Facilitate Communication, Connectivity and Collaboration
The following success stories, case studies, research, and evaluation reports support this vision statement.
What Role Can Online COPs - Communities of Practice - Play in Achieving Teacher Excellence?
K20 - Update on Current Research
Department of Education
The Department of Education continues to pursue an important question for closing the achievement gap: How can online communities of practice (COPs) best address some of the most pressing challenges in P-12 education? Research conducted for the Department of Education by the American Institutes for Research and five other organizations have uncovered consistent themes about how to scale-up pilot online communities and improve their quality. Some of these themes include: (a) an understanding that exclusively virtual experiences may not adequately address all professional development needs, (b) using multiple social media tools can increase teacher engagement, (c) in-depth conversations are strengthening teachers capacity to build neighborhoods of opportunity, (d) online connections play a critical role before, during, and after face-to-face meetings, (e) recognizing the value of allowing teachers to use in-school time for online professional development, and (f) online COPs offer new ways of recognizing online achievements. All of these preliminary findings and more as the project is unfolding will be published in "Connect and Inspire" over the course of 2012.
An Evaluation of a Class Web site (CWS) Tool to Increase Parental Involvement in Student Academic Life
K-12 - Research
Produced by Teachers College, Columbia University.
Conducted by V.Aluise. 2006
This study examined scenarios under which Class Web Sites (CWS) can positively impact parental involvement. The study surveyed a subset of PreK-12 teacher-users and parent-users of the CWS tool in all 50 states plus Canada and Puerto Rico. Teacher respondents were from public, private, and parochial schools with heaviest concentrations in grades PreK-8. Parents across grade levels found most helpful the teacher postings related to homework, and most parents reported increased awareness and involvement as a result of their CWS use. Teacher reports varied regarding the CWS tool's effectiveness in facilitating parent-teacher communication and increasing parental awareness and involvement. Overall there is evidence that the tool best supports parental involvement for grade 4-8 parents and teachers.
Information Technology's Impact on School-Parents and Parents-Student Interrelations: A Case Study
K-12 - Case Study
By Telem M., Pinto S. Computers & Education 47(3). 2006.
This paper examines the impact of a school management information system on the way in which parents interact with a school and their children by measuring student learning, behavior, and attendance (LBA). The study tracks students in a vocational high school in a mainstream socioeconomic neighborhood over the course of one year. The results indicate that parental interactions with school personnel increased and student behavior changed noticeably especially among those with LBA problems. The paper's results add the information technology dimension to parents' involvement in school research, a dimension neglected to date.
The Utah Education Network reaches more teachers faster with professional-quality training and support.
K-12 Education - Case Study
Produced by Adobe, Inc.
Utah established the Utah Education Network as a state-wide initiative with the goal of providing training and technical assistance to the more than 22,000 K-12 teachers in the state's public schools. While the network did help educators in Utah, it was not optimally efficient and cost-effective. The UEN began using Adobe Connect and Captivate to help streamline teachers' websites, correspondence, and training. The network now allows teachers to easily communicate and engage in professional training regardless of computer literacy and comfort levels.
Using a game environment to foster collaborative learning: a design-based study
K-12 - Research
Technology, Pedagogy and Education, Volume 20(1). Raija Hämäläinen. 2011.
The aim of the empirical study is to determine, firstly, what kinds of design elements were essential from the point of view of the collaboration, and secondly, what kinds of discussions students engage in during the game. In this study, three essential features of design elements stood out. Firstly, the scripted tasks have to require true collaboration. Secondly, curricular-specific learning tasks are essential. And, finally, it is beneficial if the game design addresses aspects of vocational work in a manner that would not be possible in traditional classroom settings.
Computer-Mediated Peer-to-Peer Mentoring
Postsecondary - Research
Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education Journal, Volume 14 (2).
Conducted by F.Cavallaro and K.Tan. 2006.
This pilot study examined an online collaborative writing project carried out between writing classes from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Polytechnic (SP). The pilot tested a peer-to-peer mentoring system's success in establishing asynchronous and synchronous communication. The results from this pilot study were very promising and show that students were extremely motivated and produced high quality work. The authors conclude that well planned and implemented mentoring projects are possible through the electronic medium and can be quite effective.
