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##  Evaluating Technology-Based Curriculum Materials. ERIC Digest.               

Technology alone will not improve the quality of education, but when            integrated with curriculum and instruction, it can be a powerful                educational tool. Technology that is fitted to curriculum and                   instruction can stimulate the development of higher-order thinking              and problem-solving skills, and it can support collaborative,                   globalized learning. This digest reviews how educators can evaluate             technology-based curriculum materials for use in the classroom at               all educational levels. AUTHENTICITYA key concept in                      evaluating technology-based curriculum materials is authenticity. Is            the technology used to bring real-world examples into the classroom?            Do such examples enhance conceptual understanding of complex,                   naturally occurring phenomena by integrating technology and subject             matter? Are activities such as simulations, Web experiments, and Web            field trips used to enable students to understand the richness and              variability of real life? Particularly with young learners,                     technology should help students learn "by doing, interacting, and               exploring, rather than watching and/or listening" (Wright & Shade,              1994). 
To promote authenticity, learning assessment tools should              pull students in desirable directions. Student products take the                forms of portfolios, WebQuests (Dodge, 2000), and reports to                    classmates. Proponents of these methods argue that they mirror what             is expected of employees in the work world. When evaluation attends             not only to what students must know but also what they must be able             to do, assessments themselves can function as instructional                     devices. CONSTRUCTIVISMGiven the emphasis on authenticity, it             is not surprising that the language of constructivism permeates the             technology literature. Writers characterize technology as a tool                that can help teachers and students become co-learners who                      collaboratively construct knowledge. Technology use that results in             student engagement is characterized as successful. Engaged learners             are: responsible for their own learning, energized by learning,                 strategic, and collaborative (Jones, Valdez, Nowakowski, Rasmussen,             1995). EVALUATION FRAMEWORKComer and Geissler (1998) offer a              framework for evaluating curriculum materials. They suggest that                curriculum evaluators prepare their own assessment criteria tailored            to the instructional context in which the curriculum materials will             be used. Defining the instructional context requires evaluators to              determine: (a) who the learners are; (b) who the instructor is and              what constitutes the learning environment, of which the instructor              is a part; and (c) the nature of the technical limitations. Once                evaluators establish this context, they can begin to evaluate the               following aspects of the curriculum materials: content, required                technology and instructional tools, learning assessment, and teacher            support (Bernhard, Lernhardt, Miranda-Decker, 1999), keeping in mind            the need for authenticity. CONTENT"One of the most important              distinctions in evaluating digital content is whether a product                 emphasizes open-ended exploration or drill-and-practice. Many                   experts, particularly those who support a constructivist approach to            teaching, strongly prefer the former" (Zehr, 1999). When integrated             effectively into the curriculum by skilled teachers, digital content            enables students to seek and manipulate digital information in                  collaborative, creative, and engaging ways, all of which foster                 learning (CEO Forum, 2000). For example, the JASON Project enables              teachers and their students to participate in a year-round                      scientific expedition meant to encourage engagement--even                       excitement--about one or more of the earth's dynamic systems.                   Students share data and are able to chat with scientists about their            own experiments. On the Monterey Bay expedition, students did                   experiments in their own classrooms on the feeding of abalone and               sea urchins (The Jason Foundation for Education, 2000). In another              example, the Virginia Center for Digital History enables students to            examine newspapers, letters, diaries, and maps of the historical                period the students are studying (Thomas & Ayres, 1999). The Valley             of the Shadow project, a story of two cities' histories during the              Civil War, allows students to explore the lives of the families of              soldiers and to reconstruct true-life stories. 
Effective content              focuses on information literacy skills to assist students in                    gathering, interpreting, and presenting information. "It turns out              that successful searching and efficient electronic investigations               must rest upon a carefully developed, structured foundation of                  information literacy skills that would include solid questioning,               prospecting, translating and inventive abilities" (McKenzie, 1999).             Student projects such as WebQuests guide students through                       information gathering and make their searching more                             efficient (Dodge, 2000). 
Students become content producers.                   Products may take a variety of forms: video, software, CD-ROM's, web            sites, e-mail, on-line learning management systems, computer                    simulations, streamed discussions, data files, databases, audio, and            more. There are so many examples of student knowledge production                that numbers and types defy description. A tour of the ThinkQuest               site (http://www.thinkquest.org) provides a flavor of what kinds of             work students can do. The CEO Forum (2000) offers another example               from students in Queens, New York, who created "YO! It's Time For               Braces." This multimedia web production intends to inform and allay             fears about orthodontic braces. The site includes advice,                       information, and pictures from 20 orthodontists and other                       specialists (CEO Forum, 2000). TECHNOLOGY AND INSTRUCTIONAL                   TOOLSEvaluators must consider the hardware and software                     requirements of the curriculum and whether the teacher has ready                access to them. In addition, how much time will the teacher need to             invest in learning to use the technology? Hopefully, the technology             infrastructure of the school or school district will accommodate                access for students and staff both inside and outside                           classrooms. 
