Jennifer Drumm
April 26, 2001

Lesson 11

Evaluation of Technology in Education

Evaluation of technology in education is a difficult issue. Many people have focused on getting the technology into the hands of students and teachers and training them in the use of technology. The problem is that teachers view this as something else that they must "add" to their "overfull" plate rather than a tool to make learning more hands on and effective. The evaluation of the technology needs to look at competencies, but also the seamless integration into the day to day life of students and teachers - is it enhancing the learning experience?

http://www.ncrel.org/re/mdade/focus6.htm

The Miami-Dade teacher survey found at this site is very detailed. Specific information about student use and teacher use of the technology available is requested. The schools also surveyed principals (http://www.ncrel.org/re/mdade/focus7.htm), technology specialists (http://www.ncrel.org/re/mdade/focus8.htm), parents (http://www.ncrel.org/re/mdade/focus9.htm), and students (http://www.ncrel.org/re/mdade/focus10.htm).

http://www.mff.org/edtech/article.taf?_function=detail&Content_uid1=129

A report on the use of technology in Virginia, "Will Virginia's Technology Investment Payoff?" indicates that a lot of effort has been placed on the use of technology in schools but they are still falling short on effective use. Teachers and students are learning to use the technology, but the success of integration into the curriculum is not there.

http://www.ncrel.org/tandl/eval1.htm

Evaluation Standards and Criteria for Technology Implementation
Written by Gilbert Valdez, PhD, Director of the Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum
Center at the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory

This is an excellent article that gives specific details for evaluation and links to sites that have used the evaluation criteria.

http://www.ed.gov/Technology/TechConf/1999/confsum.html

"Critical Issues in Evaluating the Effectiveness of Technology" describes the need for more formative evaluations of technology use and lists seven critical issues:

• The effectiveness of technology is embedded in the effectiveness of other school improvement efforts.
  
• Current practices for evaluating the impact of technology in education need broadening.
  
• Standardized test scores offer limited formative information with which to drive the development of a school's technology program. Most schools are looking for additional means for collecting useful data for this purpose.
  
• Schools must document and report their evaluation findings in ways that satisfy diverse stakeholders' need to know.
  
• In order for evaluation efforts to provide stakeholders with answers to their questions about the effectiveness of technology in education, everyone must agree on a common language and standards of practice for measuring how schools achieve that end.
  
• The role of teachers is crucial in evaluating the effectiveness of technology in schools, but the burden of proof is not solely theirs.
  
• Implementing an innovation in schools can result in practice running before policy. Some existing policies need to be "transformed" to match the new needs of schools using technology.