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Unit outline_

EDPC5012: Evaluating Learning Tech. Innovation

Semester 1, 2021 [Normal evening] - Remote

This unit is intended to help students acquire the knowledge and skills needed to evaluate ICT-enhanced learning innovations. It provides an introduction to the theory and practice of evaluations, drawing principles and methods from best practice in program evaluation and the areas of ICT-enhanced learning. Attention is paid to a holistic approach to evaluation, stressing the need to plan, design and implement evaluation in context. It is suitable for those with an interest in formal education, corporate training and professional development.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit Education
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
None
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
None
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Lina Markauskaite, lina.markauskaite@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Presentation group assignment Assignment 3: Present a webinar on a contemporary innovation evaluation topic
Developed and facilitated an interactive webinar for peers
25% Multiple weeks
Due date: 10 May 2021 at 23:00
30 minutes
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO4 LO2 LO3
Assignment group assignment Assignment 2: Develop a project evaluation plan
A plan to carry out an evaluation of a learning innovation project
35% STUVAC
Due date: 11 Jun 2021 at 23:00
2000 words per group member
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO8 LO4 LO3 LO5
Assignment Assignment 1: Develop and pilot an evaluation instrument
A report on a pilot of an evaluation instrument
40% Week 06
Due date: 16 Apr 2021 at 23:00
2500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO6 LO3 LO5 LO7
group assignment = group assignment ?

Assessment summary

Assignment 1: You will develop an instrument to evaluate a digital educational resource of your choice. You will then pilot this instrument in a workshop and write a pilot evaluation report.

Assignment 2: In a group, you will develop an evaluation plan for carrying out an evaluation of a learning technology innovation project. Your group will jointly choose the innovation project and evaluation aim(s).

Assignment 3: In a group, you will develop a short, interactive webinar for introducing one of contemporary innovation evaluation themes. The webinar will need to be presented in a class during an assigned week.

A penalty of 10% of the maximum awardable mark will be applied for not meeting the specified length requirements by more than 10%.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

 An outstanding high-quality work

Distinction

75 - 84

 A professionally completed work with no or very minor issues

Credit

65 - 74

A professionally completed work with some specific issues

Pass

50 - 64

 A satisfactory work that meets the minimal requirements

Fail

0 - 49

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

For written work, for every calendar day up to and including ten calendar days after the due date, a penalty of 5% of the maximum awardable marks will be applied to late work. For work submitted more than ten calendar days after the due date a mark of zero will be awarded and the submitted work will not be marked. For oral presentations not delivered in time, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Weekly Week 1: Introduction and overview Seminar (2 hr) LO1
Weeks 2-3: Guided interactive seminars introducing techniques for evaluating learning innovations and digital learning resources Seminar (4 hr) LO1 LO3 LO5
Weeks 4-5: Hands-on workshops carrying out a pilot of an instrument for evaluating a digital learning resource Workshop (4 hr) LO1 LO3 LO6 LO7
Week 6: Q&A and Introduction to the evaluation of innovation projects Seminar (2 hr) LO1 LO8
Weeks 7-9: Interactive, hands-on seminars learning to construct a learning innovation project logic map and plan evaluation Seminar (6 hr) LO1 LO5 LO8
Weeks 10-13: Student-led interactive presentations exploring critical conceptual aspects and emerging evaluation approaches Presentation (4 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5
Weeks 10-13: Group work on developing an evaluation plan for an authentic learning innovation Project (4 hr) LO3 LO6 LO7 LO8

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: The Sydney School of Education and Social Work requires attendance of at least 90 percent of all seminars, workshops or lectures. Where a student is unable to attend at the required rate evidence of illness or misadventure may be required and the student may be required to undertake extra work. Students should discuss the circumstances of their absence(s) with the co-ordinator of the unit of study. Further details are provided in the School canvas site: https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/13426

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed through  the Unit's Canvas site.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. demonstrate an understanding of the general principles and practices of educational evaluation
  • LO2. understand the affordances and limitations of emerging digital evaluation methods
  • LO3. understand different evaluation approaches and techniques
  • LO4. articulate the benefits of taking holistic and responsive approaches to the evaluation of innovations
  • LO5. choose appropriately evaluation methods and techniques given the specific requirements of the particular task and context
  • LO6. apply principles and methods of educational evaluation to the evaluation of digital learning systems and resources
  • LO7. construct and pilot an evaluation instrument for evaluating a digital learning resource
  • LO8. construct an integrated evaluation framework for a specific evaluation task you need to tackle

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Drawing on the students' feedback the following changes gave been made: 1. More attention has been allocated for students' discussion of readings in the final part of the course. Accordingly, Assignment 3 has been changed from a written task to a presentation. 2. Weighting of assignments has been adjusted to reflect the required individual effort for each task more precisely.

Additional costs

NA

Site visit guidelines

If you are undertaking professional experience/field education placement as part of your enrolment in this unit of study, please assess your specific needs and requirements for the safe and successful completion of an external placement within a host organisation. You will be given the opportunity to disclose any health issues that have a work health and safety significance before arranging a placement so that your safety, and the safety of others, can be properly assessed. The Professional Experience Coordinator/Field Education Manager will work to ensure that the workplace assignment to you is appropriate for your needs and requirements. If you are experiencing disability, and require reasonable adjustments to be arranged, please contact Disability Services as early as possible prior to commencing the internship. Please note, in all cases, and for the purpose of organising reasonable adjustments, only the impact and not the nature, of your disability will be disclosed to the host organisation.

Work, health and safety

The pilot of the evaluation instrument for Assignmet 1 has to be completed with peers enrolled in this unit. It cannot involve external participants.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.