Choosing & Using Technologies in Education & Training
A sound evaluative framework should be adopted to inform the progress of the project from its early stages and to provide a basis for decisions about the full and continuing implementation of the project.
If the project is to receive special funding, there may be a formal requirement for evaluation as part of the accountability procedures. Even if this is not formally required, it is good practice to evaluate your activities.
One reason for doing this is to enable you to make informed decisions about successive phases of the project. If the project includes a trial phase, it will be necessary to make a decision whether to continue to full implementation. At the full implementation stage, it may be necessary to decide from time to time whether to continue the project, or to discontinue or modify it. Evaluation is likely to be based chiefly on how far the project is meeting identified needs, and whether the cost and effort are justified. If the results of evaluation are documented, it will be easier to persuade decision-makers to take the desired course of action.
Your evaluation process may be complex and formal, or a more simple and anecdotal framework may meet your needs. You will need to agree upon this with your organisation and other project partners at the beginning of the project.
A formative evaluation process, developed at the planning stage of the project, is particularly valuable. Rather than simply commenting on the project at milestone stages, it will enable the project team to learn throughout the project so that both process and outcomes can be monitored. Then, if necessary, they can be modified so as to maximise the efficiency of the process and the effectiveness of the outcomes. It is usually useful to evaluate the process as well as the outcomes of the project. You may find it useful to include some discussion of the process between project team members from time to time.
In evaluating the project, insight should be sought into critical incidents or unexpected occurrences which affected the process or outcomes. Some of the most useful learning can be gained from these. It should be recognised that some mistakes are likely in innovative practice, and these should be a source of learning rather than the subject of punishment.
One way in which you may evaluate your project is to measure it against predetermined performance indicators. It is unlikely that a single set of performance indicators will be suitable to judge the success of all projects; we believe that you should devise your own. Examples of the kinds of indicators you might use are:
Evaluation is useful not just for the project team, but for other members of the organisation who may undertake projects in the future. You might consider holding a seminar or forum where interested people can discuss what you have learned or are learning from the project, and how this might be applied to other activities. You may even make it the basis for a professional development activity using action learning methods.
Please add your case studies or comments to this
site
