Evaluation in educational technology

(1) Improving pre-service teachers' visual literacy through flickr

Dr. Alaa Sadik

This summary of the study focuses on the evaluation methodology used, in terms of purpose and instruments. The title of this study is mproving pre-service teachers' visual literacy through flickr. The author of this study is Dr. Alaa Sadik and it publish in the World Conference on Educational Sciences. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of Flickr, as an online photo management and sharing application, when implemented in a technology course for pre-service teachers on their visual literacy skills. There are four instruments were used in this study. The first one is online tracking and observation to assess the extent to which pre-service teachers are engaged in real decoding and encoding activities through the participation in Flickr. Second, visual literacy test to assess whether pre-service teachers' visual literacy skills were enhanced via interpretation, development and sharing of photographs or not. Finally, Interview was conduct to solicit pre-service teachers’ concerns and views regarding the use of Flickr in enhancing their visual literacy skills.

(2) WebCT as an E-Learning Tool: A Study of Technology Students’ Perceptions

Lesta A. Burgess

This summary of the study focuses on the evaluation of specific technology features. The title of this study is WebCT as an E-Learning Tool: A Study of Technology Students’ Perceptions. It Authored by Lesta A. Burgess. This study evaluated the WebCT as communication (bulletin board, chat room, private e-mail) , instructional (glossary, references, self-test) and management tools (grading, tracking student interaction, monitoring class progress). The questions sought to determine whether the students perceived that they had used the WebCT effectively, what elements of WebCT they elected to use, what difficulties they might have encountered, and their overall opinions regarding this e-learning tool. The evaluation instrument has three sections which are about collected data about student use of and familiarity with WebCT, interest in using e-learning tools in the future and collected demographic information. The validity and reliability of the instrument was ensured by experts in related fields, as well as through a pilot test. The questionnaire was sent to five university faculty for validation. Before implementing the survey, a pilot test was administered to fifteen students. The result was indicate that a majority (94.7%) of students, this was the first time they had used WebCT or any courseware tool. A majority of students (52.6%) reported no technical problems with the software. Students of about (78.6%) found WebCT useful for their courses.

Presentation link:

http://www.slideshare.net/61820_62133/evaluation-in-educational-technology-1412343