scholarly journals Field Test Evaluation of Educational Software: A Description of One Approach

Author(s):  
Mariela Tovar ◽  
Nicholas Barker

Educational evaluators in general have traditionally recognized the need to incorporate data from potential users in designing evaluation studies. In the field of courseware evaluation, however, there has been a great deal of emphasis placed on expert judgment as a source of data for evaluating computer-based educational materials. Although courseware reviews are extremely useful, they are not substitutes for field tests;each provides a different type of information that evaluators may use in order to determine the quality of an instructional product.This paper reports on the evaluation of a courseware designed to assist the writing of the lower-case alphabet. The main objective of the article is to demonstrate an evaluation design which provided adequate answers to our evaluation questions, allowed us to perform multiple comparisons to support our conclusions, and was also practical enough to be used in a normal classroom situation without disturbing everyday activities. Three criteria for selecting a design are presented followed by a description of the courseware evaluation.

Author(s):  
Mariela Tovar ◽  
Nicholas Barker

Educational evaluators in general have traditionally recognized the needto incorporate data from potential users in designing evaluation studies. In the field of courseware evaluation, however, there has been a great deal of emphasis placed on expert judgment as a source of data for evaluating computer-based educational materials. Although courseware reviews are extremely useful, they are not substitutes for field tests;each provides a different type of information that evaluators may use in order to determinethe quality of an instructional product.This paper reports on the evaluation of a courseware designed to assist the writing of the lower-case alphabet. The main objective of the article is to demonstrate an evaluation design which provided adequate answers to our evaluation questions, allowed us to perform multiple comparisons to support our conclusions, and was also practical enough to be used in a normal classroom situation without disturbing everyday activities. Three criteria for selecting a design are presented followed by a description of the courseware evaluation.


Author(s):  
Harald Klingemann ◽  
Justyna Klingemann

Abstract. Introduction: While alcohol treatment predominantly focuses on abstinence, drug treatment objectives include a variety of outcomes related to consumption and quality of life. Consequently harm reduction programs tackling psychoactive substances are well documented and accepted by practitioners, whereas harm reduction programs tackling alcohol are under-researched and met with resistance. Method: The paper is mainly based on key-person interviews with eight program providers conducted in Switzerland in 2009 and up-dated in 2015, and the analysis of reports and mission statements to establish an inventory and description of drinking under control programs (DUCPs). A recent twin program in Amsterdam and Essen was included to exemplify conditions impeding their implementation. Firstly, a typology based on the type of alcohol management, the provided support and admission criteria is developed, complemented by a detailed description of their functioning in practice. Secondly, the case studies are analyzed in terms of factors promoting and impeding the implementation of DUCPs and efforts of legitimize them and assess their success. Results: Residential and non-residential DUCPs show high diversity and pursue individualized approaches as the detailed case descriptions exemplify. Different modalities of proactively providing and including alcohol consumption are conceptualized in a wider framework of program objectives, including among others, quality of life and harm reduction. Typically DUCPs represent an effort to achieve public or institutional order. Their implementation and success are contingent upon their location, media response, type of alcohol management and the response of other substance-oriented stake holders in the treatment system. The legitimization of DUCPs is hampered by the lack of evaluation studies. DUCPs rely mostly – also because of limited resources – on rudimentary self-evaluations and attribute little importance to data collection exercises. Conclusions: Challenges for participants are underestimated and standard evaluation methodologies tend to be incompatible with the rationale and operational objectives of DUCPs. Program-sensitive multimethod approaches enabled by sufficient financing for monitoring and accompanying research is needed to improve the practice-oriented implementation of DUCPs. Barriers for these programs include assumptions that ‘alcohol-assisted’ help abandons hope for recovery and community response to DUCPs as locally unwanted institutions (‘not in my backyard’) fuelled by stigmatization.


Author(s):  
B. F. Tarasenko B. F. ◽  
◽  
S. Y. Orlenko S. Y. ◽  
V. V. Kuzmin V. V.

The article presents a comparative analysis, based on field tests, of the quality of loosening of soil structures of the upper horizon with technical means developed at KubSAU and an improved design of a universal tillage unit.


HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 534b-534
Author(s):  
James D. McCreight

Yellowing of melon (Cucumis melo L.) incited by lettuce infectious yellows virus (LIYV) reduces yield and fruit quality of infected plants. LIYV is transmitted only by the sweetpotato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Genn.). Two naturally infected field tests indicated several potential sources of resistance to LIYV. PI 124112 and `Snake Melon' had mild symptoms in both field tests whereas PI 313970 was asymptomatic in the test in which it was included. In greenhouse tests using controlled inoculation, PI 313970 was asymptomatic, had negative ELISA assays for LIYV, and was negative for LIYV in serial transfers to Chenopodium. `Top Mark' and `PMR 5' were symptomatic, had positive ELISA assays for LIYV, and were positive for LIYV in serial transfers to Chenopodium in these greenhouse tests. Limited data indicate that resistance in PI 313970 is conditioned by a single, dominant gene.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 758-758
Author(s):  
Dorota Szcześniak ◽  
Katarzyna Lion ◽  
Franka Meiland ◽  
Dawn Brooker ◽  
Elisabetta Farina ◽  
...  

