Technology for Evaluation: Rubrics

1. Technology for Evaluation:Rubrics EDPS 3140 July 27, 2011 Dominick Bruso

2. Class Business • WebQuest Grading Rubric on WebCT • Course Content  Projects  Project 2  WebQuestRubric • Please use it to evaluate your WebQuest before submission • This is NOT the rubric you will include in your WebQuest • WebQuests due on August 1st.

3. Web Search: Teacher Tech Tips • Kid Friendly Web-Search Environment: http://www.kidrex.org/ • Google’s Wonder Wheel Wheel shows related terms to original search. By clicking a term, it refocuses the wheel and refines the search results.

4. Today’s Objectives By the end of class, you will be able to: • Define the characteristics of a good rubric • Evaluate the match between assessment rubrics and digital learning activities • Create useful evaluation rubrics using digital tools • Using Excel, or • Using uen.org’s rubric tool

5. Related NETS-T • NETS-T #2(Design & Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences) b) Develop technology-rich learning environments that enable all students to pursue individual curiosities and manage own learning • NETS-T #3: (Model Digital Age Work and Learning) d) Model and facilitate effective use of current & emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research & learning

6. Other Benefits of Rubrics • Helps articulate your thinking • Easy to be vague about how we will assess • Helps you be fair, consistent • Allows effective comparison • Can help you decide on the value of an activity • Saves time • Can be saved and viewed later • Website rubrics can be viewed online

7. 8 Steps to Developing a RubricSteps 1-3: Identify Dimensions • Brainstorm preliminary dimensions • What do I want students to learn? • How can these things be scored? • Try out dimensions • Are these the right things to score? • Revise dimensions • What should I drop? Add?

8. 8 Steps to Developing a RubricSteps 4-8: Define and Apply Dimensions • Define each dimension • What does each dimension mean? • How identified? • Specify observable characteristics in categories of quality. Should reflect a range of quality • Identify at least three categories for assessment • Include examples as necessary • What observable characteristics are associated with each category? • Apply rubric • Revise rubric based on experience (“For next time …”) • Distribute/share rubric

9. A good rubric is… • Complete & Organized • Includes all the relevant dimensions • Organized into categories if appropriate • Observable • Make sure that your descriptions are observable • Someone else should be able to grade the assignments using your rubric! • Thoughtful • Dimensions are aligned to instructional objectives • Assign more points to more important components

10. Sample WebQuest Rubric How many dimensions? How many categories?

11. Apply WebQuest Task Rubric Evaluate the following WebQuest’s task: http://infosys.pls.uni.edu/nielsen/nielsen/wdcthetask.html

12. Putting Rubrics into Practice:Evaluate WebQuest Rubrics For Student Use Sun Woman WebQuest Planet Sweepstakes WebQuest Evaluate Student Commercial Rubric Complete & organized? Descriptions observable? Rubric measures deep learning? How to change rubric for younger students? How to emphasize deep learning processes? Evaluate PowerPoint Rubric • Complete & organized? • Descriptions observable? • Rubric measures deep learning? • How to change rubric for younger students? • How to emphasize deep learning processes?

13. Debriefing Evaluation Exercise • What are common mistakes in a rubric? • Do the rubrics emphasize the right information? • Appropriately assess student learning? • Emphasize superficial content? • How would you change the rubrics? • What does this tell you about creating rubrics, especially for technology tasks/products?

14. Create a Rubric: Excel • Excel is easy, commonly available. • Rows = Dimensions • Columns = Categories • Cells = Descriptions

15. Example Excel Rubric Dimensions = Rows Categories = Columns Descriptions and examples go in the cells

16. Excel Rubric: Expanding Columns If your columns are too narrow for what you are typing, hover between the columns until you see the cursor turn into a “plus” sign. Then, click and drag the column boundary until it is an appropriate size.

17. Excel Rubric: Automatic Sizing You can ask Excel to automatically fit your rows to the amount of text in each row by hovering over the row boundary until you see the cursor turn into a “plus-sign,” then double-clicking. By double-clicking the border between row 1 and 2, row 1 automatically size itself to fit the text in row 1.

