Evaluating Electronic Voting Systems to Enhance Student Learning: Some Evidence from Teaching Economics

Abstract

This chapter provides practical advice on the evaluation of electronic voting systems (EVSs), particularly in relation to two evaluation methods. It begins by considering two potential educational advantages of using EVSs in large-group lectures in higher education. Four evaluation questions that are commonly asked by lecturers who use EVSs are linked to these two pedagogical advantages. The main body of the chapter focuses on two methods, observation and audit trails, and shows how these can be used to innovatively evaluate the use of EVSs. The development of an observational coding schema is described, and a case study of its use in two learning contexts is presented. Practical and technical issues associated with the use of audit trails are then discussed before a second case study is presented. The two case studies presented in this chapter draw extensively on data collected in evaluations of EVS implementations at the University of Glasgow.