Choosing & Using Technologies in Education & Training
This checklist is intended to help you plan by identifying questions you should ask yourself and information you should acquire as part of your planning process.
Decisions about the choice of technology should be chiefly driven by consideration of learners' needs, the ability of teachers and other staff to provide support for learners, and the curriculum content of the program. Resource materials should be of sound quality, suitable for the purpose, and well matched with technologies and human resources. In projects which are driven by the choice of technology rather than perceived needs, these considerations are equally important or even more so.
| SUCCESS FACTORS | CHECKLIST |
| 1. A decision has been made whether any technology is required for the program, and the preferred technology or mix of technologies to satisfy requirements has been identified and prioritised. | 1.1 Do your project aims
require a technological solution, or would a
non-technological one be satisfactory?
1.2 Is your preferred technology suitable for the teaching needs of the curriculum? 1.3 Is your preferred technology suitable for the intended learners? (In terms of learning styles, convenience of access, suitability for learners’ skills levels, suitability for content delivery etc.). 1.3.1 How will you ensure that learners have access to required equipment? 1.3.2 How will you ensure that learners have skills to use the equipment? (e.g. pre-program surveys, provision of skills bridging courses). |
| SUCCESS FACTORS | CHECKLIST |
| 1. A decision has been made whether any technology is required for the program, and the preferred technology or mix of technologies to satisfy requirements has been identified and prioritised. | 1.3.3 If the program is to be
delivered over public networks, who will have access to
it and how will they find out that it is available?
1.4 Is your preferred technology acceptable to your organisation and to other stakeholders? 1.4.1 Do teachers and other staff need training to use the technology? How will this be provided? 1.4.2 Are employers willing to allow learners to use workplace equipment, e.g. computers, for learning purposes? 1.5 Is your preferred delivery method, including technology, cost effective? (Assessed against existing delivery methods, non-technological delivery, other technological delivery options; assessed against the costs to the provider, the learner, the employer and other stakeholders). |
| SUCCESS FACTORS | CHECKLIST |
| 1. A decision has been made whether any technology is required for the program, and the preferred technology or mix of technologies to satisfy requirements has been identified and prioritised. | 1.6 Is your organisation conducting or
planning other projects which use technology? Is there a
possibility of achieving mileage or maximising
cost-effectiveness through using similar technology?
1.7 Could the needs of curriculum, learners and other stakeholders be met without using technology? 1.8 What limitations does the presently available technology place on the project, which might be overcome if new developments in technology took place? |
| SUCCESS FACTORS | CHECKLIST |
| 2. Specifications and standards have been defined. | 2.1 What specifications
and standards should apply
2.1.1 to hardware and software, 2.1.2 to technical and user support, 2.1.3 to maintenance and upgrading of equipment? 2.2 What are the minimum and optimum requirements of the technology infrastructure to support the program delivery? (e.g. bandwidth, level of interactivity etc.). 2.3 Will the project technology use an existing user interface, or will the interface be developed as part of the project? 2.4 If a new user interface is to be developed, who will do this, what procedures will be used, and is it likely to result in new intellectual property? 2.5 What are the requirements for a user interface (e.g. set-top unit, PC, telephone; remote control, mouse, keyboard; software; menu of available services; customer support). |
| SUCCESS FACTORS | CHECKLIST |
| 3. Processes for acquisition of equipment and selection of service providers have been established. | 3.1 How is the technology
you require available? (e.g. purchase extension of
equipment already available in the organisation; purchase
equipment new to the organisation but commercially
available; adapt commercially available technology to
suit the need; develop new technology for the purpose).
3.2 Do you intend to use an existing service provider to provide the infrastructure to support your technology application? If not, what arrangements will you make for: 3.2.1 network access. 3.2.2 user equipment supply and maintenance. 3.3.3 user training and support. 3.2.4 user management. 3.2.5 billing/usage cost allocation if appropriate? (e.g. equipment available in public places, subsidy for some learners, bridging courses for technical skills). 3.3 Will you go to tender for technology, equipment, service provision or materials preparation? If so, what process will you use? If not, how will you select providers? (e.g. by open tender, tender by invitation, etc.). |
| SUCCESS FACTORS | CHECKLIST |
| 4. Funding, staff time and skills are available to operate the technology and provide technical support for teachers and learners. | 4.1 If the technology is
to be used mainly for communication between users rather
than transmission of content, what needs exist for
ongoing user support, monitoring, intervention etc?
4.2 If the technology is to be used mainly for communication between users, is there a need to capture useful content that may be generated in these interactions? How can this best be done economically and without violating privacy? 4.3 Who will provide this support, and how will it be resourced? |
| 5. Funding is available to acquire the technology, maintain it and if necessary upgrade it during the predicted lifespan of the project. | 5.1 Will you consider
moving to new network services and technologies as they
become available?
5.2 How will you monitor developments and make decisions about migration strategies? |
| SUCCESS FACTORS | CHECKLIST |
| 6. A decision has been made whether to buy in or adapt existing learning materials or to develop new materials. | 6.1 Are existing materials
available for the curriculum?
6.2 How will you locate existing materials and assess their suitability? Are they wholly, partly or not at all suitable for your purposes? 6.3 If existing material is to be used, will it need to be changed to suit your purposes: 6.3.1 to increase interactivity. 6.3.2 to use with a different technology 6.4 Who will be responsible for the provision of content material (audio, video, text or data)? 6.5 Can you identify suitable writers inside or outside your organisation? 6.6 Where will you find suitable instructional design and production facilities? 6.7 What process will you use to keep resource materials up to date? (e.g. review of current practices or legislation, rewriting, inserting additional material). 6.8 How will program materials be delivered? (e.g entirely through electronic networks, by post, by fax, by other means). 6.9 Who will be responsible for collecting, storing and packaging the content and organising it for easy customer access? (This may include network services for electronic access; it may also include instructional design and production). |
| SUCCESS FACTORS | CHECKLIST |
| 7. Copyright and intellectual property implications of buying, licensing or developing materials have been explored, and processes have been set in place to conform with organisational policy. | 7.1 How will your record
and assert your copyright and intellectual property
rights in material developed?
7.2 How will you obtain copyright clearance and licensing agreements for material which you may want to buy in? |
| 8. A decision has been made about the support mechanisms which should be associated with technology and resource materials, and the way in which all these components will inter-relate. | 8.1 What process will you adopt to map the way in which technology, resource materials and support mechanisms will interrelate? |
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