Katy ISD- Ashley Peabody

1. Describe the purposes for and various stages of formative evaluation of technology plan.


From my educational experiences I was taught the the purpose of formal evaluation is not to assign grades but to identify the different weaknesses in order to make improvements. According to Dick and Carey (2001) said that the main purpose of formative evaluation is to find the weaknesses in the technology plan in order to make improvements. There are six main stages of formative evaluation:design review, expert review, one-to one, small group, field trails, and ongoing evaluation. The first stage is design review. This stage is where it is critical to answer the following questions; "Does the instructional goal match the problem identified in the needs assessment? Does the learner & environmental analysis match the audience? Does the task analysis include all the prerequisite skills? Are the test items reliable and valid, and do they match the objectives?" These questions are important because it helps evaluate the technology plan to make sure it is working effectively. The purpose of the small group stage is to look for the "effects be changes made in the one-to-one review and to identify any remaining learning problems". At the stage of field trails the administrators need to look for the changes and effects made in small groups and can the it be used the way it was attended. Finally the most critical stage is ongoing evaluation. This is evaluated be the :project size, life span of content, audiences change, one-to-one, small group tryouts, and field trails" (Dick and Carey, 2001). These evaluations are critical in order to make the technology plan a success!

2. Describe your instruments used in a formative evaluation.

There are a variety of different tools that can be utilized for formative evaluation. Tools include: questionnaires, interviews, focus groups observations, walk-through, rubrics, and reviews. There is not a series of specific tools that can be used when formal evaluating the technology plan. It should be based off the needs of the plan to determine how it will be evaluated (Evaluation Toolbox, 2010). The tools I plan to utilize while formally evaluating my technology plan is to interview, use a rubric, and to have a questionnaire. These would be the best methods to assess my technology plan because it is not the current plan being used by the district. The best thing is for my technology it to work closely with the current technology plan to get formally evaluated by the members of the current technology planning team.

3. Collect data according to a formative evaluation plan for a given set of technology plan or instructor presentation.

I plan to collect data from the interviews, surveys, and from the STaR chart. I plan to use a variety of different information while collecting data. I plan to use the survey and interviews from teachers to determine the technology needs. These are the people that know exactly what is needed because they are working with the teachers. Often teachers point of view in not always considered when planning curriculum or technology. I also plan on working with the members of the technology planning team who is made up of a variety of people through out the district. Members include technology facilitators, and administrators.  The technology facilitator will be a greater resources because
 coordinator should assist in "developing and administering surveys, defining learning outcomes, and implementing evaluation rubrics throughout the school or district " (Frazier & Bailey, 2004). These people will help with the budget and planning. I am currently waiting to here back on the data of the  formative evaluation plan from the current technology plan.


References:

Dick & Carey (2001) Designing and Conducting Formative Evaluation. Retrieved (2012, April 9) from https://www.courses.psu.edu/trdev/trdev518_bow100/D_C10present/tsld001.htm

Frazier, M., & Bailey, G. D. (2004). The Technology Coordinator's Handbook. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education. Retrieved April 9, 2012, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=113454356

Evaluation Toolbox (2010). Tool Selector. Retrieved April 9, 2012 from http://evaluationtoolbox.net.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51&Itemid=131.