Title: Design Space Survey for Ubiquitous Learning Technology
PIs: Eric Domeshek, Stottler Henke Association, Inc.; Ron Abate, Cleveland State University
Other collaborating institutions: Hudson, MA Public Schools; Casio, Inc.; NCSA University of Illinois; Hewlett Packard, Inc.; Texas Region III ESC
The goal of this project is to promote the development of ubiquitous computing technology appropriate to the needs of educational settings, and to learning environments more generally. At the CILT2000 conference there was repeated discussion in plenary sessions touching on the importance of affordable ubiquitous computing tools for learners, and of industry's failure (to date) to provide them. Industry representatives said they had difficulty determining what sort of market there might be, and what features would be needed. For their part, educators often do not understand what industry might be capable of producing (in what time frame, and at what price).
An initial online group discussion of constraints on ubiquitous learning technology was conducted. Despite concerted effort on the part of the principal investigators, participation in this discussion was minimal. Other discussions on the technology and administrative aspects of such ubiquitous systems were scheduled but lack of interest lead to the cancellation of these discussions.
The most successful aspect of the project was a study of thirty K-12 teachers conducted at Cleveland State University. The purpose of this study was to identify baseline conditions related to the physical context and work environment of the 'traditional' classroom. Information was sought regarding learning activities, instructional use of existing technologies by teachers and students, and a physical inventory of the classroom environment. This research first sought to identify learning and instructional activities common across K-12 grade levels, and second, the extent to which technology was incorporated into these activities. A third component considered whether relationships exist between the physical environment of the classroom and the use of current educational technologies and what impact these relationships might suggest for the design of educational technology. Previously documented obstacles to integration, such as accessibility, professional development, and teacher time, were accounted for within the three components. Finally, understanding the context of the work environment suggests observation and interaction with teacher practitioners. Using this line of reasoning we examined teacher perceptions regarding the design of technological tools for the 'standard' classroom environment.
We have collected a vast amount of quantitative and qualitative data on the K-12 teachers. This data collection would not have occurred without the support of the CILT seed grant. The survey data has been entered into spreadsheets. We have purchased SPSS and the data will be transferred for analysis. To date, the analysis of the qualitative data has been cursory. We are categorizing the classroom inventory and observation data with the hope of identifying trends in responses. One of the principal investigators plans to use the baseline information collected by the seed grant to continue work in the area of ubiquitous computing in the 'standard' classroom environment.
Title: Pervasive Computing Solutions for Bridging Learning Communities
PI: William Barnett, The Field Museum, Chicago
Other collaborating institutions: Norfolk, Virginia Public Schools; The City College of New York; University of California, Santa Cruz; Center for Children and Technology; Center of Educational Technology, Israel
During the first phase of the seed grant (December 2000 through May 2001), the group identified funding opportunities and defined the project strategy. This was accomplished through online communication using eProject primarily. During this phase, we identified the IERI (Interagency Education Research Initiative) program as a target program for our planning grant proposal.
The second phase of the project was to conduct a grant-planning workshop on May 30 and 31, 2001 in Concord, Massachusetts at the offices of the Concord Consortium. The goal of the workshop was to identify a clear project, select project partners, and develop a grant plan for submission to IERI. The workshop was attended by the following: The Field Museum (William Barnett, Jennifer Eagleton, Mark Larson); City College of New York (Ellen Smiley, Ellen Goldstein); Center of Educational Technology, Israel (Dalia Sternberg); The Concord Consortium (Bob Tinker, Carolyn Staudt); and Center for Children and Technology (Daniel Light). These organizations represent expertise in informal science education, the discipline of education, educational technology, and educational assessment. They also represent an international geographic spread. These organizations and individuals are partnering in the proposal, a copy of which will be sent under separate cover when complete.
The goal of the proposed project is to plan the broad outlines of a multi-institution research project to assess the impact of using low-cost portable educational devices on students' complex science learning. We propose to develop a framework for evaluating portable computing solutions that serves students, teachers, museum educators, and other targeted learning communities.