The purpose of this paper is to describe the experiences of a small, Catholic university as it began implementing the various functions available through LiveText. LiveText represents a straight-forward tool for collection, analysis, and presentation of candidate artifacts. We expected that the LiveText platform would allow us to do long-term program improvement through a systematic approach to assessment. We also anticipated that LiveText, as advertised, would allow us to demonstrate the successful achievement of teacher education candidate standards for our upcoming accreditation visit. Complying with accreditation requirements through the use of this web-based tool resulted in more immediate and positive, if unanticipated, effects on program-wide reflection, instruction, and assessment practices.
This presentation will discuss the various ways that the use of LiveText has impacted all aspects of our teacher education program. Faculty collaboration, clarification of program goals, overlapping assessment tools and systematic application of our own revised conceptual framework standards have resulted in a more coherent and, we believe, a more productive learning experience for our teacher education candidates.