My blogs will include content and commentary for that relate
to the each section of our course. Though this is meant for use by students,
former students will have access to this site and I will update the blog
regularly to allow others to keep up in the of instructional technology in
nursing. Please know that the section objectives, learning activities and
required assignments are only on the ACE course site, NUGR552 for students.
Other interested individual can contact me if they would like to review this
material. I hope the blog site will provide you with additional information,
hints and resources for you to be successful in the course and it will be a
resource for you after you finish the course. I have had many students ask
about products that we had used in the past and so now they will be able to go
back to refresh or pull information from this blog.
There is not much in the literature on formal methods of
evaluating instructional technology. There is even less research studies in the
area of educational technology. What I have found are articles about evaluation
or closely related to the subject and placed them in the readings under Lessons
for this section.
Over the last few years I have used an evaluation template
that works well as educators try to come to conclusions about use of particular
technology. There are common criteria, I think, that we can all use so that not
only can we be thorough in our evaluation but then we have a common way of
communicating these evaluations. The current document, EvaluationCriteria for Educational Technology is the same link as I have on the ACE
site for current students. As the class updates the criteria, the link will
change. Students in the class will make edits in a wiki and then I’ll update
this document when we are finished with the assignment. We have several
categories defined that seem to be common in evaluation of educational technology:
explaining the technology to others, active learning strategies, learner
characteristics, approval, development, instructor characteristics, and cost/benefit.
Explaining the
technology to others
To evaluate the technology under investigation one must know
it well enough to explain to others. In most cases that means the educator will
need to learn the technology well enough to demonstrate to others how it can be
used by other educators. This is one of the biggest stretches some students have
to take in the masters class. Learning new technology for some is very
stressful. The current state of educational technology is such that many
resources are free or at least inexpensive. You can easily go onto the internet
and explore new developing technologies. If there is a substantial cost
involved most programs have free trial versions for a month. Be careful with
giving your charge card information as it is easy to forget to cancel if you
decide to continue the service. In this category, it is important to identify a
champion who would be willing to spend time learning the technology and then
helping to implement.
Active learning
strategies
Technology needs to add to learning not distract the learner
with bells and whistles or needless searching. The easier and quicker, the more
the user will learn. Learning styles are highly variable in individuals. Some learners
believe only one learning style works for them. For others a combination of
styles. To me, learning styles is difficult integrate as an educator when
learners have so much variability in these styles. To combat the issue, using a
combination of styles should work for everyone. We won’t get into styles any
more than this since there is abundant information in the literature on the
topic already.
Approval
The process of approval of use of a new technology can be the
biggest obstacle. Consider the key stakeholders in the new technology from the
learner to the person holding the “purse strings”. Who needs to approve this
technology in your organization? Organizations differ widely from just asking
administration for the money to formal proposals and presentations. The project
type of approval and who approves depends upon who will be affected by this new
learning. The name of the approval game is usually: can it be done quickly and
have quick results. Having a good evaluation of the technology process
completed will help the approval process.
Development
The development of the new technology to fit into your
organization may take only minor energy up to and include a whole system requiring
lot of energy for change. Questions that need to be asked include: If the
educator can do all the development, will someone else be able to use the
technology if they are no longer in the organization (get hit by a truck scenario)?
If the project will involve more than one person, will the additional people
have time to commit to the project? Will this technology take the place of an
older technology? If so, do learners need time to transition or need an
orientation to the new technology? How much and who should do the orientation?
How involved will the new orientation become?
Instructor
The educator should be an expert in the content. Deciding on
a technology without the expertise will result in a very shallow project with
little meaning. Become an expert in the nursing area you want to teach then use
of correct technology will enhance learning. I can’t tell you how many nurses
have come to me and want to start something new but haven’t become an expert in
the area first. That is my first recommendation. The educator who is developing
the new technology must have perseverance, commitment, and a little obsessive nature
to bring the new technology into teaching and learning. An educator can also
partner with a technologist but this requires close communication and both
learning each other’s roles and content expertise.
Cost/benefit
Resources (you may wish to start by searching "evaluation" on our Diigo Group site. I will include a few to give you examples of links available.):
This is a great site that explains web 2.0 paradigm and also has a format so that a teacher can decide what and how they want their students to learn. It helps you choose the right technology for your objectives. WebTools4u2use.http://webtools4u2use.wikispaces.com/Finding+the+Right+Tool#Finding%20the%20Right%20Tool-By%20Stage%20of%20Inquiry
A two day workshop I attended called Understanding by Design. Takes a design framework and starts backwards. A different approach. https://diigo.com/01hjj7
This Diigo link I found asks basic questions about the program you may wish to design using new technology. https://diigo.com/01hjjf
Example of evaluating a specific technology - simulation. Dr. Margie Porter is has used this site for students in the teaching methods course. There are teaching modules available including evaluating with simulation. https://diigo.com/01hjjl
Example of evaluation - OSCEs. This is another good reference showing how they tested reliability and validity of the OSCE. Used Cronbach alpha for reliability testing and discriminant regression analysis for validity. https://diigo.com/01hjk5
Here is a specific evaluation method for web 2.0 content. Other information can also be found on this site. https://diigo.com/01hjlc
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