During a recent workshop at CES, a participant asked us to develop a system for evaluating edtech tools. She said, all she wants is a simple red, yellow, green rating that was informed by a list of criteria. Based on her request, we have developed a system & are testing it on this blog (lucky you!).
Check back to see reviews of edtech tools. If you have any that you’d like us to evaluate, send them along!
Final Rating:
RED: Avoid this tool or if you choose to adopt, know that tools rated as red may have significant limitations.
YELLOW: Wait or adopt this tool with caution. Tools rated as yellow may have room to grow or notable limitations.
GREEN: Adopt with confidence. Tools rated as green have staying power, strong support, and are generally great.
Evaluation Criteria:
- Learning Curve: How difficult is this tool to learn?
- Staying Power: How likely is it for this tool to stick around? Of course, this is a judgement call and anyone can be purchased at any time.
- Beta / Full Version: Beta indicates that this tool is new, in pilot phase, not fully functional. Full Version here means minimal glitches & fully functional features. Of course, developments are always expected, this does not impact the Beta / Full Version rating.
- Ubiquity: To what extent is this tool being widely used.
- Superiority to Competition: How does this tool stack up against the other tools & services out there?
- Ease of [App] Smashing: How easy is it to use this tool with others? This doesn’t mean integration, it means that the tool makes files (or similar) available in formats that can be easily accessed & edited by other applications.
- Single Sign-On with Google: Do you need another password?
- Cost: Any costs associated with the tool.
- Support: How robust, responsive, high-quality is the support for this tool?
- Value: Overall, what is the value of this tool in consideration of time spent, associated costs, impact on teaching, etc.
- Target Audience: Who is this tool designed for?
- Classroom Integration: How does this tool fit within existing classroom systems? Are other systems required for this tool to function (e.g. Chrome browser)?
- Related Activity / Application Ideas: How might someone use this tool?
Casey Daigle
Casey is the Digital Learning Manager for the Collaborative for Educational Services (CES), where she works with preK-12 teachers, administrators, and edtech leaders across Massachusetts to explore how tech can transform teaching & learning, better connect us as humans, and create more equity and inclusion. She is a Google for Education Certified Trainer and spends a lot of time engaging educators about makerspaces, personalized learning, and what learning feels like when it happens online. Her personalized approach to professional development supports learners to explore possibilities and build confidence as they discover how G Suite tools and a little imagination can revolutionize their work. Additionally, she has worked extensively with design thinking, systems design, facilitation and she is certified by ISTE to be an authorized provider of the ISTE Certification for Educators.
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