Assessing Digital Learning and Instruction

In order to provide differentiated professional development for staff so that students and teachers can achieve their highest potential as they collaborate, communicate, create, and think critically in a global technology infused learning environment, it is essential to establish a baseline of proficiencies, attitudes, and technology integration in the learning environment after 2 years of implementing iPads into a K-12 school. 

Some of the most effective ways of feedback that have been seen throughout the literature are surveys and focus groups:

Assessing Digital Learning and Instruction Literature Review

Evaluation, or measurement, can be one of the most effective forms of obtaining information, reducing uncertainty, and identifying growth. To understand the extent of impact, one must evaluate.

In my extrapolations of assessment of digital learning, the difficulty of understanding technology’s impact on students is due to the fact that it evolves quickly, so studies are often focused on technology as a whole, rather than specific devices. Secondly, technology’s impact is often associated with scores on student exams. Oftentimes, those involved in education want to associate success of their technology deployment with increased test scores, but technology will not fix low scores. As Bradley Chambers of Out of School Podcast points out, there are too many uncontrolled variables within each classroom (Chambers, 2016).

It can be difficult to identify what makes a 1:1 iPad program “successful.” What defines success? How do you know if the iPads are helping? And what is it that they are helping? How can teachers be guided in the classroom? Ultimately, it would be effective to see students and teachers collaborating, communicating, creating and thinking critically with their iPads. This is measurable, but often there are simpler things to measure first. As Douglas W. Hubbard says in his book “How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value in the Intangibles in Business,”

“…don’t assume that the only way to reduce your uncertainty is to use an impractically sophisticated method” (Hubbard, 2014, p. 64).

Measuring a 1:1 iPad Program

One of the hardest things to do in life is SLOW DOWN...just enough to think, look back, and gain perspective. This is no different with school initiatives; often times we (meaning those in education) are excited to implement a new idea, equipment, or philosophy, but forget to stop and look at how that implementation is doing.

In his book, How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business, Douglas Hubbard makes it clear that measurement is not about ridding of all uncertainty, but that it is a "reduction of uncertainty based on one or more observations" (p. 30). In regards to a 1:1 iPad program in a school, how can you measure it's success? What does an "effective" 1:1 iPad program really look like and how do you know teachers are using iPads in the classroom "effectively?"