Implementation and Evaluation of Educational Technology

This course provides a practical overview for selecting, implementing, and evaluating educational technology initiatives.

Schools are recognizing the potential for technology to transform teaching and learning. However, bringing technology into the classroom in a productive way is easier said than done. How do educators and others decide what kind and type of educational technology to use in the classroom? Which stakeholders influence that decision? What factors determine the success or failure of educational technology initiatives? How do we determine if these implementations are successful?

This course provides a practical overview for selecting, integrating, implementing, and evaluating educational technology initiatives in formal educational settings, primarily in the US. It will include the perspectives of stakeholders that make such initiatives possible, and consider how to evaluate for efficacy. The audience for this course includes current and future teachers, entrepreneurs, developers, practitioners, and leaders in educational technology.

Through four units over seven weeks, participants will develop an awareness and understanding of the “ecosystem” surrounding the implementation of educational technology in a formal educational setting. Participants will work towards creating a final project that synthesizes the main ideas from the course.

In Unit 1, we’ll consider the current landscape of educational technology, identify stakeholders, and introduce the concept of evaluation.
 
In Unit 2, we’ll learn about factors you should consider when analyzing educational technologies, especially software, for use in formal learning settings.
 
In Unit 3, we’ll explore implementation and barriers/obstacles teachers may face.

Though we’ll discuss evaluation in other parts of the course, we’ll really focus on it in Unit 4.

Project: Participants will develop an implementation and evaluation plan for an educational technology.
 
Approach: Video interviews, case studies, readings, short activities, live events with course staff