Evaluating e-Learning ─ Guiding Research and Practice

How can novice e-learning researchers and postgraduate learners develop rigorous plans to study the effectiveness of technology-enhanced learning environments? How can practitioners gather and portray evidence of the impact of e-learning? How can the average educator who teaches online, without experience in evaluating emerging technologies, build on what is successful and modify what is not?

By unpacking the e-learning lifecycle and focusing on learning, not technology, Evaluating e-Learning attempts to resolve some of the complexity inherent in evaluating the effectiveness of e-learning. The book presents practical advice in the form of an evaluation framework and a scaffolded approach to an e-learning research study, using divide-and-conquer techniques to reduce complexity in both design and delivery. It adapts and builds on familiar research methodology to offer a robust and accessible approach that can ensure effective evaluation of a wide range of innovative initiatives, including those covered in other books in the Connecting with e-Learning series.

Readers will find this jargon-free guide is a must-have resource that provides the proper tools for evaluating e-learning practices with ease.

Rob Phillips is Associate Professor in the Educational Development Centre at Murdoch University, Australia.
Carmel McNaught is the Director and Chair Professor in the Centre for Learning Enhancement And Research (CLEAR) at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Gregor Kennedy is Director of e-Learning and Associate Professor of Educational Technology in the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at The University of Melbourne. His current work involves leading the university's strategy in technology-enhanced learning and teaching, supporting staff in the use of learning technologies, and undertaking research in the area of e-Learning. He has a background in psychology and has spent the past 15 years conducting and overseeing research and development in educational technology in higher education.

Preface
I. Setting the Scene
1. E-learning, learning and evaluation
2. Evaluation as part of a teacher’s role
II. Theory
3. The Learning Environment, Learning Processes and Learning Outcomes (LEPO) Framework
4. What is meant by educational evaluation and research?
5. Research paradigms and methodologies
6. Evaluation-research approaches suitable for e-learning
7. The process of carrying out evaluation research
8. Evaluation research across the e-learning lifecycle
9. Conducting an Evaluation-research Study
10. Project-management Evaluation
11. Using evaluation-research results: An overview of impact issues beyond the confines of a single project