SECTIONS Model – Assessing Technologies in the Classroom

The SECTIONS Model is an applicable framework that educators can use to evaluate the effectiveness of applying a certain technology in their classrooms. SECTIONS specifically refers to 8 different areas: Students, Ease of use, Costs, Teaching & Media, Interactivity, Organizational issues, Networking and Security & Privacy.

Inquiry, creative thinking and digital literacy have gained significant importance in the classroom and are playing a larger role in education. As an educator, it is thus essential to recognize the importance of integrating digital technologies in the classroom. A common question remains : How can educators evaluate and select the most appropriate technology to use in their classroom?

Using the SECTIONS MODEL by Bates and Poole, can help guide the instructor since it was designed to “facilitate decisions with regard to choice of technology at both the strategic and the tactical level, and also to help decide within a particular technology the most appropriate balance between different media” (Bates & Poole,2003, p.79-80). This makes SECTIONS a great tool to use to support decision making on technologies in the classroom.

Based on the handout provided by UBC Wiki, the process of using SECTIONS can be summarized as:

1. Define

In this step, instructors should think about what they want their students to learn, what kind of activities they wish to use, and what technology can they integrate into their approach.

2. Assess

Instructors can use the SECTIONS model as a checklist to assess the technology that they are thinking of using in the former step to see if it aligns with their goals.

3. Implement

After assessing the technology, it is time for the instructor to implement it in the classroom. Allow students time to engage with the technology and let them help you with the evaluation process.

4. Refine

Refine your approach based on the reflections you obtained from your students and your own self-reflection of the implementation process.

Want more support in using SECTIONS to evaluate technologies? Click here to look at the UBC Wiki handout – Assessing Technologies!