Knowledge Management and Online Learning Communities. Our CILTKN portal for learning scientists supported over 10,000 users, and allowed rapid dissemination of scientific and practical information about the learning technologies research and development field. The system made use of VLTIs (Very Low Threshold Interfaces) and permitted study of incentives and systems for user-contributed, user-maintained repositories of scholarly information.
Building and Measuring Social Capital. In partnership with sociologists,
evaluators, policy researchers, and K-12 schools, we are identifying
ways to measure community
among teachers and principals, and support people in finding and disseminating
expertise by better understanding their own social networks.
Collaboratories and Research Accelerators. Through field studies and supportive
technologies, we are building and studying an “educational accelerator” that
allows researchers, teachers, technologists, and scientists to collaborate
on the design of learning environments for K-12 science education.
Socially-Relevant Representations in Interfaces for Learning. How do people
interpret the social context of online environments? In this series of
experiments, we are examining how different representations of social
cues in interfaces
can support learning, and indvidual differences among people in terms of
how “socially” they
view online experiences.
Design-based Research and Design Studies. Previously,
our group helped found the tradition of design-based research, or empirical
research on human systems
through deliberate design and study of use-in-context. Currently, we are
doing a comparative analysis of design knowledge in a variety of disciplines
(architecture,
engineering, interface design, product design, and instructional design),
with the aim of improving design of technologies for learning and collaboration.
Culturally sensitive technology. We have begun work on a project to use
culturally-sensitive and context-appropriate technologies to empower
children in remote Himalayan
villages to communicate across nations and work to understand problems
of ecological sustainability through environmental education. Research
goals
include studying
educational uses of ICT in developing nations, understanding the relationship
between indigenous and exogenous knowledge in learning, and designing
to support cross-cultural communication.
Teaching Design. In a nationally recognized experimental design studio,
we are both developing innovative ways to teach educational technology
design
and to study design education. Teams of undergraduates and graduate
students from multiple colleges of the university work together on
educational
software design projects. Current research focuses on the effectiveness
of the CPC
design framework and ontologies of design knowledge.