By Terry Freedman

Why not go through potential resources with a colleague?
Illustration by Geralt, https://pixabay.com/en/users/geralt-9301/, CC0

The following is a generic list of points to consider when trying to decide whether or not to buy/adopt a particular product. By ‘generic’ I mean that it could be used for both digital and non-digital products.

1. Will users be able to understand it?
2. What’s the layout like? Intuitive? Confusing?
3. Is the information it contains accurate, or too dumbed down to be of much use?
4. Does it meet the National Curriculum, NETSS or other requirements?
5. Is it suitable for the age range, and course?
6. Is it interesting?
7. Is it challenging?
8. Are the tasks realistic for its intended audience?
9. Is it good value for money?
10. What is the (printed) documentation like?
11. Is the on-line help good, ie both accurate and easy to navigate?
12. Does it meet equal access requirements?
13. Can it be adapted for both low and high attainers?
14. Is it expandable/scalable (ie open rather than closed)?
15. Does it have assessment built-in?
16. If the answer to #15 is ‘yes’, do you think it’s accurate?
17. What’s your gut feeling about it: good, or not?
18. Do the potential benefits of using it outweigh the extra costs – not only in terms of money but in terms of becoming familiar with it, changing the way of doing things, etc?
19. Will it work on your school’s platform?
20. Will it cause conflicts with any other software?
21. Are there any longer-term cost implications – again, not just in terms of money. For instance, if it’s a free version of a ‘freemium’ product, are you prepared to risk being held to ransom if the  free part is discontinued.

If a team is evaluating the product, you could use this list as a basis for discussion. However, that could take ages, so another option would be to turn these questions into an online survey with Yes/No answers. That will give you a score for each question, and you could then use the survey results as a basis for discussion, especially where the team is split down the middle.

This article was originally posted on the ICT & Computing in Education website.