Utilization of educational applications in assessing the reading skills of junior high school students

Abstract

Utilization of educational applications in assessing the reading skills of junior high school studentsGlobalization and the advancement of technology are giving a new challenge as well as op­portunities for English educators around the globe. Indirectly, there are obstacles associated with learning English due to the fact that technology has become an integral aspect of hu­man existence. The teaching of reading skill also faces the same challenge. Nowadays, read­ing is seen as more important than other skills, considering that reading has become one of the aspects of literacy. With regard to assessment, the availability of an educational ap­plication might be advantageous for teachers to assess students' reading skills. The current study investigates the types of application used by teachers in assessing students’ reading skill and the type of reading assessment that occur during the implementation of the ap­pli­cation. Through open-ended interview and document analysis method, the research result indicates that the implementation of Google Form as an educational application to assess students reading skills demonstrated a reading assessment based on tradi­tional assessment approaches with a focus on intensive reading. This study has shown the appropriate media for assessing students reading skill along with the reading fo­cus­es and assessment design that is suitable for it. In addition, in this study, Google Form dom­inates the most considerable use of media to assess students reading skills. Therefore, teachers could also save more time in assessing students’ reading by utilizing educational applications.Penggunaan aplikasi pendidikan dalam menilai ketrampilan membaca siswa SMPGlobalisasi dan kemajuan teknologi memberikan tantangan sekaligus peluang baru bagi pengajar bahasa Inggris di seluruh belahan dunia. Secara tidak langsung, terdapat kendala yang terkait dengan pembelajaran bahasa Inggris karena fakta bahwa teknologi telah men­jadi aspek yang tidak terpisahkan dari keberadaan manusia. Saat ini, membaca dipandang lebih penting daripada keterampilan lainnya, mengingat membaca telah menjadi salah satu aspek literasi. Secara khusus, menentukan keterampilan membaca siswa menjadi sangat penting dalam pengajaran dan penilaian bahasa, dengan penambahan aplikasi pendidikan yang mungkin bermanfaat bagi guru untuk menilai keterampilan membaca siswa. Peneliti­an ini bertujuan mengidentifikasi aplikasi pendidikan yang dimanfaatkan untuk menilai ketrampilan membaca dan jenis-jenis ketrampilan membaca yang dinilai menggunakan ap­likasi. Melalui metode wawancara terbuka dan analisis dokumen, hasil penelitian me­nun­jukkan bahwa implementasi Google Form sebagai aplikasi pendidikan untuk menilai keter­ampilan membaca siswa menunjukkan penilaian membaca berdasarkan pendekatan peni­laian tradisional dengan fokus pada membaca intensif. Penelitian ini telah menunjukkan media yang sesuai untuk menilai keterampilan membaca siswa beserta fokus membaca dan desain penilaian yang sesuai dengannya. Selain itu, dalam penelitian ini, Google Form men­dominasi penggunaan media yang paling banyak digunakan untuk menilai kemampuan membaca siswa. Oleh karena itu, guru juga dapat menghemat lebih banyak waktu saat melakukan pe­nilaian keterampilan membaca siswa.

Tertiary Students’ Perspectives on the Use of English Songs and Podcasts on Spotify in Improving Listening Skills

“…Regarding this, Andriani et al (2018) found that listening learning that utilizes the Spotify application has an impact on students' interest in listening activities and knowing the world that has the same song as the song they are listening to. If students can apply the Spotify application to improve their listening skills, this will greatly help them when taking listening courses in the classroom, as stated by Hidayat et al (2022), using educational apps not only familiarizes students with the digital setting but also motivates them to customize their learning surroundings. This is supported by the answers provided in the preceding section of the questionnaire, both English songs and podcasts on the Spotify application are applications that have helped them improve listening skills.…”

Developing a Mobile Reading Comprehension Test for Junior High School Students by Using Ispring-Suite

“…Some previous studies have revealed that the use of technology has been adopted in testing students' reading comprehension skills. Hidayat et al (2022) found that there are three types of applications used by EFL teachers in designing reading comprehension tests. Those are Google Forms, Canva, and WhatsApp.…”