Touch screen tablets such as iPads are becoming increasingly popular as educational tools to support children's first language learning in pre-schools. Apps can also be used to support early learning of a second language in English-speaking countries. However, little work has been done to evaluate these apps. The present research developed…

The use of iPads and apps has become common in K-12 inclusive classrooms. Special education teachers frequently use this tool to support instruction. Data from electronic surveys were used to determine criteria that teachers identified as important for choosing apps for classroom use. Using this information, the authors developed an App Checklist…

Assuring e-learning quality is of interest worldwide. This paper introduces the methods of e-learning courseware quality assurance (a quality certification system) adopted by the eLQSC (e-Learning Quality Service Centre) in Taiwan. A sequential/explanatory design with a mixed methodology was used to gather research data and conduct data analyses.…

This comparative case study investigated the educational software evaluation processes of both experts and novices in conjunction with a software evaluation checklist. Twenty novice elementary education students, divided into groups of five, and three experts participated. Each novice group and the three experts evaluated educational software…

This case study examined the educational software evaluation processes of pre-service teachers who attended either expertise-based training (XBT) or traditional training in conjunction with a Software-Evaluation checklist. Forty-three mathematics teacher candidates and three experts participated in the study. All participants evaluated educational…

In the present study we call attention to the close connection between languages and globalization, and we also emphasize the importance of the Internet and online websites in foreign language teaching and learning as unavoidable elements of computer assisted language learning (CALL). We prepared a checklist by which we investigated 28 foreign…

This paper reports on a project involving software selection in the context of a curriculum redesign of a university level Japanese language program. The project aimed to improve learning outcomes, increase flexibility in student access, and increase flexibility in approaches to teaching and learning, through the use of a variety of software…

Discusses methods that may be applied to the evaluation of hypermedia, based on six models described by Lawton. Techniques described include observation, self-report measures, interviews, automated measures, psychometric tests, checklists and criterion-based techniques, process models, Experimentally Measuring Usability (EMU), and a naturalistic…

Synthesizes information that is available on software evaluation and provides a software evaluation checklist to help educators examine software based on linguistic and pedagogical criteria. The checklist allows educators to compare and contrast software products, enabling them to select software that is best suited to their classrooms.…

Reviews strengths and weaknesses of check lists for the evaluation of computer software and outlines consequences for their practical application. Suggests an approach based on an instructional design model and a comprehensive framework to cope with problems of validity and predictive power of software evaluation. Discusses prospects of the…

One way for teachers to integrate information technology (IT) into their classrooms is through the use of computer assisted language learning (CALL) software programs. Much has been written about how teachers should select and evaluate such software programs; this paper attempts to consolidate some of the issues discussed in the literature and to…

A new paradigm is proposed for thinking about educational software, based on a the mutual interaction of the perspectives of those concerned in the use of educational software: the student, the teacher, and the software designer. This rejects the usual checklist approach and leads instead to an approach to software selection closely associated…

Evaluators of software for education must make a series of decisions about which issues have a direct impact on their choice of software. Instructional context analysis is the first step, including identifying the learners, the instructor, the learning environment, and technical needs and limitations. The next step is instructional goal analysis;…

This guide is intended to assist basic skills and/or literacy instructors, administrators, and tutors in selecting appropriate educational software, hardware, and instructional systems. Discussed first are the software evaluation process on which the guide is based, the evaluation form used, and the guide's organization. Section 2 lists the more…