ERIC Number: EJ853735
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1436-4522
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Utilisation-Focused Evaluation of ICT in Education: The Case of DFAQ Consultation Space
Ng'ambi, Dick; Brown, Irwin
Educational Technology & Society, v7 n3 p38-49 2004
This paper describes an evaluation of a web-based consultation space (a dynamic frequently asked questions environment--DFAQ) in which learners consult one another using questions, and in which both the flow of interaction and its artefacts become a resource available to a community of learners. The DFAQ is a special form of a Computer-Mediated-Communication tool specifically developed to facilitate question-based interaction. We argue that education is too complex a social structure to be evaluated using deterministic positivist quantitative approaches. Given the volatility of determining what constitutes value, costs, inputs and outputs and the complexity of dynamics of socialization, a non-deterministic qualitative approach, utilisation-focused evaluation approach is used. Our conclusion is that the DFAQ does contribute to students' academic performance and frees the lecturer-learner consultation time. (Contains 3 figures.)
Descriptors: Social Networks, Network Analysis, Computer Mediated Communication, Consultation Programs, Case Studies, Computer Software Evaluation, Technology Integration, Use Studies, Interaction Process Analysis, Academic Support Services, Teacher Guidance, Foreign Countries, Educational Technology
International Forum of Educational Technology & Society. Athabasca University, School of Computing & Information Systems, 1 University Drive, Athabasca, AB T9S 3A3, Canada. Tel: 780-675-6812; Fax: 780-675-6973; Web site: http://www.ifets.info
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
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