Most faculty, however, are relatively unfamiliar with the elements that comprise high quality computer-based learning materials. While they may be able to evaluate a lecture, they are unskilled in evaluating the pedagogy, digital media, and interactivity of educational software. A subset of these guidelines has been used to determine the educational quality of 157 online continuing dental education courses. The instructors have derived a rating framework for educational software from these guidelines. Faculty and instructional designers can use this framework to evaluate commercial or in-house developed educational software.
Educational software is a new tool in the repertoire of a teacher.
The best instructional software is developed by a team of experts from several domains, such as the subject matter, instructional design, programming, and graphic design. This course will help faculty and administrators gain an understanding of instructional design, and enable them to evaluate existing products. This understanding also will help faculty in developing their own course materials. To achieve these educational objectives, the tutorial will mix presentations and discussions with hand-on evaluation of educational software by participants. This type of experiential learning will make the rating instrument immediately understandable and usable, and also reinforce the challenges and difficulties in rating educational software.