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7: Evaluating Educational Technology

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    27308

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    Chapter Learning Outcomes
    • Identify sources of information for evaluating educational technology and digital media.
    • Describe and explain the key criteria used to evaluate Web resources.
    • Describe the tools for evaluating the effectiveness of technology.
    • Identify and compare possible sources of funding for classroom technology.

    In this chapter, you will explore best practices in evaluating educational technology and digital media, some tips on integrating them into your teaching and learning, and finally some ideas for funding the technology.

    Depiction of educational technologyThere are more and more digital tools and media for education these days. How do you decide if it is right for your teaching and learning needs? Instructors and those in education making technology decisions need to be able to determine if the technology will actually help students learn. There are many reputable sources of information and rules to follow to help gather and research information about technology. There are also standards just for evaluating technology and media that offer guidelines that can help determine how a digital resource impacts learning, ethics, and other key areas. Ease of use matters too. You want to look at how user-friendly it is, what tech skills are needed, if good support is available. You also will want to develop a plan for adding it to. your specific curriculum and instructional practices.  Finally, how will you fund it? Will you have funding to sustain it short term or long term? These are all important considerations as you evaluate technology for your classroom.

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    This page titled 7: Evaluating Educational Technology is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Nasreen Rahim and Renee Albrecht (Open Educational Resource Initiative at Evergreen Valley College) .