Abstract In Europe, 10 million people are living with dementia. Most of them reside in their own home, cared for by their loved ones. As a consequence, there is a great need to provide both, people with dementia and their carers, tailored support. The Dutch Meeting Centres Support Programme (MCSP), adaptively implemented in three European countries within the JPND-MEETINGDEM project, is an excellent example of an effective dyadic psychosocial intervention, which seems to have no cultural barriers. The mixed-methods analysis showed that participant-dyads reported great satisfaction with MCSP. People with dementia experienced improvement of their quality of life, motivation and ability to participate in everyday activities, as well as improvement in their relationship with family members. Carers felt less burdened and highly appreciated the emotional and social support they received. Repeated user evaluation shows that this dyadic support effectively helps people with dementia and their families better deal with dementia.


2013 ◽  
Vol 103 (6) ◽  
pp. 665-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Á. Egri ◽  
M. Blahó ◽  
D. Száz ◽  
G. Kriska ◽  
J. Majer ◽  
...  

AbstractHost-seeking female tabanid flies, that need mammalian blood for the development of their eggs, can be captured by the classic canopy trap with an elevated shiny black sphere as a luring visual target. The design of more efficient tabanid traps is important for stock-breeders to control tabanids, since these blood-sucking insects can cause severe problems for livestock, especially for horse- and cattle-keepers: reduced meat/milk production in cattle farms, horses cannot be ridden, decreased quality of hides due to biting scars. We show here that male and female tabanids can be caught by a novel, weather-proof liquid-filled black tray laid on the ground, because the strongly and horizontally polarized light reflected from the black liquid surface attracts water-seeking polarotactic tabanids. We performed field experiments to reveal the ideal elevation of the liquid trap and to compare the tabanid-capturing efficiency of three different traps: (1) the classic canopy trap, (2) the new polarization liquid trap, and (3) the combination of the two traps. In field tests, we showed that the combined trap captures 2.4–8.2 times more tabanids than the canopy trap alone. The reason for the larger efficiency of the combined trap is that it captures simultaneously the host-seeking female and the water-seeking male and female tabanids. We suggest supplementing the traditional canopy trap with the new liquid trap in order to enhance the tabanid-capturing efficiency.


2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth H. Anderson ◽  
Patricia J. Neafsey ◽  
Sheri Peabody

The type and quality of the provider–patient health care relationship impacts patient adherence. The study purpose was to convert the 5-item paper and pencil Relationships With Health Care Provider Scale (RHCPS) to a reliable and valid computer-based scale for use with older adults. Outpatient adults (N = 121) older than 59 years were recruited. The RHCPS underwent several iterations documenting internal consistency reliability, content and factorial validity, and scale usability in a computer tablet format. A total of 5 expert judges rated all 5 items as valid, which resulted in a scale content validity index of 1. Cronbach’s standardized alpha was .81. Principal components analysis extracted 1 factor (eigenvalue > 1; confirmed by scree plot) as anticipated. Computer-based RHCPS has the potential to reveal valuable clinical and scientific data on patient–provider relationships among older adults.


Author(s):  
Yu. I. Buryak ◽  
A. A. Skrynnikov

The article is devoted to the substantiation of the procedure for testing complex technical systems to assess the probability of performing the task, taking into account a priori data obtained from the results of modeling, field tests of components and prototypes, operation of analogues, etc. The conditions for the formation of a combined sample consisting of field experiments and experiments counted on the results of modeling are justified. Data uniformity is checked using the Student's criterion. The minimum volume of full-scale tests is determined by the requirement of equality of the amount of Fischer information about the estimated parameter obtained during full-scale tests and at the expense of a priori data A strategy for conducting field experiments is proposed, in which the required quality of evaluating the probability of completing the task is achieved with the minimum possible number of field experiments. At the first stage, a series of experiments with a volume equal to half of the required sample size is performed. At the second stage, the experiments are conducted sequentially with an assessment after each experiment of the requirements for the amount of information about the evaluated parameter and for the uniformity of data. Experiments are terminated when the specified requirements are met, and then a combined sample is formed, which is used to evaluate the probability of the system performing the task. A model example is considered. The estimation of the gain in the number of experiments performed at different probability values was carried out.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-17
Author(s):  
Aizhan Ibirayim kyzy ◽  
◽  
Askerbүbү Solpubashova ◽  
Salidin Kaldybaev ◽  
◽  
...  

In the system of school education of the Kyrgyz Republic, the problem of developing electronic educational material and introducing it into the educational process of schools is becoming urgent. This goal allows the further implementation of the issue of computerization of school education. This article focuses on the quality of education. To achieve high-quality modern training, the use of electronic materials is required. Electronic materials must be designed in accordance with the rules. Therefore, the content of this article is aimed at revealing the importance of e-learning, at developing electronic materials, at characterizing the requirements for compiling electronic materials and the requirements for using electronic educational materials.


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