While taking my EME 5050 course we discussed evaluating educational technology. I wanted to take a moment to discuss ways of doing that.
The textbook gave us an example rubric to use for websites. It had 9 categories and 4 levels to rate the categories. I would like to develop a quick version of this rubric for people that might be in a hurry. I would probably use authority, objectivity, audience, and currency as my four categories. These four seem to be the most important if someone is in a hurry. These types of rubrics are valuable to teachers and students so that they can determine if they are using a website that is going to benefit their particular project.
Another type of evaluation discussed was software. Software is a key component to education everyday. If the software doesn't function correctly the class could be hindered from learning at the highest level. Software has always been one of my concerns in my classroom. I don't like the idea of just putting my students in front of a computer and hoping for the best. The evaluation given in the book is a good way for me to determine if I should use the program or not. The evaluation includes an abilities section so that I can determine if the software is appropriate for my student's abilities. I find this rubric very useful.