18. Excel: Displaying Text in Cells If you can see only a small amount of your text in the cell, you need to “wrap” the text .

19. Excel: Wrapping Text Highlight the cells that do not show all the text, then click “Wrap Text”

20. Excel: Adding Color Click the cell that you want to appear in color. Then, click the “Fill Color” icon in the font menu.

21. Excel: Selecting Colors Click one of the colors that you like, or select “More Colors” to see more options.

22. Google Docs: Spreadsheets Column/Row Sizing. Click and drag between rows or columns to resize them. Double-clicking does not automatically resize in Google spreadsheets. Cell Color. What you see is what is available. Pick a color you like (not too dark!) Word Wrap. Usually activates automatically. If not, click here.

23. Create a Rubric: uen.org • http://www.uen.org • From your Personal Page • Select “Rubric Creation” under UEN Tools

24. Define Your Rubric Needs • In “Rubric Tool” • Drop Down 1: -Select Customizable Rubric- • Drop Down 2: -Blank Rubric – 3 ratings • “Continue”

25. Provide Basic Rubric Info Write a title you’ll recognize: E.g., “Endangered Animals Report” Basic Info about you and your class goes here Indicate grade level, core area, and provide a brief description of project/activity being evaluated.

26. Put point values or categories (e.g., Good, Average, Poor) here. Put your dimension names here Write your observable criteria in these boxes. Preview to see your rubric. Edit to return and add another criteria.

27. Go back and change the rubric (e.g., revise descriptions or add dimensions) See printed version to send to printer. (Note: Print to PDF for e Save the rubric to your uen.org account

28. Rubric URL After saving your rubric, return to the main rubric menu. Find the rubric you created, then click “Print/View” The URL where you can view the rubric can be embedded in your WebQuest to give students access to your evaluation criteria.

29. Get My Rubric Online (?!) • Excel Spreadsheets: • While logged into Google, click Documents link

30. Click Upload

31. Find Files Click “Select files to upload” For Excel, Word, or PowerPoint, check the box next to “Convert documents, presentations, and spreadsheets to the corresponding Google Docs formats.”

32. Select Files to Upload Select your Excel rubric, then click “Open” Click “Start Upload”

33. Click Uploaded File to Edit Click the uploaded file’s name. This will open a new tab or window in which you can edit the file.

34. Look for Errors in the Conversion If Google doesn’t recognize the Excel color, you may need to change it. Click the cell, then choose a new color using the “Fill” icon.

35. Visibility: Google Spreadsheet You must share your document or no one will be able to see it when you embed it in your website. Click “Share”

36. Publish Your Google Spreadsheet!! You must publish your Google Spreadsheet so that others will be able to see it when the click the link from your WebQuest. Click “Share” and then “Publish as a web page”

37. Get URL to Published Document You can choose to publish specific sheets from your spreadsheet. Click this button to “Start publishing” – it will change to say “Stop publishing.” If you wish to stop viewing of the document, click it again (i.e., when it says “Stop publishing”). This is the URL to your published spreadsheet. Use it in your WebQuest but be sure to test it when you are logged OUT of your Google site.

38. Embed yourpublished link While editing your page, put the cursor where you want to insert the rubric. Then click “Insert  Spreadsheet” You should already have copied the URL from your published spreadsheet. In this box, paste the URL that you got when you published your spreadsheet.

39. You will see this placeholder until you SAVE your page. You should always test the visibility of your documents by logging out of your Google account in ALL windows, then trying to access the URLs for your web pages with embedded documents.

41. Activity 6: Due Today • Create a simple evaluation rubric with at least 3 categories (E.g., Excellent, Average, Poor) and at least 2 dimensions to evaluate student performance on the digital learning activity you created in Activity 4* or Project 2.  • Submission: • If you used Google Docs or Excel to create your rubric: Embed your rubric in your website, then submit the URL (via WebCT Activity 6) for this page. • If you use the UEN rubric tool: Submit the URL (via WebCT Activity 6) for your viewable, online rubric. *Activity 4 was your Digital Learning Activity.