The paper proposes a contingent, learner-centred usability evaluation method and a prototype tool of such systems. This is a new usability evaluation method for web-based learning systems using a set of empirically-supported usability factors and can be done effectively with limited resources. During the evaluation process, the method allows for…

Quality assurance in instructional development demands an exhaustive formative evaluation effort and applied testing. Unfortunately, this process is expensive and requires large numbers of user testers with characteristics similar to the intended audience. This article presents a procedure for increasing the efficiency of quality assurance efforts…

Outlines a workshop to develop and discuss strategies for formative evaluation of courseware and to create evaluation tools appropriate to those strategies. After watching a software demonstration, small groups devised evaluation strategies. Two approaches were identified: one to evaluate the software and printed material separately and together,…

Discussion of the predictive evaluation of educational software, i.e. the evaluation of software prior to its intended use, focuses on a model known as the Jigsaw Model, which attempts to integrate usability and educational issues. Highlights include the failure of checklists for evaluation and two studies that tested the model with practicing…

This usability study evaluated users' perceptions of a multimedia prototype for a new e-learning tool: Anatomy of the Central Nervous System: A Multimedia Course. Usability testing is a collection of formative evaluation methods that inform the developmental design of e-learning tools to maximize user acceptance, satisfaction, and adoption.…

ECOSET was established to meet the demand from policy makers and the teaching community in the European Community (EC) Member States for evidence of the effectiveness of information technology in various learning situations in general and of various kinds of software in particular. The main goals of ECOSET were to identify organizations in the…

Discusses summative and formative evaluation methods used and problems encountered in the study of LOGICLANDIA, a courseware package for the teaching and learning of predicate logic in Italian secondary schools. The evaluation process had three phases: subjective, in-house prototypes, and field testing. Results produced revisions in courseware…

Discusses formative evaluation of courseware and describes a study of undergraduates that compared the effects of two methods of formative evaluation on the revision of a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) program written in HyperCard. Use of the one-to-one method and the small group method of evaluation are explained, and posttest scores are…

Discussion of evaluation of computer-based learning (CBL) looks at six different approaches: use of quantitative data for assessment; student and staff attitudes and perceptions of computer use for learning; formative evaluation for CBL design; effectiveness of CBL in comparison to conventional instruction; evidence of whether CBL enables students…

A framework is proposed for the formative evaluation of multimedia. It describes techniques that have worked well in the evaluation of software development and gives examples of the use of evaluation results. The focus is primarily on the degree to which the instructional multimedia program supports the user's activities and tasks in the user's…

Discusses the role of interactive multimedia in museums; describes the development and design at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History of a multimedia program on water conservation; analyzes the effect of the presence of audio on the users' completion of the program; and discusses evaluation of the program. (10 references) (LRW)

Describes the ECOSET project, developed by the European Community to collect data on the current state of formative and summative evaluation activities regarding courseware used within the classroom in Europe. Evaluation instruments and evaluation techniques are described, and their cultural embeddedness and curricular dependencies are discussed.…

Considers the use of pre- and posttest results as formative evaluation tools and describes a small group evaluation of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) courseware dealing with French for banking. Test design is discussed, including standards, validity, and reliability; and results from user questionnaires are examined. (Contains 14…

Effective classroom simulations can provide opportunities for end-users to analyze human teaching and learning behaviors and can also help prepare teachers for real-world experiences. This paper proposes a simulation project based on an aggregation of ideas associated with knowledge-based simulations, behavior observations, visualization, and the…

Building and evaluating artifacts specifically for K-12 education, technologists committed to design sciences are needed along with an approach to evaluation increasing the systemic transfer from research and development into school settings. The authors describe THE VIRTUAL LAB scanning electronic microscope simulation, including (a) its…