In this lesson you will first look at drill and practice software which is characterized by many repetitions of similar exercises, possibly with some kind of record keeping. After that you will develop an evaluation tool for other kinds of educational software that you may like to use or explore for use by your colleagues. Here you will have a wide range of options to choose from, depending on your specific interest.
You will design an evaluation instrument for evaluating the kind of educational software/apps you would like to use. We will first work together as a group and design an evaluation tools for drill and practice software. Here is an example of a set of criteria for evaluating drill and practice software. It is not necessarily exemplary, because each individual will have to adapt a set of criteria for his/her specific use before applying such an instrument. Kathy Schrock’s page on critical evaluation resources may have some useful resources for your purposes.
- Let’s have a practice round and comment on this drill and practice instrument. How would you change this set of criteria? Join the group forum called “Evaluating Drill and Practice Software“. Comment on the set of criteria in the evaluation instrument. Do you think they are comprehensive? What would you omit, and why? What would you add, and why?
. - Develop an evaluation tool for non-drill and practice educational software. Use this set of criteria to start your thinking about what you would like to include in your evaluation instrument.
- Discuss your criteria with the group if you would like endorsement of your ideas.
- Use the assignment upload link at the bottom of the page to upload your customised evaluation instrument to your tutor for feedback (this is not an assessment). Remember to name your file <yourname><description> e.g. Joe_Blogg_educational_game_evaluation_instrument.
Once your tutor has received the document and recorded it you will be able to find and click on the Next topic link. In the meantime, start researching free educational software and/or apps you would like to review.
