Educational Software Evaluation

My school uses a myriad of educational software and online learning programs.  In order to see if these are meeting the needs of the teachers and students, I developed an evaluation rubric to conduct a comprehensive assessment of each and every one that we use.  I would like to share it with all of you, so that you can use it for your own evaluations, or even tweak it to reflect your unique needs.  You can download the rubric here.  Finally, I would like to give a brief explanation of how the rubric works.

I identified ten areas by which to evaluate a software application or online program:

1. Curriculum & Standards Alignment:  How does the program align with our curriculum, standards, and learning goals?
2. Depth of Knowledge:  What Depth of Knowledge level does the program mostly align with?
3. Authenticity:  How is the content presented in an authentic, real-world manner?
4. Personalization & Adaptability:  How does the program personalize learning and adapt content for students?
5. Instructional Feedback & Reporting:  How does the program offer monitoring and reporting for the teacher?
6. Relearning Opportunities:  How does the program offer opportunities to re-answer questions, and what helpful information does it provide?
7. Ease of Use:  How easily can people use and navigate the program?
8. Engagement:  How does the program engage students?
9. Privacy:  Has the program signed the Student Privacy Pledge (studentprivacypledge.org)?
10. Redundancy:  How redundant is the program based on any similar programs we use?

I also included detailed descriptors for each of these areas, so evaluators will be on the same page.  The final score is out of 50 points, and there is a space for comments at the bottom of the rubric.  You could also turn this rubric into a Google Form or online survey to enable faster data-gathering and more dynamic analysis.  Hopefully, this will help you conduct a comprehensive, objective, and methodical assessment of any educational software or online learning program you use.