I was very privileged to be able to chair, and listen to, an online talk by Ashley Allain today, and I’d like to pick out just a few of the many incisive points Ashley made.

Ashley describes herself as a homeschooling mom, who educates her four children at home. She as a Masters in education, and used to be a teacher. I first “met” Ashley when she offered to contribute something to the Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book. In the event, she offered, and I willingly accepted, two projects.

Here are three comments/questions which I’ve taken from Ashley’s talk. I think they would provide a fantastic starting point for a discussion with co-workers, or in a professional development event. Here they are, paraphrased:

If learning styles are drawn upon for learning, maybe they should be used in assessment as well.

***

Are you learning to get a grade, or learning for the sake of learning?

***

Traditional assessment does not address the kind of learning which is now taking place in schools.

Ashley provided us with lots of links of examples of evidence of good assessment and learning. You can see her presentation, and download a PDF of the links, at her Homeschool blog.

Request for assistance

Ashley has a great idea for an online conference involving youngsters, in which they could log in, and give and listen to presentations. She’d be interested in discussing the possibilities, and how best to make them materialise. If you have experience in this area, or suggestions, Ashley would be delighted to hear from you. Thanks!

Now get back to discussing those issues!