Graded 21st Century

When my students play games, they expect to get immediate, specific, and meaningful feedback that leads to improvement or a detailed analysis of their performance.

Halo is one of the deepest and most descriptive assessor I’ve ever seen.

I should be focused on describing their performance more than evaluating their product. I should also be looking for more opportunities to do this in small, sometimes informal ways, while students are learning and give students a chance to reflect on the descriptions I provide. This way, they can apply these reflections and learn better. This way, assessment becomes less extrinsic – performing for a grade reward – and more intrinsic –

to’s study found that high school age students, when working on their own, interact with digital media in one of three ways: 1) “hanging out,” in social networks or online spaces such as blogs, chats or Facebook; 2)“messing around,” or tinkering with software to produce various types of media; 3) “geeking out,” a more serious exploration of one type of media or technology, often in online interest groups. Media to young people might mean Japanese anime, fan fiction, spoken word or rap poetry, video, music or any combination of different forms and styles of communication.

The activity at the center is designed to encourage young people to move along a continuum of engagement, from “messing around,” to “geeking out.”

YOUmedia center have an instant means of broadcasting their work and get instant feedback from other students and adult mentors. Broadcasting and networking is an essential part of the YOUmedia experience, one that echoes the way young people use technology on their own.