A collaborative process for evaluating new educational technologies.

Purpose - This paper seeks to propose a collaborative process for evaluating, piloting and selecting, new and emerging educational technologies. It aims to promote discussion about how such an evaluative process can be inclusive of interdisciplinary stakeholders and envision the actual application of these technologies in real teaching and learning contexts across disciplines. Design/methodology/approach - The methodology applied in the piloting and evaluation of new educational technologies involves the design and identification of learning activities, the development of evaluation criteria which map to the goals of the learning activities and stakeholders'' needs, and the incorporation of the technology-enabled activities into the total course design. Findings - Evaluation methodologies that involve interdisciplinary stakeholders collaborating on a software pilot expose participants to multiple perspectives and divergent views. The evaluation of new educational technologies within a teaching and learning context is more effective in exposing the benefits and weaknesses of the technology than a conventional software pilot. Research limitations/implications - The new educational technologies evaluation methodology proposed in this paper has only been fully applied in three product pilots and is still in its developmental stage. The research is limited to the evaluation of educational software, not the implementation of new educational technologies. Practical implications - The re-iterative and time-consuming process of piloting and evaluating new educational technologies within a course context is one in which academics require pedagogical, technological and administrative support. This paper presents a methodology that ensures each of these varieties of support is included. Originality/value - With the rapid expansion of new, sometimes costly educational technologies, universities can benefit from employing evaluation techniques based within an educational context, and ensure that their investments in these tools make an effective contribution to the enhancement of teaching and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]