Microscopes and Telescopes: A Research Agenda for Studying Excellence and Equity in Online Learning Environments Justin Reich Dick Murnane, John Willett, Bob Wolf (Boston Consulting Group, retired), Hunter Gehlbach MIT Lifelong Kindergarten Group

Agenda I.Explore Nested Structure of Web 2.0 Data II.Schema of Web 2.0 Research Methods III.Prospectus for Researching Classroom Wikis I.Efficacy: How do we make them good? II.Equity: Do only certain kids get the good ones? IV.Dip in to the data 2

What are wikis and why should we study them? DEFINITION: Wikis are Web sites where any one can edit any page at any time GROWING IMPORT: Use of Web 2.0 tools and networks (blogs, wikis, social networks, discussion forums) is growing exponentially in education, and transforming our society STUDENT-CENTERED: A democratic, citizen-centered ideology is “baked into” wiki architecture making them promising platforms for teaching 21 st century skills ***NESTED, RETROSPECTIVE CORPUS***: Wikis preserve their entire history of activity in a nested data structure that allows research of infinitely variable granularity (like Google Earth) 3

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What are wikis and why should we study them? DEFINITION: Wikis are Web sites where any one can edit any page at any time GROWING IMPORT: Use of online learning environments (blogs, wikis, social networks, discussion forums) is growing exponentially in education, and transforming our society STUDENT-CENTERED: A democratic, citizen-centered ideology is “baked into” wiki architecture making them promising platforms for teaching 21 st century skills ***VAST, NESTED, RETROSPECTIVE CORPUS***: Wikis preserve their entire history of activity in a nested data structure that allows research of infinitely variable granularity (like Google Earth) 5

What do real wikis look like? 6

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Data from a single wiki 9

10 Day Page Save Moving average of wiki development in page saves

11 1,000K 10K 1, K # of Cases Days Weeks Months Years Design Research Interviews Surveys Simulations Semantic Analysis Content Analysis Discursive Analysis Observational Research Duration of data collection and capture Time/Scale Web 2.0 Research State Space Modeling Usage Statistics

Classroom Wiki Research Questions How do we make them good? –What best practices, attitudes and resources produce wiki learning environments that promote and nurture 21 st century skills? Do only certain kids get the good ones? –What is the distribution of high quality wikis across schools serving different student populations? 12

13 Initial Quantitative Analysis to Develop Sampling Strategy and Measurement Protocol Classroom Observations and Teacher Interviews to Understand Wiki Practices Development of Wiki Quality Instrument and Protocol Content Evaluation of Wikis Using Quality Instruments to Answer Research Questions Wiki User Surveys Development of Semantic Wiki Quality Instrument Literature Review of CSCL and 21 st C. Skill Scholarship Path Diagram of Wiki Research Excellence: How does wiki quality vary by teacher attitudes, practices, and resources? Are good wikis born or made? Equity: How does wiki quality vary by school SES variables like %FRPL, Per Pupil Expenditure, Title I status, or measures of racial composition