Evaluating educational courseware: Principles and guidelines

Abstract

For quite some time there has been serious concern about the quality of educational courseware. Not only has the educational, market been flooded with inferior courseware but good, intelligent material has not been forthcoming. The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the principles and guidelines for evaluating educational courseware so that similar evaluation procedures can be used by teachers. If a sound evaluation procedure is not followed the chances are that programs will be bought solely on the strength of well written advertisements and not after sound evaluation. The result of this approach will be that worthwhile programs will gather dust on shop shelves while inferior programs will be purchased. As soon as the novel effect of computers wears off, instructors will turn their attention to suitable courseware. If this is not possible, they may decide that computerassisted instruction is a waste of time. In this paper the focus is on different types of evaluation as well as effective evaluation procedures. Examples of pro grams in the field of second and foreign language teaching are included. Daar heers a/lank ernstige kommer oor die kwaliteit van opvoedkundige programmatuur. Nie alleen is die opvoedkundige mark deur minderwaardige pro grammatuur oorstroom nie, maar uitstekende, intelligente materiaal het ook nie die lig gesien nie. Die doel van hierdie artikel is om 'n oorsig te gee oor die beginsels en riglyne om opvoedkundige programmatuur te evalueer sodat soortgelyke prosedures deur onderwysers gebruik kan word. Indien 'n sterk evalueringsprosedure nie gevolg word nie, is die kanse goed dat programme uitsluitlik as gevolg van goedgeskrewe advertensies gekoop sal word en nie na deeglike evaluering nie. Die gevolg van hierdie benadering sal wees dat verdienstelike programme stof sal vergader op winkelrakke terwyl minderwaardige programme gekoop word. Sodra die nuwigheid van rekenaars verflou, sal instrukteurs na geskikte programmatuur begin kyk. Indien dit nie beskikbaar is nie, mag hulle besluit dat rekenaargesteunde onderrig 'n vermorsing van tyd is. In hierdie artikel word gekyk na verskeie tipes evaluering, asook effektiewe evalueringsprosedures. Voorbeelde van programme oor tweede en vreemdetaalonderrig word ingesluit.