Researching the Design and Evaluation of Information Technology Tools for Education

Abstract

Concerning IT tools for education, we can distinguish (1) software tools for learning specific subject matters (e.g., simulation and discovery tools), (2) learning platforms, including MOOC platforms for distance learning but also used in hybrid contexts, and (3) digital resources (Wikipedia and Wikimedia, new interactive textbooks, video capsules, etc.). Behind all these tools, we observe strong tension between the desire to individualize instruction and the intention of offering collaborative usage of general tools, where users have a certain margin of freedom. If the analysis of big data appears as a new Eldorado for education, we have to be aware of incompleteness or spuriousness of data and faulty interpretation of results: number of different types of data (behavior, physiology, etc.) are collected and made accessible, interpreting them is difficult, and much research is still needed. Concerning design processes, a wide spectrum is observed: companies, start-ups, communities, and groups. An interesting link between teacher communities of practice and open educational resources can be underlined. Evaluating education software, resources, and platforms supports an extreme diversity of approaches. But it should include different criteria: functional compliance, interactional conformity, and hedonic quality. Finally, it is important to reaffirm the key role of teachers, helping them to develop their agency in the field of educational resources, empowering them, and accepting them as trusted partners.