The following materials will assist you with evaluating your technology tools according to technical, instructional, organizational, and ethical criteria. In addition, it provides research results on educationally effective software as published by the Software Publishers' Association.
| Equipment Requirements | Specifications | Performance |
| Transmission Speed | System Operability | Clarity and Resolution of the audio-video components of the system |
| Measure delivery and access of instruction and its outcomes for learners |
| Interactivity: the rate at which learner, instructor, and content interact with each other and the level of responsiveness the instructor shows for learners’ individual needs |
| Integrative capacity: which incorporates other information resources that can be digitized and stored into instruction delivered using technology. |
| Learner control - the degree the which students are involved in setting goals for using the technology and in choosing the instructional tasks, assessments, and standards to reach those goals. |
| Learner/instructor attitudes - reaction to the use of technology that augment or impede student learning. |
| Learner achievement - impact of technology use and application on student performance. |
| Concerned with the day-to-day use of technology along with the support mechanisms and inservice training necessary to sustain its use |
| System maintenance needs. |
| Support systems availability (library, electronic information systems, counseling, and enrollment services). |
| Staff development programs, services and resources. |
| Partnership to share expertise, maintenance costs, hardware, best practices, and creative ideas. |
| Space and time issues associated with integrating the technology into a school. |
| Address the availability of technology to diverse learning audiences and the scope of effort given to make formerly estranged student groups aware of the opportunities technology provides. |
(The above criteria are excerpted from, "Evaluating School-Based Distance Education Program: Some Thoughts about Methods" Mark L. Hawkes NASSP Bulletin: Talking Technology)
Software Publishers' Association Research
| Desirable software design elements include: |
| Offering students more control over the amount, review, and sequence of instruction can result in higher achievement than having the software control all instructional decisions. |
| Low-achieving students and student with little prior content knowledge are likely to require more structure and instructional guidance than other student. |
| In tutorial and practice software, programs with feedback providing knowledge of correct responses were found to be superior to programs that require students to answer until they are correct. |
| Software that includes embedded cognitive strategies provides students with a learning advantage. Helpful cognitive strategies include repetition and rehearsal of content, paraphrasing, outlining, cognitive mapping or diagramming, drawing analogies and inferences, generating illustrative examples, specific techniques for reading in the content areas, and using pictorial information. |
| Animation and video can enhance learning when the skill s or concepts to be learned involve motion or action. |
| Students using hypermedia software can benefit from an interface that include a graphical browser, or navigation map, that shows the links among the various screens of information. |
| Fantasy contexts may be advantageous to young children learning abstract concepts. |
Resources:
The Network for the Evaluation of Education and Training Technologies
http://socserv2.mcmaster.ca/srnet/evnet.htm
North Central Regional Education Laboratory's Indicators of High Technology Performance
Indicators of Quality Information Technology Systems in K-12 Schools National Study of School Evaluation (800) THE-NSSE (800) 843-6773.
In this
Module:
| Strategic Planning Tools | Technology Planning Tools | Planning Resources |
In the
Toolkit:
| Toolkit Home Page | Why Change? | Why Technology? |
| Planning | Policy | Curriculum and Assessment |
| Community Involvement | Facility Planning | Funding |
| Prof'l and Ldrship Development |