Evaluators should consider whether the technology                 helps students "understand the role and importance of technology in             the real world" (Bernhard, Lernhardt and Miranda-Decker, 1999). The             technology skills required for success are taught in the context of             the curriculum as just-in-time modules and not as isolated units.               The technology should have the "ability to engage student                       interest . . . and to make use of computer capabilities" (Bernhard,             Lernhardt and Miranda-Decker, 1999). Evaluators should examine                  software in the same reflective way that they examine other                     instructional materials; that is, with children's learning in                   mind (Hall & Martin,1999). ASSESSMENTThe primary goal of                  technology assessment should be to measure student engagement as                demonstrated by their observable performances. Students are most                likely to perform in desirable ways when they engage in realistic               and worthwhile tasks. Assessments in the JASON Project, for example,            are hands-on, real-world exercises in data collection. "Performance             assessments measure what is taught in the curriculum. There are two             terms that are core to depicting performance assessment: (1)                    Performance: A student's active generation of a response that is                observable either directly or indirectly via a permanent                        product. (2) Authentic: The nature of the task and context in which             the assessment occurs is relevant and represents 'real-world'                   problems or issues"(Elliott, 1995). TEACHER SUPPORTNo                     curriculum can be effective without high-quality, ongoing                       professional development. "The old approach of after-school                     technology training sessions does not work. Such sessions                       demonstrated the features of software applications but rarely showed            how to use them in the classroom" (McKenzie, 1999). Professional                development should take into account the diverse learning styles and            stages of the development of learners. Multiple teacher development             options should be available--study groups, classes that emphasize               teaching and learning strategies, online classes, and formation of              teacher-support teams. Sufficient time should be allotted for                   teachers to participate. CONCLUSIONThere is no way to escape              the fact that today's classrooms must provide technology-supported              learning opportunities for students. Teachers must be prepared to               use technology in ways that encourage student engagement *                      ultimately student learning * as measured in a variety of ways.                 Technology, used appropriately, can help students become active,                independent learners with access to seemingly unlimited information.            Only through evaluation of technology-based curricula can educators             make informed decisions about the purchase and use of technology,               and ultimately about the wisdom of their                                        investments. REFERENCESBernhard, J., Mellissions Lernhardt,               M., & Miranda-Decker, R. (1999). Evaluating instructional materials.            Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 5(3). 
CEO Forum on                 Educational Technology. (2000, June). School Technology and                     Readiness: A focus on digital learning. Washington, D.C.: CEO Forum             on Educational Technology. Retrieved July 2000 from the World Wide              Web: http://www.ceoforum.org/reports.cfm. 
Comer, P., & Geissler,              C. (1998, March). A Methodology for Software Evaluation. SITE 98:               Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education, Washington,             DC. 
Dodge, Bernie, (2000) The WebQuest Page, San Diego, CA.                   Retrieved July 2000 from the World Wide Web:                                    http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/ webquest.html. 
Elliott,                       S.N. (1995, June). Creating Meaningful Performance Assessments. In              ERIC Digests (E531). Reston, VA: ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities             and Gifted Education. ED 381 985 (available from the ERIC                       database). 
Getting America's Students Ready For The 21st Century:             Meeting the Technology Literacy Challenge, A Report to the Nation on            Technology and Education. United States Department of                           Education, (1996) Washington, D.C., available online at                         http://www.ed.gov/technology. 
Hall, V.G., & Martin, L.E. (1999).              Making Decisions about Software for Classroom Use. Reading Research             and Instruction, 38(3), 187-96. 
International Society for                     Technology in Education. (2000, June). ISTE National Educational                Technology Standards: (NETS) for Teachers Project, Eugene, OR,                  Retrieved July 2000 from the World Wide Web:                                    http://cnets.iste.org/index3.html 
The Jason Foundation for                    Education. (2000). The Jason Project. Waltham, MA: The Jason                    Foundation for Education. Retrieved July 2000 from the World Wide               Web: http://www.jasonproject.org/ 
Jones, B., Valdez, G.,                      Nowakowski, J., & Rasmussen, C. (1995). Indicators of engaged                   learning. Plugging In: Choosing and Using Educational Technology.               Oak Brook, IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.                   http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/edtalk/toc.htm. 
McKenzie, Jamie. How                Teachers Learn Technology Best, (1999), FNO Press, Bellingham,                  Washington. 
President's Committee of Advisors on Science and                  Technology. (1997). Report to the President on the Use of Technology            to Strengthen K-12 Education in the United States. By President's               Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology.                                http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/PSTP/NST/                                      PCAST/k-12ed.html 
Thomas, W.G., & Ayres, E.L. (1999). In the                  Valley of the Shadow: Communities and History in the American Civil             War. Charlottesville, VA: Virginia Center for Digital History at the            University of Virginia. Retrieved July 2000 from the World Wide Web:            http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/vcdh/ (Original works                     published 1998) 
Wright, J.L., & Shade, D.D. (1994). Young                     Children: Active Learners in a Technological Age. Washington, D.C.:             National Association for the Education of Young Children. 
Zehr,               M. (1999). Reviewers play critical role in market for digital                   content. Education Week, 19(4), p28. Available on the web                       http://www.edweek.org/sreports/tc99/articles/eval.htm. 
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This           project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the            U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and                Improvement, under contract number ED-99-CO-0007. The content of                this publication does not necessarily reflect the views of or                   policies of the U.S. Department of Education nor does mention of                trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement            by the U.S. Government.                                                      **Title:** Evaluating Technology-Based Curriculum Materials. ERIC Digest.               **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education, American                  Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, 1307 New York Avenue,            N.W., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005-4701; Tel: 202-293-2450 or                800-822-9229 (Toll Free); e-mail: [email protected]. For full text:               http://www.ericsp.org.                                                       **Descriptors:** Constructivism (Learning), Content Analysis,  Curriculum Evaluation,             Educational Technology, Elementary Secondary Education, Evaluation             Methods, Performance Based Assessment, Student Evaluation                    **Identifiers:** Authenticity, ERIC Digests                                                   
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