Educational technology has the potential to innovate pedagogy, but the focus on instructor and student perceptions of tools, and the lack of rigorous and relevant evidence of effectiveness has resulted in false starts and frustrations. In 2017, with the development of their next generation platform Achieve, Macmillan Learning established an innovative approach to demonstrating efficacy.

Through partnership with educators like Solina Lindahl and experts like Thanos Patelis they began building a valid and reliable body of evidence beginning with learning science foundations through to quasi-experimental study designs. The results have been both educationally significant – that using Achieve can help close skills gaps between less academically prepared students and their more academically prepared peers, and practically significant – offering instructors insight into how to implement Achieve to best effect in their educational context.

The series of studies and approach to transparency has value for any university making decisions about which learning tools to use, and how to use them to best effect in their educational context. Topics covered in this webinar include:

• What evidence decision-makers should look for when investing in digital technology

• Strategies for partnering with educators and students to develop evidence that pushes beyond perception toward learning outcomes

• How rigorous, reliable, and relevant evidence can enhance teaching and improve learning

• Building trust through effective peer-review and transparency