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In this chapter we describe the evaluation of Web-based open and distance learning programs in a more technical manner. First of all we discuss some general theoretical issues that are of importance regarding Web-based ODL environments, such as the communication channel between the participating entities, the issue of learnability and the overall evaluation of such an environment. Then we introduce the principles of educational evaluation, of interface evaluation in general and of expert-based approaches in particular, and we compare the empirical and expert-based methodologies. Finally we present the heuristic evaluation, in its initial form as well as in its Web-adapted variation. The main objectives of the chapter are to prove the applicability of the method in the Web in general and in ODL environments in particular and to investigate the appropriate heuristic list, which can assess the usability and the learnability of such an environment.

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The study of the motivational factor in educational games (aka EduGames) has been limited up to now. A former study (Karoulis, 2004) discussed some aspects and proposed the adherence to the ARCS model of motivation proposed by Keller (Keller, 1983; Keller, 1998), which describes the motivation of any educational piece according to four factors: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. Present study attempts to summarize the attributes of any EduGame, as they are encountered in the relative literature (including representations) and to match every one of those attributes to one (or more) of the ARCS-factors of motivation. The benefit of this approach is a better understanding of the motivational nature of every attribute of every EduGame and an obvious extension is the evolvement of a set of design guidelines for designers of EduGames and educational software in general.

________________________________________________________________________This article presents the results of the evaluation study of the Augmented Representation of Cultural Objects (ARCO) system which provides software and interface tools to museum curators for the development of virtual museum exhibitions for the World Wide Web or for information kiosks. The aim of the current research is to investigate how a virtual museum system is coping with the demands of museum curators, to examine the needs of virtual museum visitors, and to provide a set of criteria and guidelines for defining effective evaluation of such systems. Εvaluation methods such as heuristic evaluation and walkthroughs were employed in the study in order to assess various components and interfaces of the system.