Running head: Assessment and Evaluation of Technology Usage

Assessment and Evaluation of Technology Usage Lauraly DuBois EDU 697 Capstone: A Project Approach Instructor: Dr. Keith Pressey 12/23/2013

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION Assessment and Evaluation of Technology Usage I have learned a tremendous amount of new assessment and evaluation principles during my courses here at Ashford. I will review what I have learned this week and in previous courses within the MATLT program, my own personal experiences when evaluating technology usage among learners and further elaborate on principles discovered during week four online discussions. Next, I will review instructional design principles and theories applied during my redesign and those learned in previous courses. I will explain my redesigned lesson I have transformed into a wikispaces webpage available by clicking here as well as challenges experienced throughout the redesign process. I was very interested in the United States Government Accountability Office (2005)

description of the cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses as one of four types of recognized program evaluations. Once the goal of intended outcomes is assessed, the cost of all tangible resources to produce those outcomes is considered credible as an effective evaluation (2005). Reiser and Dempsey (2012) caution that true cost-benefit return on investment cannot be completely analyzed without identification of value points. Stakeholder definition of these value points must be acknowledged before assigning the cost of the tangible resources to produce the outcomes (2012). I remembered I had prepared a cost-benefit analysis for a previous course I believed would be perfect for this redesign assignment. Redesign for MATLT Learning Outcome #6 and 7 I chose EDU 656 Technology Solutions for JIT Teaching & Learning for Week 3 JIT Cost Analysis assignment as my redesign in which I performed a needs analysis for three possible JIT training/learning technology solutions that may address training needs in my current department. I transformed this simple two page document into an online wikispaces knowledge

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION based technology guide. The original assignment requires evaluation of technology resources to meet the needs of training and evaluating my current users meeting the requirement of PLO #6

Evaluate technology resources to enable effective assessment and evaluation. The initial needs assessment included step-by-step instructions of commonly used software programs in the workplace, online collection of 'How To' documents for specific job tasks and Jing multimedia presentations for troubleshooting guides. My redesign transforms the collection and analyses of data onto the web in segmented pages on the wikispaces meeting the requirements for the purpose of PLO #7 Utilize technology to collect and analyze data, interpret results, and communicate findings. The wikispaces displays the results from my survey indicated all three of these solutions are desirable and underutilized. The chart on the wikispace webpage displays a detailed cost analysis for the three identified possible JIT training and learning solutions previously identified by administering a survey to users for preferred training and learning solutions. The wikispaces webpage provide the scaffolding instructional design principle intended to allow the learner to explore and learn to use critical thinking skills (Reiser & Dempsey, 2012). I believe the redesign applies the scaffolding principle by breaking down each analysis of applicable programs available to reach the same goal for instructing utilizing technology for teaching/learning solution alternatives. Another reason I chose wikispaces for my redesign is the ability to allow other users to contribute to my teaching and learning solutions using technology (Richardson, 2010). In my line of work, I realize many times there are multiple alternatives to deliver the teaching/learning activities from many technology solutions. I welcome the public to provide input to the solutions I have displayed on my wikispaces page.

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION Redesign Challenges My redesign challenge in transforming the original two page document into an online wikispace resource included the usage of the Segmenting Principle by breaking up my information into smaller, continuous segments of information to allow the application of critical thinking skills (Clark & Mayer, 2012). I learned during the discussion question research about

the four methods to program evaluation assessments and wondered how these could be applied to my redesign. I determined my redesign is an example of the process evaluation as I had already performed when selecting each of the three software solutions for teaching/learning solutions in my previous class. Placing this information in a wikispaces website allows these solutions to be displayed online for learners to evaluate for themselves and also contribute to the list of possible solutions. I enjoy creating wikispaces and the challenge is basically ensuring the links are placed correctly and in a logical order. Additional time was required to make the wikispaces webpage as I like to allow users to go back to each of the pages to allow for the fifth learner control principle offered by Clark and Mayer (2011) to offer navigational support in hypermedia environments. I have painted a portrait for you regarding my discovery of evaluation and assessment principles and their application for my redesign. I have included many previous course references aiding in the fruition of my current knowledge for the importance of program evaluation and assessment. Many instructional design principles were discussed as well as their application to my redesign assignment including the inclusion of learner control options within my wikispaces webpage available by clicking here.

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION References Clark, R. C. & Mayer, R. E. (2011). E-Learning and the science of instruction (3rd ed). San Francisco. Pfeiffer. Reiser, R. & Dempsey, J. (2012).Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. ISBN: 9781256080831. Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press. United States Government Accountability Office. (2005). Performance measurement and

evaluation: Definitions and relationships. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05739sp.pdf.