The realities of evaluating educational technology in school settings

Megan Venn-Wycherley*, Ahmed Kharrufa, Susan Lechelt, Rebecca Nicholson, Kate Howland, Abrar Almjally, Anthony Trory, Vidya Sarangapani

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)
30 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

HCI researchers are increasingly interested in the evaluation of educational technologies in context, yet acknowledge that challenges remain regarding the logistical, material and methodological constraints of this approach to research [18, 53].Through the analysis of the authors' contributed thematic research vignettes, the following article exposes the practical realities of evaluating educational technologies in school settings. This includes insights into the planning stages of evaluation, the relationship between the researcher and the school environment, and the impact of the school context on the data collection process.We conclude by providing an orientation for the design of HCI educational technology research undertaken in school contexts, providing guidance such as considering the role of modular research design, clarifying goals and expectations with school partners, and reporting researcher positionality.

Original languageEnglish
Article number26
Pages (from-to)1-33
Number of pages33
JournalACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction
Volume31
Issue number2
Early online date5 Feb 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2024

Keywords

  • Additional Key Words and PhrasesEducational technology
  • classroom evaluation

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