Software Evaluation Tools : Software Evaluation Tools Group B - Week 5
Children's Software Evaluation Instrument : Children's Software Evaluation Instrument for use with lower to intermediate elementary grade levels
focused on ease of use and control for the student
includes checks for feedback, bias, learning extensions, challenge ranges, multiple content areas, and novel presentations with each use
looks for 'smart' design features such as print and speech capacity, record keeping, automatically branching to challenge levels, and incorporation of student ideas
Sun Prairie Area School District : Sun Prairie Area School District includes basic checklist of values
values clearly reflect technology learning standards
can be used for a variety of grade levels
consider measurable assessment tools
Includes cost consideration
Buyers Worksheet at NCREL.org : Buyers Worksheet at NCREL.org The worksheet can be found at here.
appeared made for a district level evaluation of software.
emphasis is to evaluate how the software company supports its claims of improving students learning.
asks evaluator to critically think about the claims of the software and verify the studies.
asks if studies population matches the population of evaluators school/district.
Selection Rationale : Selection Rationale The Sun Prairie sample appeared to fall in the middle of the road among the three samples we chose.
The Children's Software Evaluation was too basic for middle and high school software packages or for school/district wide selections. This was more for individual teachers using short-term software as a curriculum supplement.
The Buyer's Worksheet was geared more for school/district wide evaluations for software to be widely used over a long period of time.
Comparison of the Tools : Comparison of the Tools All three tools are used to evaluate software.
All three ask for the basic information about the software
All three ask about how the software will be used in the classroom
Sun Prairie tool and Children's Software tool both ask about feedback
The Buyer's worksheet does not include any biases that may be in the software.
Contrast : Contrast The Sun Prairie evaluation tool does not include any ratings guides from reputable sources.
The Sun Prairie tool considers whether the software will meet an instructional need that is not already being met.
The Sun Prairie and Children's tools both ask which standards the software being considered meets.
The Sun Prairie and Children's tools both consider if a software has any bias towards gender or ethnicity.
Sun Prairie Evaluation Tool : Sun Prairie Evaluation Tool stronger than the Children's Software Evaluation
includes online software evaluation links: California Instructional Technology Clearinghouse and the Children's Software Review
accounts for upfront and maintenance costs
addresses standards, benchmarks, grade level, and content areas
requires a manual check for potential software overlaps - does another software package already owned cover the same skills