{"id":5490,"date":"2013-05-09T14:49:28","date_gmt":"2013-05-09T14:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eltchat.org\/wordpress\/?p=5490"},"modified":"2013-05-09T14:49:28","modified_gmt":"2013-05-09T14:49:28","slug":"criteria-for-evaluating-web-based-tools-eltchat-summary-01052013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/2013\/05\/09\/criteria-for-evaluating-web-based-tools-eltchat-summary-01052013\/","title":{"rendered":"Criteria for Evaluating Web-based tools -#ELTchat Summary 01\/05\/2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

May 1st<\/sup>\u00a0ELTChat Summary:\u00a0What are your criteria for evaluating web based tools?<\/b><\/h1>\n

Summary contributed by Sue Annan – @sueannan on Twitter and first appeared on her blog<\/p>\n

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The moderators of #ELTchat are still working their way through the wealth of material available from the video sessions of \u00a0IATEFLonline<\/b>.<\/p>\n

This week was no exception and the discussion centred on\u00a0Nik Peachey<\/b>\u2019s session on the\u00a0criteria needed to decide which web-based tools to use for the classroom.<\/p>\n

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It seems as though many of the participants of the chat, although not all of them, were at the live session, which,\u00a0for those who haven\u2019t seen it, or would like to watch it again, can be found herehttp:\/\/iatefl.britishcouncil.org\/2013\/sessions\/2013-04-11\/evaluating-web-based-tools-language-instruction<\/a><\/p>\n

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So- the suggestion was to start by looking at\u00a0Nik\u2019s list, and then to finish up with our own criteria. Nik\u2019s list was collated on tricider,an online poll\/brainstormer\u00a0http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dvLuwL9Quzw<\/a><\/p>\n

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Nik’s List :\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/tricider.com\/en\/brainstorming\/oAdH<\/a><\/h1>\n

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@Teacherphili\u00a0\u00a0thought the list\u00a0was thorough and\u00a0covered all the bases.<\/p>\n

@Marisa_C\u00a0\u00a0pointed out that the criteria would depend on the school or teacher\u00a0 making decisions about what was workable in their situation. In schools which have equipment there would be different needs to schools which have little access to technology. She suggested that she would create a list to suit her own teaching situation.<\/p>\n

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@Wiktor_K\u00a0asked for the definition of accessibility, which 2theteacherjames\u00a0explained as being a cross-platform application. This is an important factor, as students who bring their own devices will use a variety of ios and android systems. And in @eannegrenoble\u2019s case she has network security problems too. Some applications are only available on one operating system at the moment, which makes them less useful for class work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Some Questions posed during our chat<\/h1>\n

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Are we looking at Apps or Web-based tools?<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>Both! @Marisa_C mentioned that she\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0have access to apps in class, so web tools were her preference. Others were more interested in apps, but the criteria applies to both of them.<\/p>\n

Apps can be used as a prompt for teaching language and digital literacy too.<\/p>\n

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Does cost matter?<\/h2>\n

This question aroused plenty of responses. Did it matter if it was for the teacher\u2019s use, or the student\u2019s? \u00a0Most of us thought that it would be worth paying for tools if the premium version delivered a better product.<\/p>\n

@hartle\u00a0made a good point about the chance of free tools being withdrawn from the market. Or, once you are reliant on them, they could start charging. @Marisa_C worried about losing content, and @hartle\u00a0agreed as she had also lost content when tools disappeared unexpectedly.<\/p>\n

@Wiktor_K\u00a0recommended a book\u00a0http:\/\/t.co\/1156orQsL7<\/a><\/p>\n

Another problem with free tools is the amount of advertising which creeps in. @MrChrisJWilson\u00a0suggested using the adblocker plugin for chrome and added a word of warning: apps with ads drain device batteries fast!<\/p>\n

The point was made \u00a0that we often advise our students to buy a particular\u00a0course book\u00a0 so why not an app? In fact, these could be more effective, and less costly than said\u00a0course book\u00a0 It was also suggested that asking students to pay might be seen as discriminatory, so perhaps recommendations should suffice:-)<\/p>\n

@Shaunwilden\u00a0mentioned some institutions which have sets of tablets, and who are willing to pay for useful apps. For most of us that would be a dream, but the reality is that it would be more likely to hit\u00a0our\u00a0pockets. For institutions who\u00a0do\u00a0buy the tools, it is possible to get a reduction for bulk orders.<\/p>\n

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How useful are bilingual apps?<\/b><\/h2>\n

@MarjorieRosenbe\u00a0worried that they might promote laziness. @nfholloway_neil\u00a0warned against mistranslations , particularly with higher level students. @eannegrenoble\u00a0agreed, and her comment showed that she had also had some experience with dodgy translations.\u00a0Marjorie\u00a0suggested that monolingual dictionaries and corpora were also valuable tools.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/b>So what would our criteria be?<\/h1>\n