Individual learning model and tool
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Learner Benchmarking model and Learner Evaluation tool
Report of the test of the survey tool eval act
Individual learning model and tool
The individual learning model and tool was developed by Pontydysgu, Wales.
Background and design
The survey of present evaluation revealed that most tools focus excessively on the technology, which whilst one of the factors which impinge on learning, fails to recognise the range of possible variables which influence individual learning experience and outcomes.
Background research
In developing a policy tools for evaluation we looked at the range of potential variables based on the position of different stakeholders. One of these was the individual learner.
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Individual variables |
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IMPACT |
DIFFERENTIATION |
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Does the policy take account of the fact that
the physical characteristics of individuals impacts on their behaviour as e-learners?
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Does the policy recognise that
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Does the policy take account of the fact that
the learning history of individuals impacts on their behaviour as e-learners |
Does the policy recognise that
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Does the policy take account of the fact that
the attitude and motivation of the learner impacts on their e-learning behaviour? |
Does the policy recognise that
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Does the policy take account of the fact that
Learners familiarity with the technology and the learning environment impacts on their e-learning behaviour? |
Does the policy recognise that
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Furthermore we undertook a short research project looking at the influence of learning styles and motivation on e-learning (Middleton, 2004)
In a third step we undertook a series of interviews in five countries using a semi structured questionnaire to empirically examine what made e-learning effective and what mitigated against the effectiveness of e-learning. These interviews were examined and the following common factors emerged as key determinants of effective e-learning:
level and depth of content
motivation
support for learner
time and opportunities for learning
interesting and engaging and engaging materials
easy of use of materials
reliability and ease of use of technology
contact with other learners
relevance of learning to work or future work.
Developing an electronic tool
Surveying individual learners is time-consuming. More so, the aggregation of individual leaner responses is a lengthy process. Therefore we have developed an electronic tool – eval-act to support the evaluation of individual learners. In designing the electronic tool we were concerned that the tool would be light weight – in terms of demands it made on technical support staff, evaluators and learners and flexible. Our aim was to design a tool that could be administered by teachers and trainers themselves, without needing recourse to technical advice and assistance. At the same time we wished to develop a programme which could easily be further developed and adapted in the future and could potentially be installed to work alongside mainstream e-learning programmes.
We wished to provide evaluators with easily accessible data and with graphic interfaces to querying that data. We also wished to develop a tool which would allow the comparison of different data sets – for example the efficiency and effectiveness of an e-learning programme or project – and would also allow the comparison of data over time. From the outset, we were aware that no electronic tool can replace the skills and interpretative abilities of an evaluator, but could assist the evaluator in making judgements.
The eval-act tool
The eval-act tool has been developed in php. It provides four main interfaces:
An interface for setting up groups for evaluation
An interface for adding evaluation questions
An interface for filling in evaluation questions
An interface for viewing the results of evaluation.
Some of the tasks involved in data gathering have been automated, for example the system can be set to automatically remind those who have not yet completed the evaluation to do so.
Testing the Tool
The tool has been extensively tested. The outcomes of the tests have resulted in a number of bug fixes and also further feature requests. The tool has proved more flexible in practice than was originally anticipated – and it has been used for project evaluation as well as for individual leaner evaluation. On the other hand, individual evaluators have tended to use that flexibility to move away form our original design of evaluation questions. However, it has met most of the original design remote and functions well in practice.
Want to find out more
Further details of the tool can be found on the evaluate-europe web site. If you would like to test the tool in practice you will need an account on the eval-act server. Please contact Graham Attwell – graham10@mac.com.
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Learner Benchmarking model and Learner Evaluation tool
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(learnertoolfin.doc
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- This document explains the background and use of the individual learner evaluation tool
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Report of the test of the survey tool eval act
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(learnertooltestfin.doc
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530.50 Kb
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- This report is of a large scale test and evaluation of the individual learner tool - evalact.
