As a school district, you can purchase all the edtech solutions in the world but justifying the expenditure can be difficult to do. How do you know if students are using the edtech products you buy? How do you know if it’s having the intended outcome?
One of the best ways to measure the efficacy of edtech is to measure how engaged the students are with the solution. Are they using it? Are they making progress with it? Is it contributing to the measurable completion of their educational goals?
Students’ Enthusiasm Is a Relevant Measure for EdTech Efficacy
According to extensive research conducted by Curtis R. Henrie, Lisa R. Halverson, and Charles R. Graham, “Student engagement can be a useful indicator of how well students are doing in achieving desirable academic and social outcomes. Monitoring student engagement could help us identify students who are on track for success and those who need additional help to persist and succeed. Measuring student engagement can provide valuable evidence for the quality of a course, learning activity, or instructional tool. Further work on developing effective measures of student engagement will increase our capacity to help students and improve instruction.”
“Measuring student engagement in technology-mediated learning: a review” was published in the International Journal, Computers & Education.
Measuring Students’ Enthusiasm
Here are three ways you can measure the impact your edtech products are having, and your students’ enthusiasm for these solutions.
Student Testimonials
From your students and those from other schools, read testimonials from students. It should be easy to discern students’ enthusiasm from the way they talk about the program, how it has impacted their education, and how much they enjoy learning with it. Measuring teacher sentiment can also be done through testimonials.
User Experience
As you test and implement edtech products, evaluate them from the perspective of the student who will be using it. Are there built in motivational tools that help propel the student forward? Does the product include everything necessary to make a great experience (adequate visuals, sounds, interfaces, and ease of use)? Does it meet the need of the students in terms of prioritizing their educational goals and helping them advance through the curriculum?
GG4L Engagement
GG4L’s School Passport Engagement module provides transparency for administrators and IT leaders in schools. School Passport’s Engagement module breaks down all engaged reading time by website, app, program, subject area, and reading level organized by school, class, and student. This data can be used to measure the value of specific edtech solutions and websites, helping school districts make more informed decisions about future technology investments. Districts can:
- Measure and empower online learning
- Understand student’s online reading levels
- Improve student outcomes
- Discover students’ passions and interests
- Make better EdTech decisions
GG4L is a membership-based collaborative providing schools access to GG4L’s School Passport, an Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS). Learn more about Engagement and how it measures students’ enthusiasm for edtech products.
