It can be challenging to create universal criteria for judging digital learning resources when the purposes and contexts of such resources are so infinitely varied.
Without knowing the motivations of the designer and understanding the learning goals and intended outcomes, it is difficult to assess the effectiveness of a digital learning resource. Luckily within this course and pertaining to our Assignment 3, we are allowed to peek behind the curtain of our peers’ creations by reading their accompanying essays.
Without any inside information on the goals of a digital learning resource, the most universally-applicable criterion that I can think of is that the technology works smoothly. The user-friendliness of the technology for any digital learning resource is essential. If the technology simply does not work well for end-users, frustration and failure ensues.
Hadjerrouit (2010) considers technical usability to be a mandatory trait of any digital resource, but insists the design should go beyond being primarily focused on technical usability and must be more predominantly informed by pedagogy and educational content.
If you could choose only one, what do you think is the single most important criterion for judging the quality of a digital learning resource? Is the criterion you favour applicable to every type of digital learning resource?
References
Hadjerrouit, S. (2010). A conceptual framework for using and evaluating web-based learning resources in school education. Journal of Information Technology Education, 9, 53-79.
Hi Angie,
I think the most important criterion is that the learning resource (digital or not) achieves the learning outcomes to at least some extent. If it doesn’t do this then it serves no purpose as a learning resource.
Agreed Jason, learning-goal-geared design is crucial. As evaluators of digital learning resources, we can only assess if this is successful if we have access to the learning goals. Leacock and Nesbit (2007) assert:
“Developers should explicitly state the learning goals for an object, either within the content accessible to the student or in metadata available to the instructor. Explicit goals help the instructor to make the initial decision on whether an object is likely to be relevant to, and appropriate for, a specific context” (p. 46).
Reference
Leacock, T. L., & Nesbit, J. C. (2007). A framework for evaluating the quality of multimedia learning resources. Educational Technology & Society, 10(2) 44-59.