Are Tests the Only Objective Assessments?

Reflect on the idea that tests are the only objective assessment of student learning.

This philosophy that tests are the only objective of student learning is false. There are many different ways that students can be assessed because students learn in different ways. Tests do play a role in education, but they only measure how well students grasp the material taught. There are alternative assessments that can assess students learning such as: portfolios, lab experiment, role play, essays, presentations/demonstrations, projects, journals, and open-ended response (just to name a few). These alternative assessments can help students to achieve their academic goals and prepare them for the work world.

Technology Infused Classroom

What Does A Technology-Infused Classroom Look Like?

In the 21st Century, a technology-infused classroom would look like one that integrates technology, so that students would be motivated and engaged in the activities being learn. A technology-infused classroom provides different ways for students to increase and improve students knowledge of what is being taught. Technology provides student-directed learning, which allows students with more choices then they normally have, but still guided instruction by the teacher. A technology-infused classroom could be set up in small groups and the classroom could be set up to provide space for students to interact with one another depending on the instruction at hand. This will give the students the opportunity to learn how to use technology on their own.


How do you plan to have a technology-infused classroom?
1. To have computers that students can have access to the Internet to do research and interact with other students and collaborate on projects.
2. To use a Smartboard, so that students are engaged and every learning style can be addressed in activities.
3. To use e-mail to connect with students in another part of the country, or another part of the world.
4. To use blogs to encourage interaction between students.
5. To use a LCD Projector to create demonstration to supplement lessons.

Visual Literacy and the Internet in the 21st Century

How can visual literacy and the use of the Internet impact the teaching and learning process in the classroom?


Visual literacy refers to the learned ability to interpret visual messages accurately and to create such messages. The value of using and creating visuals in the classroom seems to be the learning tools for students in the 21st century. Visuals can be used in a variety of ways to enhance learning. By using visuals you can find ways of helping students understand complex ideas, and engage learners in their quest for knowledge. Students can learn by using nonprojected visuals as well as projected visuals. Nonprojected media such as pictures, charts, graphs, posters, cartoons, etc., can make instruction more realistic and engaging and can provide powerful visual support for learning abstract ideas. Projected media such as PowerPoint slides, digital images, and overhead transparencies can enhance presentations made by students or teachers. Using visuals will help students to comprehend more about what teachers are talking about (Smaldino, Lowther, & Russell, 2008). Using visual literacy in the classroom setting will help students to recall and remember information. Visual literacy will help students to succeed in a progressively visually society.


The use of the Internet has impacted the teaching and learning process for students in the 21st century. The Internet provides resources to extend classroom activities, this increases higher level thinking and collaborative learning. By using the Internet the students become highly engaged, increase their skills, and will help them with their lessons.

What are some visual-thing strategies you would like to use in your classroom?


I would like to use pictures/art in whatever subject I am discussing. This will help students to develop higher level thinking skills. Using pictures will help them to comprehend what they are learning and will  help them to retain and remember information on the subject.

What role do you want the Internet to play in your classroom?


The role I would want the Internet to play in my classroom would be to teach students how to use e-mail, how to design a WebQuest, and how to create and maintain a blog based on the content covered on the topic we are studying.

Technology in the 21st Century

A variety of instructional strategies and the value they add to education of students in the 21st century is very important to aid in learning. Using instructional strategies and incorporating technology will motivate students to learn. Instructional strategies and incorporating technology add value to the education of students in the 21st century, in spite of the student's age or the educational setting. The role technology plays in education is vital to the success of students learning. Technology helps educators to reach many students, to prepare them for the future. Technology has a great impact on students in the 21st century, that will help students to become more engaged, this will help them to learn. The more technology we use in the classroom setting will help us to reach our goals in helping more students to succeed. After all, children are our future.