Critical Issues in Evaluating Education Technology

Abstract

This chapter highlights some issues that are critical in evaluating technology in education such that it will be implemented to meet educational goals and it will also serve as a spotlight for policy makers and educators to make a worthwhile return on their technology investment. Schools and institutions of learning invest heavily on technology before establishing clear plans on how it will be integrated into teaching and learning to achieve educational goals. Even though many studies have reported positive impact of technology on students’ learning yet; not much of studies have been carried out to investigate whether the investment on technology in schools have been commensurate with the investment. Particularly needs assessment on both students and teachers’ technology needs is often ignored before technology implementation. Educators and policy makers need to consider certain evaluation issues before committing huge budgets into technology. It is crucial to ask what can technology do that cannot be done without it, what percentage of the institution’s budget should be invested on technology, how should technology be integrated in the curriculum to achieve educational goals and lots more before investing on educational technology to avoid resource wastage. Thus, this chapter highlights these critical issues in the light of a study conducted on the integration of information and communication technology (ICT) in the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in Malaysian secondary school (Adedokun, 2008). The research investigated some concerns that culminated from the integration of ICT in the instruction of English, mathematics and science in Malaysia among which are: Can the teachers deliver? Do they have the strong will to deliver? Are there adequate facilities for them to carry out this new task? Do they possess the necessary skills for them to be able to deliver? Does the government provide adequate training on the integration of ICT in subject content? Are the students prepared for the change in the medium of instruction? What is the present situation in schools with regards to the use of ICT? And is better teaching and learning achieved with the integration of ICT?