SciLOET: A Framework for Assessing Digital Learning Objects for Science Education

Abstract

There is a growing interest in Open Educational Resources building up in the last decade. Among them Digital Learning Objects (DLOs) attract the interest of educational research and practice as there is evidence that they have a positive effect on learning. Especially in Science Education, DLOs are considered as important tools to support achieving high-level learning outcomes. Evaluation of DLOs is critical. A handful of tools are available, but they are too generic. There seems to be a lack of evaluation methods and tools specifically for Science Education DLOs. This work presents the SciLOET (Science Learning Objects Evaluation Tool), a DLOs' evaluation tool specialized in Science Education. The tool is meant mainly to be used by teachers who are in the process of evaluating, selecting, and using DLOs in their teaching. It could also prove useful for education researchers who design empirical studies and instructional interventions with DLOs. The SciLOET evaluates four dimensions of DLOs, namely content quality, teaching effectiveness, design, and documentation. Each one of these dimensions, consists of a series of questions.

Education and New Developments 2022 – Volume 2

“…In recent years, several frameworks, methodologies, and tools have been developed or proposed for ensuring quality of OERs. Among them, we mention the widely-used LORI (Learning Object Review Instrument) (Leacock & Nesbit, 2007) and LOEM (Learning Object Evaluation Metric) (Kay & Knaack, 2008), both focusing on Learning Objects; the OERTrust framework (Almendro and Silveira, 2018) which recognizes the pedagogical, content-oriented, and technical dimensions in verifying and assuring OER quality; and the SciLOET evaluation tool (Mikropoulos & Papachristos, 2021), which specializes on Learning Objects for Science Education. (Camilleri et al, 2014) provide an overview and analysis of quality issues related to OERs.…”

A QUALITY ASSURANCE FRAMEWORK FOR OERs BASED ON QUALITY SEALS AND THE PHOTODENTRO SEALS REPOSITORY

“…In recent years, several frameworks, methodologies, and tools have been developed or proposed for ensuring quality of OERs. Among them, we mention the widely-used LORI (Learning Object Review Instrument) (Leacock & Nesbit, 2007) and LOEM (Learning Object Evaluation Metric) (Kay & Knaack, 2008), both focusing on Learning Objects; the OERTrust framework (Almendro and Silveira, 2018) which recognizes the pedagogical, content-oriented, and technical dimensions in verifying and assuring OER quality; and the SciLOET evaluation tool (Mikropoulos & Papachristos, 2021), which specializes on Learning Objects for Science Education. (Camilleri et al, 2014) provide an overview and analysis of quality issues related to OERs.…”