Here's an interesting talk by Nick Peachey on criteria for evaluating web tools and apps. It's a very interesting topic, which connects with the SAMR model discussed on a previous post, since this criteria helps us evaluate whether what we intend to use is correct or not.
The following criteria, which has been extracted from his blog, will be used to evaluate a web tool:
- Accessibility - Will all the students have the necessary equipment to use it? Will it work across all / most mobile platforms and also work within a desktop web browser?
- User friendly - Will students be able to learn how to use it reasonably quickly?
- Registration - Do students need to register to use it?
- Security - Is the app secure?
- Price - Is it free or affordable?
- Business model - Is there a business model to support the app? Is it clear how it makes money?
- Digital literacy - Does learning and using the app help students to develop a useful or transferable digital literacy?
- Authenticity - Does it have an authentic purpose beyond language learning? Is it an app that a native speaker would use for a genuine purpose outside of a classroom?
- Personalization - Does the app enable user to express some aspect of who they are and what they believe?
- Learning goal / outcome - Is there a a possible learning outcome that use of the app will lead to?
- Interaction / communication - Does it support interaction and communication between users?
- Prolonged use - Does the app need prolonged use to achieve a satisfactory outcome?
- Assessment - Is the work on the app assessable by the teacher? Does the app support the delivery of teacher response and feedback?
- Collaboration - Does the app support collaboration between users?
- Context - In what context would the app be useful? For whom is the app more useful?
- Reusable - Does the app have sufficient depth of purpose to support multiple activities and tasks?
- Learner autonomy - Can app be used independently outside of the class by the student to support some form of learning?