ELI Web Seminar, June 9, 2008 1:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. CT, 11:00 a.m. MT, 10:00 a.m. PT); runs one hour

Assessing the Impact of Technology on Learning

Special Guest

Karen Swan
Research Professor, Research Center for Educational Technology
Kent State University

Karen Swan is a research professor in the Research Center for Educational Technology at Kent State University. She has been researching technology and learning for two decades, most recently in the areas of online learning and ubiquitous computing, and was awarded the Sloan-C award for Outstanding Achievement in Online Learning by an Individual in 2006 for her work in the former. She has authored over 100 publications as well as several hypermedia programs and coedited two books on educational technology topics.

Summary

Julie Little, Interim Director of the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, will moderate this web seminar with Karen Swan, in which she discusses ways of assessing the impact of technology on learning, beginning with asking the right questions.

Good questions, Swan argues, specify not just outcomes but also inputs and, most importantly, learning processes. In this seminar, she will review the major issues and processes to consider in assessing the impact of technology on student learning. In particular, she will highlight the importance of carefully assessing teaching and learning inputs and processes in addition to learning outcomes in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of where and how the use of technology supports learning.

Additional Resources

• Joni E. Spurlin, Technology and Learning: Defining What You Want to Assess, ELI White Paper, July 2006.
• EDUCAUSE Connect resources on Assessment and Evaluation.
• Frank W. Connolly, "It's Not the Change, It's the Difference: Evaluating Technology on Campus," EDUCAUSE Quarterly, vol. 28, no. 4, 2005.
• Marilee Bresciani, How Do You Know What Your Students Are Learning, ELI Web Symposium, May 25, 2006.
• Peggy Maki, Assessing What Students Learn in Technology-Based Learning Environments, ELI Web Seminar, September 15, 2006.
• North Carolina State University, University Planning and Analysis, Assessing the Impact of Technology-Rich Spaces on Student Learning.
• Annotated Bibliography of Publications Relevant to Assessing the Impact of Technology on Student Learning.
• Resources Relevant to Assessing the Impact of Technology on Student Learning (includes links to project web pages, related technology and pedagogy articles, and digital media libraries).