Evaluation

Polonoli, in his article, "What Makes Educational Software Educational?" states that four basic principles that all quality educational software has in common are:  

1. An adherence to the learning theory, including behavioural and cognitive theory. 
2. The employment of gaming features. 
3. Culturally sensitive content. 
4. The elicitation of an emotional response from the learner. Along with this, a brief discussion of the instructor's responsibility in using software is presented. 

I am of the view that Quizizz's software has met all the relevant criteria, making it educational software. It is an inclusive attempt to employ various skills/ knowledge levels and abilities to all that use it. The endless amount of educational, gaming software available that instructs on basic principles such as Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, History and Foreign Languages. Quizizz ranks highly as it allows the user to problem solve, communicate and it also builds on cooperation skills. This type of software is extremely adaptable to almost any teaching environment - from primary to university, novice to expert, cognitive to behavioural, and from the physical classroom to the virtual classroom. The content, however, lacks cultural relevance, as there are hardly any Barbadian exercises. Quizizz has even received a stamp of approval  from the ISTE Standards. Click the link to read the entire article. Quizizz earns the ISTE seal

I evaluated Quizizz as a Learning tool using the SAMR model. This is what I concluded.

Evaluation Rubric 

I was able to evaluate Quizizz using an Academic Software Rubric from the "My education kit" compliments of the Teaching and Learning with Technology article. Below are my findings.

ACADEMIC SOFTWARE EVALUATION RUBRIC

Software:   Quizizz (for Schools)

Description:  Quizziz is a student engagement, online assessment piece of          

                     software. The software includes gamification functionality. Quizizz  

                      allows for increased student engagement, customizable assessments, data- driven insights and feedback is immediate.

 Vendor:   Quizizz Inc

Notes on Use:  Quizizz allows teachers and students to practice through quizzes on computers, smartphones, and tablets. This interactive learning software uses materials such as leaderboards, live videos, lessons, live chat, and more. Students are provided with a unique access code. Quizzes can be presented live as a timed competition or used for homework with a specific deadline.

Name of Participant: Stacia Springer

 

SOFTWARE FEATURES	1 Poor	2 Below Average	3 Average	4 Above Average	5 Excellent	Score
Documentation	Documentation is excessively technical and/or difficult to follow	Documentation is generally understandable but not very user friendly	Documentation is easy to follow and understand; includes all necessary components	Clear documentation that is logical and easy to follow	Very clear easy to read, logical and complete documentation	4
Site License	No licensing available	Site licenses are available but limited to limited options	Site license available at reasonable cost	Special, low site licensing pricing for education	Educators may use for free without a site license	5
Installation	Complex to install; poor installation instructions	Installation somewhat difficult; instructions minimal	Installation process typical; instructions fairly clear and complete	Easy to install, clear easy to understand instructions	Self-installation: step by step instructions included	5
Technical Support	No toll-free telephone or online support available	No local support or online support. Phone support available for an hourly rate	Local support and phone support are available for moderate fee. Limited online support	Local tech help is available for a few hours per day, with no-charge phone support. Online support is available	Local help and free phone support readily available at no charge. 24 hours online support	2
Help Features	No online or text-based help available	A read Me text file is included; no online help	Online help is context sensitive and provides clear assistance	Automatic online help available for every feature, online chat  available for 12 hours	Automatic online help available for every feature, online chat available for 24 hours	4
Grade Level	Not suited for intended grade level	Some features unsuitable for intended grade level	Majority of features suitable for intended grade level	Most features appropriate and suitable for intended grade level	All features both suitable and appropriate for grade level	5
Standards	Does not address target standards	Few standards addressed; Many standards ignored	A majority of the standards are addressed	Most of the desired standards are addressed	All of the target standards and others are addressed	4
Active Learning	Interaction is passive; no active learning encouraged	Interaction mostly passive; a few active learning activities included	Interaction offers average learning opportunities; some activities too passive	Good active interaction provided through a majority of hardware	Students are actively engaged during all components of software	5
Save Features	Students cannot interrupt and save work	Student work can be saved to external storage, but it cannot be reused	Students can save their work to continue working on it in the future	Automatically saves the student’s work when the program is closed	Both automatically and manually, student’s work can be saved and restarted at the same point later	2
Hardware Compatibility	Works on relatively few available computers; requires additional hardware	Works at several machines; requires upgrade to some available computers	Will work on most machines with minimal or no hardware upgrades or additions	Works on most available machines without hardware upgrades or additions	Works on all available machines without hardware upgrades or additions	5
Cost	High-cost relative to features	Somewhat expensive relative to features	Average cost for features offered	Reasonably priced with numerous features for the cost	Special low pricing for educational users for abundant features	4

                                          Total = 45/55        81.8%

Extracted from myeducation kit- Teaching and Learning with Technology

Evaluation:  Quizizz for schools is a powerful and interactive academic software, that offers a variety of benefits for both  teachers and students. It is user friendly and the Basic package is free. Quizizz can be used simultaneously by multiple users, and it is simple to manipulate. Even though tutorial and technical support is available there is no local support here in Barbados to assist users. Students can actively engage with the platform, and it is suited for all grade levels. I would recommend Quizizz as a reliable Academic Software to be used in the teaching/ learning process, whether face-to-face or online. The basic version, which is very effective, is free of cost. This software is sufficient in most to all categories. Adoption of this product is encouraged as it meets the needs of its users. has shown it effectiveness especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though connectivity plays an important role in its execution, I highly recommend Quizizz as an excellent Academic Software tool for engaging students and I believe it should be integrated in the classroom, whether to be used face-to-face or through online learning.