Methods

Evaluation of eLearning for Effective Practice Guidebook

Evaluation is the cornerstone of quality.

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Diagram from a presentation by Professor Tom Reeves

There are lots of different types of evaluation and the one you use for your project depends on the reason for the evaluation. There are a number of factors to consider. You may already be familiar with the terms: formative and summative, needs analysis etc. Well what does it all mean? You will be investigating evaluation methods such as: needs analysis, usability, effectiveness, impact and maintenance evaluation. These methods are based on the approach to evaluation taken by Tom Reeves and John Hedberg in the textbook used for this course - Interactive Learning Systems Evaluation.

Activity

Activity Three Use the resources to find out about different types of evaluation. Explore the literature about evaluation which is relevant to your context. A lot of material is compiled in the References section of the wiki, and you may also wish to find your own. Post a summary of the key ideas to your blog. Examine the range of potential evaluation projects on offer (a link to them is available on eMit in the Projects discussion forum), and either choose one of these or advertise your own. Organise yourselves into groups for the evaluation projects - use the Projects discussion forum to join a project group and to negotiate your methods of working collaboratively.

Resources

• Course notes - A summary of some methods of evaluation.
  
• Evaluation and the ADDIE model- audio (now working) about how the ADDIE model fits with a range of evaluation methods, and how it may apply to your potential evaluation project.
• Book - Reeves, T. C. & Hedberg, J. G. (2003). Interactive Learning Systems Evaluation. Englewood Cliffs: Educational Technology Publications. Google books has a preview of the book.
• Presentation - Six Facets of Instructional Product Evaluation presentation by Professor Tom Reeves - Review, Effectiveness, Maintenance, Formative, Needs Assessment (Analysis), Impact.
• Evaluation methods - a short article in the eLearning Guidebook.