Pasnik sums up issues in Education Daily

"Schools are complex environments and learning is complex and messy," CCT director Shelley Pasnik was quoted as saying in a recent article in Education Daily. "For some teachers, for example, technology is a great way to give a better lecture; and for others it's a great way to really break down the classroom's wall and explore, and have kids pose questions about the world they live in." The article, "Parents Dissatisfied with Technology in Schools," describes an assessment released this week by Project Tomorrow. The study found widespread disagreement between parents and educators as to whether technology is being effectively integrated into the learning environment.

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Brunner comments featured in Education Week article on girls and videogames

In "Getting Girls into Games," Cornelia Brunner, deputy director of CCT, was asked why it's taken so long to develop videogames that appeal to female players. Girls enjoy games with lots of interaction between characters and their environment, Brunner says, and that "requires a much more sophisticated technology, more sophisticated algorithms. It's only in recent years that technology itself has made it possible for us to create those kinds of games."

Read the Education Week article

Hupert discusses technology’s effect on schoolchildren

“I don’t believe technology can make someone dumber or smarter. Depending on how you use it, your outcome varies,” CCT senior researcher Naomi Hupert was quoted as saying in “Is Technology ‘Dumbing Down’ Our Kids?” an article on tvoParents.com. The article asks whether technology is having a negative impact on the way children learn to communicate, read, and write. Hupert points out that, in fact, technology can be an especially valuable learning tool for children with ADD-like symptoms.

Read the tvoParents.com article

Light's Perspective on Laptop Programs Receives Attention in Science, Scientific American

Posted: January 14, 2009
Science has published an article co-authored by CCT senior research scientist Daniel Light and colleague Andrew Zucker, a senior research with the Concord Consortium, that describes the growing prevalence of laptop computers in schools worldwide an the limited research on the impact and effectiveness of these programs. Their perspective piece, "," also highlights where laptop programs might prove most successful—"comprehensive initiatives that address changes in education goals, curricula, teacher training, and assessment." Published on January 2, 2009, the article has since received coverage in Scientific American, which cited the piece in an article on the growing presence of classroom computers worldwide. Note: Full text of Science article available via Concord site.

San Diego Bound: CCT Participates in AERA 2009

With the theme "Disciplined Inquiry: Education Research in the Circle of Knowledge," the American Education Research Association holds its 91th Annual Conference in San Diego this week. Our researchers are presenting and participating as part of the conference.
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Pasnik quoted in eSchool News article on new Senate bill

"The legislation goes beyond technology. It's about implementing a framework for 21st-century learning," she said. "It's more promising this way. If it were just about technology purchases, it would be a missed opportunity." CCT Director Shelley Pasnik quoted in eSchool News on the 21st Century Skills Incentive Fund, a new bill introduced by West Virginia Senator John D. Rockefeller IV.
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Possible Worlds at IES Conference

The Possible Worlds team is in Washington, D.C. this week to share our progress and meet our peers at the Fourth Annual IES Research Conference (Sunday, June 7 through Tuesday, June 9, 2009) at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. Katie Culp and Wendy Martin will preside over our booth at the poster session.

CCT shares its perspective on games at GLS and Games for Health

Our game research staff has a busy week with back-to-back game conferences schedule. Jim Diamond and Alice Anderson are in Madison, Wisc. at the Games + Learning + Society Conference (GLS 5.0), while Cornelia Brunner and John Parris are in Boston for the 5th annual Games for Health Conference. Staff will be sharing insights from Possible Worlds, our game research center.

School of One featured in New York Times

Reporter Jennifer Medina describes a new pilot program in the New York City Public Schools that brings games, virtual tutoring and a focus on individual pacing to mathematics learning. We are conducting formative research to support the summer school program, which is now at Middle School 131. The program will expand next spring to include three more middle schools.

Read the New York Times article
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CCT Named National Center on Instructional Technology

Posted: September 9,2008
CCT has been awarded a $9.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to serve as a National R&D Center on Instructional Technology, taking a close look at how game-based activities can aid science and literacy instruction. We are collaborating with colleagues at EDC to develop and pilot-test a series of game modules—built around the Nintendo DS—that plugs inquiry-based game activities into traditional classroom practice. Rather than stand alone, the game modules will fit into regular curricula and will take aim at the science misconceptions, reading difficulties, and motivational issues that hamper student learning and complicate science teaching.
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Transparency in Schools

Posted: September 5, 2008
LA Times quotes CCT in article that looks at how technology is allowing parents to peer into the school day.

"There's this black box -- a child goes away and comes home, what happened during this time?" said Shelley Pasnik, director of the nonprofit Center for Children and Technology in New York. "Now, new information and communications technology allows for the mystery of what transpires on any given day to unravel."

Read the Los Angeles Times article.

Daniel Light presents at Bangalore education conference

Posted: August 20, 2008
At the Quest conference in Bangalore, India, on August 22, Daniel Light, senior research scientist, is delivering a workshop presentation "Evaluating Educational Technology: How Do We Know It's Working?" that describes CCT's evaluation approach
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CCT Leads Four-Year Effort to Broaden the Reach of Math for All

Posted: September 8, 2008
With school districts nationwide pressed to increase access to significant mathematics content for students with disabilities, two NSF-funded EDC projects (Math for All and Addressing Accessibility in Mathematics) created programs to help both general and special educators fill this void. After showing promise in initial implementation research, CCT and two other EDC centers (COPE and ERO) have received funding from NSF to further investigate how these programs are being put into practice by district-based teacher leaders and what kinds of training, support, and resources they need to implement them effectively.

On the Web, a Nonpartisan Look at Those Partisan Campaign Ads

Posted: September 12, 2008
Context matters. Presidential races may be always on YouTube, but as the New York Times writes, there's something to be said for the historical context that the Living Room Candidate provides. CCT is providing formative research to support the Museum of the Moving Image's development of educational content for site. Photo: Democratic National Committee

Book Revisits Gender and Gaming

Posted: October 1, 2008
Ten years after its groundbreaking original highlighted the ways gender stereotyping and related social issues permeate digital game play, the followup Beyond Barbie and Mortal Kombat (edited by Yasmin B. Kafai, Carrie Heeter, Jill Denner, and Jennifer Y. Sun) brings together new media theorists, game designers, educators, psychologists, and industry professionals to look at how gender intersects with the broader contexts of digital games today: gaming, game industry and design, and serious games. CCT Deputy Director Cornelia Brunner returns with "Games and Technological Desire: Another Decade," a chapter examines why the call for gender-neutral games remains fresh and how small shifts show signs of progress.
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Putting the Election into Context Using Technology

Posted: October 7, 2008
EdWeek explores how teachers can use technology to discus, dissect, and think critically about electoral politics and its place in the media in deeper, richer ways. CCT Director Shelley Pasnik offers her perspective as part of the piece.
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CCT in Amsterdam

Posted: November 14, 2008
Director Shelley Pasnik shared insights from CCT's work in understanding 21st century skills and their impact on STEM education at The Dutch Experience International Summit in Amsterdam, November 10 and 11. Her poster explored CCT's collaborations with Cisco Systems (1, 2) and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (1, 2, 3). She attended the conference with EDC colleagues Bob Spielvogel and Joyce Malyn-Smith.
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Daniel's Class Photo from Ankara, Turkey

Posted: November 14, 2008
Senior researcher Daniel Light has sent this photo back from his travels to Turkey. Dr. Light and researcher Scott Strother are conducting site visits to Turkish schools as part of CCT international evaluation work for Intel Teach®.
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