Over the next 10 years, we anticipate that personal, portable, wirelessly-networked technologies will become ubiquitous in the lives of learners — indeed, in many countries, this is already a reality. We see that ready-to-hand access creates the potential for a new phase in the evolution of technology-enhanced learning (TEL), characterized by "seamless learning spaces" and marked by continuity of the learning experience across different scenarios (or environments), and emerging from the availability of one device or more per student ("one-to-one"). One-to-one TEL has the potential to "cross
What information are virtual visitors looking for on museum Web sites? This paper is a first step in a larger investigation into the informational value of museum Web sites. Scholars, teachers, students, museums staff, and museum visitors are the main categories of visitors examined in this study. Questions were asked of these museum audiences about their use of museum Web sites, museum databases, and other aspects of virtual visits.
To date, the major emphasis of educational technology researchers has been the development and use of educational technologies within school settings. Noticeably absent has been research and considerations that focus on the home as a computer-based learning environment and potential connections between school and home learning. Given the increasing prevalence of computers in homes, the authors argue for an explicit research focus on the various ways that computers in homes can be used to create rich learning environments or extend school-based learning environments. To that end, this article
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Yasmin KafaiBarry FishmanAmy BruckmanSaul Rockman
This paper illustrates the intensified engagement that youth are having with digital technologies and introduces a framework for examining digital fluency – the competencies, new representational practices, design sensibilities, ownership, and strategic expertise that a learner gains or demonstrates by using digital tools to gather, design, evaluate, critique, synthesize, and develop digital media artifacts, communication messages, or other electronic expressions. A primary goal of this paper is to identify promising perspectives through which learning is conceptualized, and to share the
This poster provides an overview, program goals, evaluation plan, and research questions for the AISL project, Techbridge Broad Implementation: An Innovative Model to Inspire Girls in STEM Careers. The poster was presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting.
Adolescents often pursue learning opportunities both in and outside school once they become interested in a topic. In this paper, a learning ecology framework and an associated empirical research agenda are described. This framework highlights the need to better understand how learning outside school relates to learning within schools or other formal organizations, and how learning in school can lead to learning activities outside school. Three portraits of adolescent learners are shared to illustrate different pathways to interest development. Five types of self-initiated learning processes
Robotic Autonomy is a seven-week, hands-on introduction to robotics designed for high school students. The course presents a broad survey of robotics, beginning with mechanism and electronics and ending with robot behavior, navigation and remote teleoperation. During the summer of 2002, Robotic Autonomy was taught to twenty eight students at Carnegie Mellon West in cooperation with NASA/Ames (Moffett Field, CA). The educational robot and course curriculum were the result of a ground-up design effort chartered to develop an effective and low-cost robot for secondary level education and home use
Summer science programs held in university research facilities provide ideal opportunities for pre-college students to master new skills and renew, refresh, and enrich their interest in science. These types of programs have a positive impact on a student's understanding of the nature of science and scientific inquiry and can open a youngster's eyes to the many possible career opportunities in science. This paper describes a study of high school students enrolled in the Summer Science Academy program at the University of Rochester that investigates the program's impact on students' knowledge of
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Kerry KnoxJan MoynihanDina Markowitz
The Jackprot is a didactic slot machine simulation that illustrates how mutation rate coupled with natural selection can interact to generate highly specialized proteins. Conceptualized by Guillermo Paz-y-Miño C., Avelina Espinosa, and Chunyan Y. Bai (New England Center for the Public Understanding of Science, Roger Williams University and the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth), the Jackprot uses simplified slot-machine probability principles to demonstrate how mutation rate coupled with natural selection suffice to explain the origin and evolution of highly specialized proteins. The
This study was designed to contribute to a small but growing body of knowledge on the influence of gender in technology-rich collaborative learning environments. The study examined middle school students’ attitudes towards using computers and working in groups during scientific inquiry. Students’ attitudes towards technology and group work were analyzed using questionnaires. To add depth to the findings from the survey research, the role of gender was also investigated through the analysis of student conversations in the context of two activities: exploring science information on a hypertext
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Jessica GoldsteinSadhana Puntambekar
Girls and women, especially if they are people of color, supposedly do not like computer technology or science. Myriad reports and studies document their limited interest and participation in these fields, both in school and at work. This article reports some preliminary results from an after-school intervention intended to increase urban, African-American middle school girls' interest and participation in computer technology and science. The intervention program was designed by university researchers, community developers, and local residents to correspond to state curriculum content
The concern with a "digital divide" has been transformed from one defined by technological access to technological prowess--employing technologies for more empowered and generative uses such as learning and innovation. Participation in technological fluency-building activities among high school students in a community heavily involved in the technology industry was investigated in a study of 98 high school seniors enrolled in AP-level calculus. Findings indicated substantial variability in history of fluency-building experiences despite similar levels of access. More and less experienced