CHOOSING A COMPUTER-BASED INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT SYSTEM - AN EVALUATION SELECTION MODEL

"Administrators' verbalizations to their staff about the virtues and advantages of computer use may well fall on deaf ears, unless the staff can observe that administrators themselves practice what they preach". The use of computers for instructional support provides just such an opportunity and in areas that have a significant impact on learning. The successful implementation of computerized student information management, for example, can provide an excellent model for a school since it impacts upon the entire staff. A great deal of attention has been focused on the evaluation of instructional software comparatively little, however has been directed towards the evaluation and selection of instructional support systems. Since the implementation of computerized student information management will almost certainly have profound and long-term impact on a school, the importance of a well conceived evaluation and selection process cannot be overemphasized. Using student information management as an example, the following article describes a comprehensive yet highly flexible model for the evaluation and selection on instructional systems in general. The model, which was employed in the evaluation and selection of information management systems for Edmonton Public Schools, maximizes the perspectives of the user. © 1990.