Georgia State University contributes a powerful building block to a supercomputing grid.
Postsecondary - Case Study
Produced by IBM Corporation
Georgia State University is a research university with an enrollment over 50,000 located in urban Atlanta, Georgia. As part of the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA), the university helped develop a shared computing grid called SURAgrid for research. Part of their support to the program was the deployment of a powerful computing system using IBM cluster nodes and storage systems. With this new system, Georgia State University has been able to donate more processing power and help their researchers by providing faster computing, safe data backup, and quick data retrieval.
How Asynchronous Discussion Boards Mediate Learning Literacy Methods Courses to Enrich Alternative-Licensed Teachers' Learning Experiences
Postsecondary - Research
Journal of Research on Technology in Education, Volume 43 (1). Conducted by L. Ajayi. 2010.
This study explores alternative-licensed teachers' views of how an asynchronous discussion board mediated their preparation to teach literacy through methods courses. Forty-four alternative-licensed teachers were taught literacy teaching methods using the asynchronous discussion hoard as a tool of extending learning. Each participant responded to a survey and wrote a six-page reflection to summarize his/her views of the role of the asynchronous discussion board in learning to teach literacy. This article includes a discussion of the implications of the findings. (This is a paid product for non-ISTE members at $5)
Use of social web technologies by international and domestic undergraduate students: implications for internationalizing learning and teaching in Australian universities
Postsecondary Research
Technology, Pedagogy and Education, Volume 19(1). Kathleen G
ray, Shanton Change and Gregor Kennedy. 2010.
The paper reports on two studies: the first, conducted at a large Australian university, investigated differences between international and domestic undergraduate students' (n = 1973) use of web-based technologies and tools; the second investigation reports on interviews with eight Australian and eight Singaporean university students about their use and perceptions of blogs and blogging. The findings from two studies provide new evidence of both cultural similarities and cultural differences in aspects of young university students' use of social software for communication and content creation.
Adobe Success Story: School District of Palm Beach County
K-12 Education - Case Study
Produced by Adobe
With Adobe software, Florida teachers of Palm Beach County have found a solution that helps students meet standards and reach benchmarks, establish meaningful connections with other students while preparing them for the 21st century. Through the software teachers can create more engaging and effective instruction and the school administration is empowered by industry-leading communication tools providing a tool for preparing students to accomplish their goals.
Irving Independent School District Priority: Supporting a One-to-One Laptop Initiative
K-12 Education - Case Study
Produced by Blackboard K-12
The Irving Independent School District implemented a one-to-one laptop initiative to augment their face-to-face classroom instruction with digital resources. At the same time, Irving selected Blackboard Learn™, a robust course delivery and collaboration platform for K-12 schools and districts, as the method for distributing academic content to its student via these new laptops.
Blackboard and Tulane University: Creating a Virtual Campus
Postsecondary - Case Study
Produced by Blackboard
Read how Tulane University continued their vision for a collaborative environment and virtual campus following Hurricane Katrina. By utilizing Blackboard's e-Learning solutions the university has supported their goal of "delivering technology solutions, that are secure, dependable, and sustainable yet flexible."
Reach Students Where They Live and Learn: Howard University Case Study
Postsecondary - Case Study
Produced by ConnectYard
Read how Howard University's Capstone Institute implemented ConnectYard to leverage social networking tools to increase connections between students and the university community.
Blackboard & The University of Cincinnati
Postsecondary - Case Study
Produced by Blackboard
Read about the University of Cincinnati's innovative use of Blackboard's full platform for engaging and assessing students both inside and outside courses; leveraging the Blackboard solution to change the way the university does business.
Blackboard & The University of Southern Mississippi
Postsecondary - Case Study
Produced by Blackboard
Learn how Blackboard Consulting is helping USM reach its online goals of admitting more students into its online programs, graduating more students from them, and bringing needed revenue into the university at a time of real financial need.
