Evaluating technology
Learning and teaching through technology
[Source: Price, Linda and Kirkwood, Adrian (2011). Enhancing professional learning and teaching through technology: a synthesis of evidence-based practice among teachers in higher education. Higher Education Academy, York, UK.]
When would we say a specific technology is good for supporting a particular eLearning project?
What evidences would we collect and why?
We would need to base our decision on the levels of learning purposes: efficiency, enhancement, transformation and impact. We would also have to take into account the educational purposes: mobile, learning difficulties, engagement, feedback, practice, revision, reflection, linking theory to practice.
But how will we know that the time spent on the technology is going to bring benefits to students and teachers? We would want to have an inform-wise investment, show good practice and highlight lessons learned and make decisions on effective uses of technology.
We would have to analyse how the technology achieve the learning goals, how teaching context is accommodated and how the technology integrate with the needs of the students.
It is known that technology can enhance learning and teaching but aligning technology with the learning goal is critical for the successful implementation of the technology. It is not the technology by itself the defining factor, it is how the technology is used to achieve the learning goals and how it is integrated with the needs of the students and the context.