One of the many advantages of using technology in education is the way it empowers students to give, seek, and utilize feedback to shape their learning. Learners in the 21st-century need to harness the power of technology to seek the most timely and useful feedback to build their understanding. But notice I said “seek”. Getting feedback is not the same as when students are of a disposition to actively look for it. Helping students develop the disposition to seek feedback is one of the ways the role of the teacher is changing. Furthermore, we need to help students judge the quality of feedback and to recognize when feedback, while critical and unexpected, can not be dismissed.
Using technology, students can voluntarily choose to use applications and extensions that give them feedback (e. g., Grammarly). We, as teachers, can use programs that automate feedback, such as Schoology assessments or Moodle quizzes. We can also create conditions in which students can exchange peer feedback, and do so efficiently with technological tools. But one thing is certain: the days of students turning in work that gets returned with a number or a letter at the top are quickly fading away. We have too much power.
Where are you at in helping students to become feedback-seekers? Where is the feedback in your lesson today? And how can we help you to shift from simply being the sole feedback dispenser to one who comes alongside students to help point them to the best ways and sources of feedback, of which your own is only a part?