Cliff Waldie – Personal Response
Today our Education 431 class had an in-class presentation from Cliff Waldie who demonstrated how to use FreshGrade – for both formative and summative assessment. So what is FreshGrade?
FreshGrade is an e-portfolio from the student perspective that facilitates communication between the teacher and family of the student. Having an increase in communication increases student engagement and gives families the chance to see what is actually happening in the day instead of having the “What did you do today at school?” “Nothing” conversation… Students are actively involved and collaborating – this is not a passive e-portfolio, students are uploading and commenting on the work that they are doing in real time.
This real time connection gives a new transparency to the grades that students have and students can reflect on that which they have done in the past to see the learning and growth has taken place.
I appreciate how assignments posted on FreshGrade allow the teacher to specify and demonstrate to the students exactly what will be assessed in a particular assignment; this transparency takes the wondering out of a final ‘grade’ for students – the competencies and expectations are clearly laid out and students take the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge.