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Ongoing Evaluation Project The School of Education at Victoria University provides a research team for the ongoing evaluation of the Computer for Every Child (CFEC) project. The CFEC evaluation thus far has captured valid and reliable data and outlined recommendations and enabled improved practices and cost-saving to occur in the ongoing roll-out of the computers. The research team consists of:
The CFEC project has a strong community focus and consequently it is essential that all participants feel they are empowered and valued in the overall process. The research process involves a two stage process that incorporates both quantitative and qualitative methods to ensure valid and reliable research findings. Baseline evidence is collected from new users in the program followed by further data collection procedures at later stages. A comparative analysis occurs between users from CFEC’s Phase 1 and Phase 2 cohorts. Longitudinal data is also collected. This occurs by following up on previously obtained baseline evidence from Phase one participants. This process will ensure longitudinal data about the ongoing access and usage from early users of CFEC supplied resources. Information gained via the case studies illustrates that once access to computer use is provided the students and their families primarily use the computer for discovering what is available on the Internet, playing games that come with the computer, (e.g. Solitaire ) and using it for homework tasks that require the use of a word processor. However, as time proceeds one of our goals is to ensure that the quality of this use is scrutinized so that we are confident that children from disadvantaged homes are afforded the same opportunities to build higher order thinking skills that their more affluent counterparts. |
