This document provides guidance on evaluating educational apps. It discusses why evaluation is important given the large number of apps available. It recommends looking at reviews but also getting expert opinions. Rubrics are suggested to evaluate apps based on relevance, customization, feedback, thinking skills, engagement, and sharing. A checklist is also provided covering app purpose, content, design, accessibility, costs, and updates. Several sample rubrics are described that can help systematically evaluate apps. The goal is to help teachers identify apps that best support student learning needs.

1. Ways to Evaluate Apps
Tony Vincent
Exclusively Summarized by: Hady Sutris Winarlim
for IMOOC Participants

2. Why is it important to evaluate apps?
It is very important to be able to evaluate apps
because there are too many apps out there, and
we are confronted with choices. Some of them
are good, some bad. Even the good ones might
not serve our needs. Or those good ones might
serve our needs, but the entry level is too high
for our students to be able to benefit from it.

3. How do we evaluate apps?
We can simply look at the review of the apps, but
it is not the most preferable way since those who
give the review might only consider one or two
aspects, but not the others.
On the other hand, we can look for experts’ views.
Last but not least, we should be able to do it
ourselves.

4. What can we use to evaluate apps?
•We can use rubrics.
•Tony Vincent has developed a
number or rubrics that can be
used for a wide span of purposes.

5. The key words for evaluating apps
• Relevance
The app’s focus has a strong connection to the
purpose for the app and appropriate for the
student
• Customization
App offers complete flexibility to alter content
and settings to meet student needs
• Feedback
Student is provided specific feedback

6. The key words for evaluating apps
• Thinking Skills
App encourages the use of higher order thinking
skills including creating, evaluating, and
analyzing
• Engagement
Student is highly motivated to use the app
• Sharing
Specific performance summary or student
product is saved in app and can be exported to
the teacher or for an audience

7. The key words for evaluating apps
• An app’s rubric score is very dependent on the
intended purpose and student needs.
• Apps that score low may still be good apps. But,
it is handy to score apps if you are making
purchasing decisions and/or have multiple apps
to choose from.

8. Checklist
Here are the checklist to help justify if an app is
the app that we really need and can use to
encourage and support our students’ learning:
• Use of app is relevant to the purpose and student
needs
• Help or tutorial is available in the app
• Content is appropriate for the student
• Information is error-free, factual, and reliable
• Content can be exported, copied, or printed

9. Checklist
• App’s settings and/or content can be customized
• Customized content can be transferred to other
devices
• History is kept of student use of the app
• Design of app is functional and visually
stimulating
• Student can exit app at any time without losing
progress

10. Checklist
• Works with accessibility options like Voice Over
and Speak Selection
• App is free of charge
• No in-app purchases are necessary for intended
use of app
• App loads quickly and does not crash
• App contains no advertising

11. Checklist
• App has been updated in the last 6 months
• App promotes creativity and imagination
• App provides opportunities to use higher order
thinking skills
• App promotes collaboration and idea sharing
• App provides useful feedback

12. Some rubrics
In the paper, you will find a number of rubrics.
You can make use of any of them. Not all of them
are Tony Vincent’s work. The rubrics you can
find are:
• Education App Evaluation Rubric.
• Educational App Evaluation Checklist.
• Critical Evaluation of an iPad/iPod App by
Kathy Schrock.

13. Some rubrics
• The Mobile App Review Checklist from Palm
Beach County Schools and Edudemic.com. ,
providing a yes/no checklist within Curriculum
Compliance, Operational, and Pedagogy
categories.
• Mobile Application Selection Rubric from
eSkillsLearning.net, a simple chart with criteria
like aligned to Common Core Standards, Levels
of Difficulty, and Various Modes of Play.

14. Some rubrics
• iEvaluate Apps for Special Needs, a detailed
rubric specific for selecting apps for students
with special needs by Jeannette Van Houten.
• iPad App Assessment Rubric for Librarians
from the Chicago Public Schools Department of
Libraries which is a Google Forms template
which can be used use to collect app
assessments.

15. Some rubrics
• Rubric for teachers to assess the technology
integration across five elements of meaningful
learning environments.
• Rubric for teachers to assess the technology
integration across five elements of meaningful
learning environments with detailed
explanations, videos, and lessons.

16. Closing
We do hope that after reading the paper, you will
have learned how to assess the widely available
apps in the market to decide which one(s) works
best for you and your students.
Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together
and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.
Bill Gates