Talkin' 'bout my cerebration.

In my class currently, I am implementing an alternate working of the traditional exam essay.  The conditions of an exam essay require an unseen stimulus or task followed by creation of a response.  This response is generally completed as an argumentative or persuasive exposition in one sitting.  If ICTs were used it was to simply allow typing of the response.  This time around I decided to try something a little different, students would blog their response, and the exam would continue for a week.  This exam is being completed in a unit of work that will be shared across the state as part of a Federal Government initiative managed by Queensland Health and the Department of Education, Training and the Arts.  This provides me with a real opportunity to showcase a 21st century learning concept to a wide range of teachers.  Lets hope its successful.

The exam begins with a standard stimulus statement on the task sheet (which I distributed in hard copy this year – bleh, should have been digitally).  The students are required over the course of the week to enter 4 blogposts, and to make 10 constructive comments on other blogs.  After the initial blogpost, they are required to respond to the comments made by their peers and selected invited guests. Despite a slow start to the process, they blogging is happening.  The “unseen” concept is the comments and questions they will receive and respond to.  I don’t think you can get anymore unplanned than that.  You can access a copy of the task here.

What I really like seeing is the (virtual) interaction between class members, and the pride they take in their blogs.  Each student is genuinely excited when one of the invited guests leaves a comment on their blog.  The interaction demonstrates active learning from each other.  They are disagreeing or supporting, then validating with evidence.  I think they are enjoying this alternate approach.

There are some real advantages for me as the teacher to this approach.  Firstly, tracking of students is simple using the statistics function of our LMS (BlackBoard).  I can see how often they enter the space, and compare this with writing in the space.  Secondly, this provides a real world connection as invited guests are viewing and commenting on the blogs.  However, I think this approach is actually saving me time.  I go into each blog and comment, which is providing feedback as they progress.  I can “mark” their responses as we go.  This appears to be a very efficient method of assessment.

At this point, I would definitely change how the task stimulus was presented and distributed.  With the range of Web 2.0 tools available I definitely could have made it more relevant than words written on paper.  Its an exciting adventure, I’m enjoying watching it evolve.