Time for another Spotlight Saturday! A few people asked if I could give an overview of this assessment tool after our “assessment speed dating” activity on Wednesday, so today’s post is an introduction to the Easy Assessment app. This was one of the apps mentioned in chapter 15 of our textbook, on using technology in physical education. It was 99 cents when I purchased it for class, but it looks like it’s currently free! There’s also a pro version (which I haven’t played with), and that app costs $1.99. The app is for Apple products (iPhone, iPad, iPod), but there are likely similar apps for Android/Windows products too.
While not only useful for PE assessments, there are a few key features of this app that seem like they would be very helpful in this class in particular. Once you open the app, you can create a variety of rubrics on scales (ranging from 0-10, so your scale is customizable) in varying areas. The possibilities are limitless, and you could assess on anything from balance, speed/time, form, and technique, to more affective things like leadership, teamwork, and safety. This means that the tool can also be used for any unit, from invasion games to gymnastics to dance to target games! You can also upload rubrics as .csv files, if you already have prepared them in a spreadsheet – I haven’t tested this tool out, but it seems like it would be a neat feature that would save some time on a phone/tablet.
You can also either manually add class lists or import them. Students can be assessed in groups or individually, and once assessments are added they can be viewed in-app, or can be sent via email or Dropbox.
When assessing students, the scales can be adjusted on the various criteria. Notes, photos, and video footage can also be added – this is what is exceptionally helpful in a PE context, because “a picture is worth a thousand words” after all – and video in this case is likely worth more! The downside to this tool is that the tech (phone, tablet, etc) with the app would need to be brought to and used in the PE classroom, but as long as students are told why and how the device will be used (and as long as it doesn’t go against any school or district policies of course!) it could be incredibly useful, especially in assessing things like form/technique.
Has anyone tested out this app? Anyone interested in checking it out now? And does anyone know of alternatives for non-Apple users?
I saw Fraser demonstrate the app during the “speed dating” pair-share of our assessment rubrics. I do feel like the least qualified of our group to comment given my purposefully reduction of technology, with my flip phone and all, but I have had several professional development sessions that use iPads in the classroom. Thus, if the app does save time or allows for an innovation that couldn’t previously be done in the classroom, then there will be some value; but if it doesn’t add anything then it may not be worth the time. I, however, think this one will work well and I intend to download it as soon as I can afford the tech once again.
Yeah – Fraser’s app was so cool too, definitely great for the video-feedback aspect of it! There are lots of really neat things out there to check out (I’m sure there’s lots that isn’t quite as valuable as well)