How Do We Assess the Validity of EdTech Tools? By Researching Before Hand.
Hollands, F., &
Escueta, M. How research informs EdTech decision-making in higher education:
the role of external research vs. internal research.
How do we assess how effective an EDTech tool can be? Well
there are a few different ways to do so, in my opinion. We can assess with
data, we can ask our students, or we can research before we pick our EDTech
tools. The third of which is what is talked about in the article I recently
read.
The article talks about the success of different
educational tools that use tech, and their use in higher learning. The article
mentions that research is a key factor for choosing and implementing EDTech in
the classroom. However, it also mentions that quite often the people in charge
of making the decision to select (and pay) for the tools would go for a cheaper
option, shocker I know. When qualified researchers are used there are better
results, but they so often are not involved in the decision-making process, and
for a few reasons.
1. The
length of time it takes to conduct research
2. Difference
in context between research site and actual population
3. The
dearth of rigorous research
These reasons are valid, but I think that when you
take into account how valuable the research is, it is more than worth it. I
personally believe that it would be a much better way to assess the value of
the individual tool rather than trying to gauge its effectiveness with student
surveys, or even analyzing data.
While doing analytics with data is very valuable, it is always done at the end of a long period of time. This can be done, but if a tool is not working and you are waiting to see data, then you have been utilizing a tool that is not working, that is time wasted. As for asking the students their opinion, again, it is done after a long period of time. Also a survey is a subjective thing. If students don't like a tool, they will tell you long before a survey. IF the tool is not working, you should already know it by the time a student has to tell you. For both of these reasons I feel like the research being done before implementation, will always be better in the long run.
While doing analytics with data is very valuable, it is always done at the end of a long period of time. This can be done, but if a tool is not working and you are waiting to see data, then you have been utilizing a tool that is not working, that is time wasted. As for asking the students their opinion, again, it is done after a long period of time. Also a survey is a subjective thing. If students don't like a tool, they will tell you long before a survey. IF the tool is not working, you should already know it by the time a student has to tell you. For both of these reasons I feel like the research being done before implementation, will always be better in the long run.
So, while the research is long and arduous to conduct,
it is my personal belief that when it is used, there is a clear and present
benefit to it. The benefit is seen by the teachers, the students, and the classroom.
I think it is a very good idea to research before implementing a tool in the classroom. I like how you mentioned that the teacher should already know a tool is not working prior to a student having to mention anything about it. Not only researching a tool online, but also asking the opinions of others could be very beneficial prior to trying something new with tech in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteOur technology person is really good at researching apps and programs for us. We tell her what we need, and she finds options that work, and even takes the extra time to learn how to use them. That's how we all found out about the Big Blue Dot. She set up practice classes so we could experiment with it safely. It's hard to make lesson plans, differentiate activities and assessments, and digest all the technology options out there.
ReplyDelete