10 Questions Rapid-cycle Evaluation Can Answer to Evaluate EdTech Effectiveness

10 Questions Rapid-cycle Evaluation Can Answer to Evaluate EdTech Effectiveness
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Technology is as ubiquitous in schools as it is in all other facets of life today–in fact, K-12 districts access an average of 1,400+ unique edtech tools every month. But, how many of those programs are truly making a positive impact on learning? 

That is a critical question for education administrators tasked with realizing positive student outcomes, demonstrating return on investment (ROI), making informed budget decisions, and ensuring that classroom teachers have the tools they need to be effective. It’s equally important for education solution providers, where product developers and business leaders are invested in building tools that will have an impact. 

That is where evidence comes in. Thoughtful evaluation and ongoing research that results in meaningful evidence is critical to understanding how tools are being used, what impact they are having, and what decisions should be made to support better education outcomes. 

LearnPlatform by Instructure is working hard to provide the digital infrastructure and research expertise to generate, see and share that evidence in an actionable format built on practical rigor. A critical component of this work is our Rapid-cycle Evaluation (RCE) engine, which helps local, regional and state education agencies go beyond basic edtech usage metrics and dive deep into specific product outcomes. 

Our RCE technology – plus one-on-one support from our experienced Research team – makes it simple to combine student demographic, product usage, assessment results, and product cost data to arrive at real conclusions about how tools are being leveraged and what’s moving the needle.

Here are 10 key questions, grouped by intent, that education agencies can answer through RCEs run with the LearnPlatform team.

Understand Usage

Digging into usage on an edtech tool with RCE can provide valuable insights into what is resonating with students and teachers, identify potential roadblocks to engagement, and opportunities for additional staff training. Use these 3 questions –and related RCE findings – as a starting point to dive deeper with staff and students to ask why you are seeing the trends you are.

  • How much is an edtech tool getting used by students?

  • Are students engaging with an edtech tool to the level recommended or intended?

  • Is an edtech tool getting used consistently across various student groups?

Evaluate Program Effectiveness

Understanding usage is a great first step, but utilizing RCE to analyze outcomes is where results really get interesting. By pairing product usage data with an assessment outcome measure, education leaders gain visibility to what’s moving the needle – and get the information needed to make critical budget and instructional decisions. 

  • Is usage of an edtech tool demonstrating impact on student outcomes?

  • Is usage of an edtech tool showing different impacts on student outcomes for different student groups? 

  • Is the cost of an edtech tool justified by the results it is demonstrating?

Optimize Implementation and Results

Edtech implementation is as nuanced and unique as the teachers and students utilizing the tools. RCE can help uncover some of those nuances, and enable all stakeholders to work towards the goal of continuous improvement by identifying best practices, training gaps, and teacher champions for specific tools in the unique context of each education agency.

  • What level of usage is driving the most impact on student outcomes?

  • Do certain student groups benefit more from use of the product than others?

  • Can implementation models from buildings or classrooms using an edtech tool with particular success be replicated?

  • Are there opportunities for professional development in certain buildings or classrooms demonstrating lower usage or outcomes with an edtech tool?

Get the details on LearnPlatform by Instructure’s Rapid-cycle Evaluation guidance, here. 

Ready to get started? Schedule a demo today!

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EdTech Management

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