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Table of Contents
There is an increasing number of digital learning sources available. However, the issue that teachers are currently dealing with is not their integration into teaching but rather their pedagogical mission and the techno-pedagogical standards that determine their academic, pedagogical and technical qualities and effectiveness. The four key categories of criteria that most studies use are the digital presentation of the source, its academic, pedagogical, and technical qualities. Thus, teachers can select the most appropriate sources for their classes by evaluating digital sources against these criteria, which teachers can use in a question format (see in italics in the text).
1 Source identification (the digital presentation of the source)
According to this criterion, the source should have a section presenting general information about the digital educational source, its name or title, the name of its authors, the target audience and the objectives or targeted skills.
2 Academic quality of the information presented in the digital learning re/source
This focuses on information reliability and relevance, credibility and accuracy. To evaluate this criterion, we should start questioning: Is the information reliable, accurate and error-free? Is the information workable and usable? Will the information transmitted shape students’ desirable behaviours?
3 Pedagogical quality
To enhance learning and enable students to construct their knowledge, a digital learning source must rely on an active and learner-centred pedagogy, promoting students’ skill development.
A source shouldengage, challenge and motivate students. Does the digital learning source create interest? How are images, graphics, video, sound, and so forth exploited to create interest?
The source's experience should encourage effective development or change in cognition and behaviour. This can be accomplished in several ways, such as by providing students with a selection of learning strategies from which they can select the one that best matches their needs, is individualized for them and relevant to their learning, or broadens their toolkit of learning strategies (such as "learning how to learn"). Is the digital learning source adaptable? To what extent can the source be adapted to the individual pupil, and how is adequate differentiation facilitated?
Digital learning resource design
The digital learning sources should take advantage of the opportunities offered by ICT to improve learning and teaching, offering clear advantages over non-ICT sources, providing appropriate educational stimulus and feedback, providing appropriately challenging tasks, enabling collaborative work, and using a suitable mix of media (graphics, animation, photographs, videos, and sounds) to enhance students’ engagement.
Accessibility
According to this criterion all students should benefit from the source and have access to it.
Interoperability
Digital learning sources should use appropriate vocabulary to describe content and learning opportunities; easily found and identified; shared wherever possible. Can the digital learning sources be used regardless of operating system and web browser?
Effective communication and collaboration
Effective communication and collaboration require clear information and instructions on the learning objectives of the digital learning source and relevance to a curriculum and age range, specific learning contexts, inclusion and accessibility features and advice; ways to assess the effective learning enabled by the digital learning source; ICT infrastructure required and key technical features; licence terms and conditions. How does the digital learning source support collaborative learning?
Human–computer interaction
Digital learning sources should facilitate sound human-computer interaction by having icons that are clear and regularly utilized, consistent and user-friendly navigation, suitable visual and auditory cues and feedback, and aesthetics that complement educational objectives.
Digital quality of content
Digital learning sources should ensure that the content can be accessed easily and consistently, is technically stable and is presented or provided in a commonly accepted or open file format.
Testing and verification of the source’s declared intentions and the appropriateness of its materials
A well-planned development process with effective reviewing and feedback procedures ensures that digital learning sources are: suitable for students; culturally appropriate and factually accurate; suitably challenging; robust and match the target environments.
Robustness and support
Digital learning resources should support students appropriately by having help functions that identify user problems and their solutions; having navigational actions that can be undone; giving quick, visible and audible responses to user actions; allowing the user to exit at any point; not being adversely affected by user experimentation and error.
Why use these quality criteria?
The criteria can be used to evaluate the quality of digital learning sources
- When choosing and using digital learning sources, the criteria will help to ensure that the sources you select are fit for purpose (suitable for your students).
- When choosing developing a digital learning resource, they will help to guide your design decisions to ensure that the source is appropriate for its educational purpose.
How to evaluate the quality of digital learning resources? (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260392089_How_to_evaluate_the_quality_of_digital_learning_resources) The study presents the evaluation criteria specific to the four dimensions of digital learning resources quality: academic quality, pedagogical quality, didactic quality and technical quality.
Improving learning through technology
https://mirandanet.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/quality_principles.pdf
The intended educational purpose of the study is to present quality principles related to the design and use of digital learning resources to enable teachers to determine which principles are most
important to them.
How to Evaluate Resources
https://library.uregina.ca/c.php?g=606029&p=4201531
The source is a guide to evaluating search engines, books, articles and websites for research, enabling us to think critically about the information we find online.
The 5w's of web site evaluation
http://www.schrockguide.net/uploads/3/9/2/2/392267/5ws.pdf
The source helps us evaluate information by asking simple wh-questions (who, what, when, where, why)
Digital inclusion
https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/vet-toolkit-tackling-early-leaving/intervention-approaches/digital-inclusion
The article focuses on the necessity of linking digitalisation and inclusion in order to support vulnerable learners by enhancing their access to and use of digital means.
Inclusive digital education (project examples)
https://www.european-agency.org/sites/default/files/_Inclusive_Digital_Education_Project_Examples.pdf
The report presents a number of collaborative Erasmus+ projects dealing with certain aspects of inclusive digital education.
Quality Criteria for Digital Learning Resources
https://www.udir.no/globalassets/filer/tall-og-forskning/rapporter/2012/quality_criteria_dlr-eng.pdf
An aid for teachers and others who want to evaluate the suitability of digital learning resources in educational contexts.
How to Motivate Learners in an Online Learning Environment
https://edly.io/blog/how-to-motivate-learners-in-an-online-learning-environment/
The sites provides teachers with useful tips to keep students engaged and motivated.