Prompt: Based upon the reading of this module and the evaluation rubrics introduced in Modules 6 and 7, what are the top 6 evaluation dimensions that are important and appropriate in your subject discipline and grade level? Identify these evaluation dimensions and elaborate/justify them in details by citing sources introduced in this course.
My Evaluation Rubric
The following 6 dimensions are extremely important to choosing and evaluating game-based apps and websites for my students.
All of these should be taken into consideration before being presented for student use in the classroom.
All of these should be taken into consideration before being presented for student use in the classroom.
Rigor
The “Rigor” dimension measures the thinking skills an app requires of learners as they engage it. (Lee, C-Y. & Cherner, T. S. (2015) Rigor is an important aspect to consider when choosing and evaluating game-based apps and websites for my students because I strive for continued growth. Everything we do in our classrooms should push our students to achieve the next level of growth, increasing the rigor. I strive for my students to have deeper understanding and meaning of the material they are learning allows them to apply their knowledge into their everyday lives.
Feedback to Teacher
The “feedback to teacher” dimension evaluates if and how an app allows teachers to monitor their learners’ progress. (Lee, C-Y. & Cherner, T. S. (2015) Feedback from the game or website to show my students understanding is essential to continue growth. If feedback is not provided, I cannot monitor and adjust my instruction to meet my student's needs.
Cooperative Learning
The “Cooperative Learning” dimension evaluates if an app provides learners the opportunity to work on group projects together. (Lee, C-Y. & Cherner, T. S. (2015) Creating cooperative learning experiences for my students is very important to my classroom because it allows students to take control, add accountability, and creativity to their learning. When students are able to help and teach their peers to work towards accomplishing a goal of learning together, true understanding takes place.
Ease of Use
The “Ease of Use” dimension assesses if an app is intuitive and user-friendly, and this dimension has appeared repeatedly in multiple evaluation rubrics (Coughlan & Morar, 2008; Elissavet & Economides, 2003; Kennedy et al., 1998; Schibeci et al., 2008; Shiratuddin & Landoni, 2002). Ease of use is important to my classrooms success because I don't want meaningful instructional time spent on learning how to play a game. Ease of use gives more time for students to play, learn, and grow in their skills.
Interest
The “Interest” dimension analyzes if an app will likely appeal to its target audience. Interest is defined as the enjoyment a learner experiences when doing a task or as the enjoyment a learner experiences in the content matter of the task (Eccles & Wigfield, 1995). Interest is important to my classroom because I strive to create engaging activities and lessons that my students will WANT to learn and play. I want to find games and websites and plan lessons that are interesting to students so they want to continue when they don't have to. I want students to ask for the website at home. I want them to be interested in our learning.
Goal Orientation
The “Goal Orientation” dimension analyzes whether each component of an app contributes to learners’ meeting the instructional objective set for them. According to Coughlan and Morar (2008), an effective piece of educational software ensures that its content and activities are aligned to its instructional objective(s), and “instructional objective” in this context is defined as the skills learners are to develop or knowledge learners are to acquire by using an app. We are goal driven. We need goal driven instruction and planning. Goals push us to be better, to achieve more.