economics. Also, many of my friends could not tell you how to add a header to a history report in Word. While students may be experts at creating podcasts and movies, it is alarming to think that they are going through high school without learning these basic skills — which I had the impression that this exam was evaluating.
Nick,
I understand your point of view and agree to some extent. If these skills are so essential, they should be taught in context. Presently, in the Middle School there is no course for any technology so it is all integrated. This can lead to some students getting a deeper understanding while others do not depending on the teacher. Again, the Middle School no longer has Microsoft Office so we must move away from that software tool. I think for spreadsheets, students really need to have sustained experience with creation and use of spreadsheets in order to harness the power. In the ISTE NETS, #4 is where this skill set could be used. When asked recently if students could be taught spreadsheets in a grade in order to make sure that when a teacher in a different grade took them to the lab, they would know how to use the software? My reply was it is impossible. If you do not use the skills, they will erode. I believe that when students are exempted from any technology courses after 4th grade, we have done a disservice to them, unless the Help menu becomes the main tool for learning technology.