As all good teachers know, a score on a quiz, on a test, or the completion of a large project doesn’t always give us the full picture of what students know about a topic. Let’s take a look at three ways to assess a student’s understanding through the use of their mobile phones.

1. Reflecting on learning.
Ask students to use the video camera or audio recorder on their phones to create short reflections on what they have learned during the week. Students can post those on a classroom blog.

2. Documenting a process.
Ask students to use their phones to take pictures and or videos of a work in progress. If they’re working on a long-term, hands-on project, have them document the process through pictures or video.

3. Capturing real-world examples.
Have you recently taught a math or science topic that is frequently seen in a landscape or cityscape? If so, have your students take a picture of a representation of that topic. For example, if you recently taught a lesson on acute and obtuse angles, have students take pictures of examples of each as they see them during a walk around town.