Overview

SERVE’s program on Technology in Learning focuses on improving the processes of teaching and learning through the use of emerging electronic technologies, including computers, the Internet, telecommunications, and software applications. Technology in Learning staff conducts research and development in strategies, methods, and materials, and provides technical assistance and professional development to state education agencies, districts, and schools as well as to educators in other settings.

SPICE - Studying Practices for Increasing Capacity in Evaluation

Studying Practices for Increasing Capacity in Evaluation (SPICE), is a two-year project designed to study the challenges and solutions of scaling up an established evaluation capacity-building effort. That work, called Capacity to Apply Project Evaluation (CAPE), encompasses the professional development, follow-up technical assistance, and resources provided to teachers, administrators, and education specialists, to expand their understanding of evaluation practice and organizational change. The substantive content of CAPE is built around the CAPE Formative Evaluation Framework, an evaluation-planning process with embedded resources, intended to guide teams of educators through the conceptualization, design, and implementation of project-specific formative evaluations. The evaluation framework consists of three components: logic maps, detailed charts showing how each project strategy and objective will be evaluated, and an evaluation management plan. A variety of professional development delivery modes are used in CAPE —ranging from multiple-day, offsite academies to web-mediated remote work sessions—to help educators better understand how to design and implement their own project evaluations. A majority of teams participating in CAPE professional development focus first on initiatives applying technology in teaching and learning settings, but the skills and understandings furthered by this work are intended to translate to projects of other types as well.

LANCET—Looking at North Carolina's Education Technology

In 2002 the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction awarded Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) grants to 11 schools to implement the IMPACT model of media and technology.

The purpose of LANCET is to:

• Study the use of technology and its impact on practice and achievement
• Provide capacity building for using data for making decisions about technology
• Disseminate products and results

The Friday Institute of NCSU is conducting the external evaluation of the effectiveness of the IMPACT model. SERVE’s Technology in Learning program is helping schools to build the capacity for formative evaluation, documenting the implementation of the model, and developing instruments that may be used to access technology integration at the project level.

ACTS in PA - Aligning Curriculum to Standards in Pennsylvania

The purpose of ACTS in PA, a K–16 teacher quality enhancement initiative, is “to provide innovative, high-quality educational opportunities for in-service and pre-service educators to increase K–12 student achievement in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” An important component of quality teaching is the integration of technology into the curricula. SERVE’s Technology in Learning program is evaluating the effectiveness of professional development, using the Core Teaching Skills for an Information Age curriculum.

SEIR*TEC—SouthEast Initiatives Regional Technology in Education Consortium

SEIR*TEC is a group of national, regional, and university-based organizations dedicated to promoting the use of technology to improve teaching and learning by providing technical assistance, authentic professional development in the areas of curriculum and instruction, leadership for technology, policy, and planning and evaluation. SEIR*TEC serves states, jurisdictions, school districts, preservice training institutions, adult and family literacy programs, and other constituents in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

The consortium goals are to:

• Provide professional development, technical assistance, and products that:
  • Address the strongest needs in the region.
  • Are likely to have the greatest impact on teaching and learning.
  • Move the state of technology integration forward.
• Help schools, districts, and states improve teaching and learning by building their internal capacity to successfully integrate technology into the ongoing educational program.

For more information about Technology in Learning, please contact:

SERVE
3329 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd.
Suite 200
Durham, NC 27707
voice: 919-402-1060
fax: 919-402-1617
toll-free: 800-755-3277
TiL@serve.org