Rubric Evaluation

In my Technology class we were asked to talk about two different types of App evaluations. One was created by Katy Schrock and the second one by Harry Walker. Although the purpose of both of them was to help us evaluate how helpful an app is in the classroom, their approaches were totally different. I personally did not like the “Evaluation Rubric for IPod Apps” by Harry Walker. It seems very limiting, and simplistic. It provides a numerical rating with a description of what that specific number will represent. Well, what about if my 3 is more like a 4 for certain students or other educators? Apps can be used for many different purposes and different instructional levels; therefore, rating an app with one number does not seem to be the correct way to evaluate it. Although the domains covered (curriculum connection, authenticity, feedback, differentiation, user friendliness, student motivation) in this rubric seemed pertinent to evaluate an app, the numerical rating and its rigidity make this a poor rubric evaluation. The other evaluation created by Kathleen Schrock on the other hand, takes a more holistic approach to the app evaluation. It takes into consideration many different aspects such as the level of Bloom’s taxonomy being addressed, age appropriateness, title, content and grade level. In addition, it provides the educator an opportunity to input comments and brainstorm on different uses for it. This evaluation in addition to covering the same six domains that the previous rubric evaluation does, it also has four additional parts that provide useful information when deciding if an app will work to enrich your lesson or not. I believe the use of an evaluation rubric is very helpful to navigate the process of deciding what app to use, when to use it, what students are going to be exposed to it, and when in your lesson would it be a good time to integrate this technology. Additionally, it helps the educator to create a mental checklist of what is needed.