Assessing the Design of Instructional Software

Abstract

The EDUCOM/NCRIPTAL Higher Education Software Awards program was established to foster the development of high-quality instructional software. Achieving this goal entails the creation and dissemination of criteria for software evaluation, identification of specific software of sound design, and the granting of rewards to developers who might not otherwise receive support for their work. This article describes the rationale for procedures and evaluative criteria used in the first year of the awards program. The criteria constitute a coherent and theoretically grounded evaluative framework for software developers as well as researchers and educators who study or select educational software.

Keywords:

• instructional design
• software evaluation