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In this Editorial, we stay committed to the objective of the Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice regarding sharing, evaluating, and developing stronger evidence-based practice papers by focusing on the topic of national and institutional student evaluations. We create an important theoretical and practical foundation for authors considering publishing with our Journal on studies that utilise student surveys as their primary method of data collection. The editorial begins by providing a comprehensive overview of the history and emergence of student evaluations dating back to medieval times, we trace the evolution of student evaluations to present day looking at the rationale behind the induction of such tools. Following this, we discuss the validity of student evaluations through an exploration of factors such as student satisfaction, the timing of when student surveys are administered, and the idiosyncrasies regarding paper-based and online evaluations. We then further discuss the reliability of student evaluations by contextualising what student evaluations do not say and uncover how various forms of bias can influence the ways student evaluations are both completed and interpreted. Through this we assert that due to confounding factors of bias that influence the results of student evaluations, they cannot always be thought of as wholly objective data collection tools. This then leads into our discussion of the contemporary social contexts within which student evaluations are situated and how both micro and macro dynamics influence student experiences of teaching and learning, where we contest that broader external factors experienced by students can skew the ways teaching is both perceived and evaluated. We conclude our Editorial by critically envisioning a new direction for future manuscript submissions to our Journal. We assert that although the use of student evaluations as evidence of teaching practice may be inherently flawed, there nonetheless remains merit in their use following critical and reflexive engagement throughout the research process. As such, we are hopeful that our critical review of student evaluation-based scholarship may be utilised to leverage higher quality research output.

The present study aimed at investigating attitudes of home science students at Khartoum University toward using the MOODLE Learning Management System as electronic resource in teaching English for Science. English for Science is an 8 hour university required curriculum taught to all university science students. A group of 39 students registered for their first university required courses in the second semester of the university year 2012/2013 in the Faculty of Education were asked to assess their skills and attitudes, before using Moodle as an open source learning management system, internet-based resources in learning English for Scientific & Academic Purposes and after 14 weeks experience. The results show that participants have positive towards using technology for learning English language ; moreover the teaching methodology which integrates face-to-face teaching and Moodle Environments have positive impacts on changing participants` attitudes towards using technology for teaching English at Khartoum University. The study concluded that using and integrating virtual learning environments will accelerate the educational process and enhance better affective learning outcomes.

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