To make an evaluation of whether or not to use, and how to use, educational software and online resources, we must have an educational context and purpose in mind first.
To avoid merely discussing this as theory, let’s learn by doing.
Take a look at the media literacy post. We will look for online resources we could use for a lesson on deconstructing media using advertisements.
As we look for these resources, we will start developing a rubric of things to look for when evaluating software and online resources.
User interface: Easy to navigate.
Visual: fonts, colors, navigation, graphics, sound
Does it work? Or what I have to do to make it work?
What else is on the website?
What technology is available?
What does this allow to do that we couldnät do otherwise
Of course, there are others who have come up with ways to evaluate educational software, so let’s compare their way to ours to see if there’s something we should add to ours.
Check out Dr. Justus Randolph’s rubric for show-and-tell (bottom of page), they might make a good rubric for evaluating software also!
Try the Buyers’ Worksheet
Or the Guide for Evaluating Software
The ISTE NETS standards have some good ideas for performance indicators.
Michigan Teaching Standards 7c and 7d address evaluating software.