Educational Technology Program and Project Evaluation

SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW * The essential nature of learning and performance * The nature of interventions, projects and programs involving educational technology * The purpose and scope of evaluating educational technology efforts * Types of program and project evaluation * The two major tasks of an evaluator/evaluation team SECTION 2: AN EVALUATION FRAMEWORK * Needs assessment: Starting with symptoms * Identifying underlying problems that relate to technology (as symptom and/or cause) * Developing a theory of change with assumptions and expectations pertinent to technology * Specifying outcome measures and operational details of an impact study * Distinguishing things that can be influenced from those that cannot SECTION 3: LOGIC MODELS AND IMPLEMENTATION * Translating the theory of change into an intervention/implementation plan * Developing a logic model with inputs, actions and activities, and outputs * Specifying what aspects of the implementation will be continually measured * Developing measurement instruments for educational technology efforts * Developing a fidelity of implementation plan for technology intensive efforts SECTION 4: TRANSLATING PLANS INTO ACTION * Developing measureable milestones for the effective integration of technology * Implementing the plan with ongoing formative evaluations * Using formative evaluations to improve the effort and how technology is used * Collecting and analyzing data for the impact study * Informing and improving policy implementation * Reporting the outcomes in an impact study SECTION 5: REFLECTIONS, RESOURCES, AND REFERENCES