Evaluation of Online Higher Education ― Learning, Interaction and Technology

The work presents a theoretical framework for the evaluation of e-Teaching that aims at positioning the online activities designed and developed by the teacher as to the Learning, Interaction and Technology Dimensions.

The theoretical research that underlies the study was developed reflecting current thinking on the promotion of quality of teaching and of the integration of information and communication tools into the curriculum in Higher Education (HE), i.e., bearing in mind some European guidelines and policies on this subject. This way, an answer was sought to be given to one of the aims put forward in this study, namely to contribute towards the development of a conceptual framework to support research on evaluation of e-teaching in the context of HE. Based on the theoretical research carried out, an evaluation tool (SCAI) was designed, which integrates the two questionnaires developed to collect the teachers' and the students' perceptions regarding the development of e-activities. Consequently, an empirical study was structured and carried out, allowing SCAI tool to be tested and validated in real cases. From the comparison of the theoretical framework established and the analysis of the data obtained, we found that the differences in teaching should be valued and seen as assets by HE institutions rather than annihilated in a globalizing perspective.

Ana Balula is lecturer and researcher at Agueda School of Technology and Management – University of Aveiro, Portugal. She holds a Ph.D. in Multimedia in Education and is an integrated member of the Research Centre "Didactics and Technology in Education of Trainers" and a team member of the research Project “The Use of Communication Technologies in the Portuguese Higher Education”, granted by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology. She also participates in national and international scientific committees. Her research interests are in the areas of e-learning, b-learning, e-assessment, evaluation of e-teaching, online interaction strategies, ICT use in Higher Education, educational technology.

Antonio Moreira holds a PhD in Foreign Languages Teaching Methodologies and his research interests include e-learning, Web 2.0 tools and services and Cognitive Flexibility Theory and its applications in education and training. He has published various articles, book chapters and books, both as a single author and coauthor and supervised dozens of MA dissertations, PhD theses and Post-Doctoral projects. He also founded the online journal Indagatio Didactica and coordinated research Laboratories and Competence Centers and European and national projects, also acting as external evaluator for some of them. He belongs to various national and international Journal editorial and scientific committees. He is, at present, the Head of the Department of Education, at the University of Aveiro, Portugal.