FA: Checklists and Rubrics

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Use checklists and rubrics to identify and clarify success criteria for students. Think of success criteria as a to-do list for learning intentions.

Remember to take notes with your jigsaw organizer.

Your Task

Read the supporting information below in the Introducing section, then explore the various digital tools shown. Be sure to take notes on each.

Use this quick checklist to guide your analysis:

Does this allow you, the teacher, to create checklists and/or rubrics?
Can students use it to create polls without violating the rule prohibiting students 13 or younger from using it?
Does it require creation of an account? Is it free or not?
Ask yourself, "How might I use this in my classroom? Why or why not?"

Introducing Checklists and Rubrics

“Used effectively, checklists can help students develop metacognitive awareness of their intellectual processes.

Metacognitive research consistently suggests that students who know how to learn, know which strategies are most effective when faced with a problem or a task, and have accurate methods of assessing their progress, are better learners than those who don’t,” says Dr. Kathleen Dudden Rowlands (source).

Several tools that can help with developing metacognitive awareness are available to educators and students.

Take a moment to explore the digital tools appearing below.

Takeaway: Simple, task-based checklists can empower and assist learners to follow steps and help them accomplish tasks with many steps, as well as serve as memory aids.

Digital Tools Roundup

Google Sheets

Create an interactive checklist in Google Sheets that contains checkboxes, an equation to count the number of checks, and conditional formatting to turn the cell a certain color.

Google Docs Rubric Template*

Creating a rubric in Google Docs is simple. For instance, you can easily insert a table and then enter your criteria.

Google Drawings Picture Rubric Template*

The best option for creating picture rubrics is Google Drawings.

Google Sheets Data Spreadsheet and Chart Rubric Template*

Most rubrics I have seen are created in Google Sheets because it is easy to tabulates scores with this tool.

Kanbie

Create a checklist using the Kanban board. You usually have to pay for Kanban boards, but you can make your own or use simple ones like Kanbie.

*Special thanks to Diana Benner (@diben) for sharing her Google Docs/Drawings/Sheets templates. Be sure to read her blog entries at TCEA TechNotes.

Google Keep

Google Keep, which works on multiple devices, provides Post-It like simplicity. Some of its main features are listed below:

Create and share checklists with colleagues, students, and others
Quickly format a Google Keep note with a title and note contents
Select a bright color for each note to distinguish them from each other
Turn checkboxes on for your note to create a quick checklist or add dashes in front of notes to create a more impromptu list
Draw on your Google Keep note with your finger or stylus
Snap a picture or add an image from your device photo gallery
Use images and pictures, one per note, to differentiate between your notes
Grab the text from any picture, which is a quick way to use optical character recognition (OCR) to scan the image to text
Use labels (a.k.a. tags or keywords) to organize notes
Set reminders that will pop up. These reminders can be set to turn on based on time or your location (using GPS on your device).
Collaborate with others on a note
Copy a note to Google Docs if it becomes too long

Microsoft OneNote

Available on all devices, Microsoft OneNote brings a host of features to the table. In addition to all the features that Google Keep has (albeit with no reminders feature or grab image text in the free OneNote version), OneNote has many more. Recently, it underwent a radical simplification from OneNote 2016 to the free OneNote app.

Which tool you decide to use will depend on the depth of complexity and funding you have available. Some tools are free, others cost money. The important point to remember is that creating low-stakes assessments is your focus, and these assessments should always connect to the learning objectives.

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