Evaluating e-Learning Guiding Research and Practice [Paperback]

How can novice e-learning researchers and postgraduate learners develop rigorous plans to study the effectiveness of technology-enhanced learning environments? How can practitioners gather and portray evidence of the impact of e-learning? How can the average educator who teaches online, without experience in evaluating emerging technologies, build on what is successful and modify what is not?

By unpacking the e-learning lifecycle and focusing on learning, not technology, Evaluating e-Learningattempts to resolve some of the complexity inherent in evaluating the effectiveness of e-learning. The book presents practical advice in the form of an evaluation framework and a scaffolded approach to an e-learning research study, using divide-and-conquer techniques to reduce complexity in both design and delivery. It adapts and builds on familiar research methodology to offer a robust and accessible approach that can ensure effective evaluation of a wide range of innovative initiatives, including those covered in other books in the Connecting with e-Learningseries.

Readers will find this jargon-free guide is a must-have resource that provides the proper tools for evaluating e-learning practices with ease.

Preface

I. Setting the Scene

1. E-learning, learning and evaluation

2. Evaluation as part of a teachers role

II. Theory

3. The Learning Environment, Learning Processes and Learning Outcomes (LEPO) Framework

4. What is meant by educational evaluation and research?

5. Research paradigms and methodologies

6. Evaluation-research approaches suitable for e-learning

7. The process of carrying out evaluation research