Development-oriented elearning tool evaluation: the Edukalibre approach

Abstract

The Edukalibre development approach described here offers libre educational tools based on open development model. The paper presents a development-oriented evaluation approach comprising three phases. Phase 1 focused on rapid and distributed usability inspections producing development-oriented feedback for designers, and was built around a usability inspection framework. Phase 2 was conducted through student feedback, and confirmed the results of Phase 1, along with indications about the reasons behind some issues and about the actual use of the system. Phase 3 was aimed at a broader holistic evaluation that considers the views that developers and other parties have of the system. The evaluation approach proposed in this paper was applied to two eLearning tools – ConDOR and GISMO - and the results so far have provided fast and constructive feedback into the next round of development. This paper arose from the recognition that a lot more work is required to address the issue of suitable and complete evaluation for libre software development for education. The evaluation approach proposed here offers a significant step towards addressing these emerging needs.