Let’s Go Formative!

When done properly, formative learning processes and activities should be the backbone of success for students. Many people argue that formative learning tasks are more important than summative tasks. They provide the evidence for learning AND the teacher feedback that should connect with and contribute toward the level of success on the summative learning task that follows (see this article and this research overview). There are a variety of analog ways and digital tools that support formative learning processes. It’s up to you to decide which is best for your lessons/unit. That said, digital tools are now very robust and can be used in engaging ways to help ensure your students are learning and understanding while on the road to the summative task or learning goals.

To follow up on the formative learning tool I presented at Wednesday’s meeting, below are a summary and links to tutorials about GoFormative. Please let me know if you want to use it with your classes, and I’ll help you get it set up.

Summary of Features:

• Can be used for one-off checks or set up as a class;
• Variety of question types can by used (true/false; multiple choice; short answer; drawing);
• Answers can be scored immediately by the system, depending on the question type;
• Drawing and annotating capabilities exist for both teachers and students;
• Images, PDFs, and Word Documents can be uploaded to view or annotate by both teachers and students;
• Questions can be added on top of an uploaded file (image, PDF, Word doc);
• YouTube Videos can be added and viewed;
• Almost anything that provides embed code can be embedded;
• Teachers get live results as students are completing the formative task;
• Teachers can give feedback to students instantly while they are completing the task or after they submit it (when part of a class; not in one-off situations);
• Great tool to use in a flipped class context.

Here some tutorial videos you can watch to review how GoFormative works and how other teachers are using it.

Finally, here is a nice flowchart to help you determine which online formative learning tool might work best for your needs. Note that GoFormative can be used in most instances despite the limited drawing option shown in the flowchart.