I'm on this list because I'm tech. coordinator one day a week for Walden
School (K-8, 110-120 students). I am responding here because I also
teach a few hours each week for Probation & Parole (largely one student
at a time, material customized to their needs & interests). In this
environment, it would be extremely useful to have a clear record of a
student's skills, broken down in detail by sub-skill, and recorded over
time. A portfolio demonstrating sets of skills would be quite
appropriate documentation, it seems to me. Mapping affinities is
important, too, in this environment. What do they have a knack for
doing, what do they have an interest in doing?

Charles Cavanaugh wrote:

> I'm wondering if anyone on the list is aware of any type of software
> that measures and assesses student computer skills. We've been spending
> quite a bit of time this year compiling a list of the particular
> computer skills that kids should master at particular grade levels.
> There is talk that I should sit down with individual students and go
> over a checklist of skills with each student (talk about taking the fun
> out of computing!)  If there was a piece of software that would lead
> students through particular computer tasks and then offer an assessment
> of that student's abilities, there might be a great savings in time and
> energy.
> I'm also wondering about how people feel about the issue of student
> assessment with regard to computer skills. I get the feeling that we're
> nitpicking when we wonder whether a first grade student is capable of
> completing a left-mouse click, or a third grader is able to drag-select
> a body of text and transform it in some fashion. Has anyone else mulled
> over these things?
> Thanks for any input.
> - Charlie
>
>
> --
> Charles Cavanaugh
> Technology Coordinator
> Johnson Elementary School
>