Topic: Informational Media

The use of various kinds of media to inform—as well as to teach—is the focus of a number of studies being conducted by Rockman.

Burn: An Energy Journal Burn: An Energy Journal, is a 3-part, public radio documentary from the award-winning SoundVision Productions (http://burnanenergyjournal.com/). Hosted by Alex Chadwick, the NSF-funded programs and web resources explore the impact of energy issues on our society. REA is currently conducting the summative evaluation. more» Client: Soundvision Funding Agency: National Science Foundation (NSF): Informal Science Education Program (ISE) Topic: TV/Radio, Informational Media

California Academy of Sciences: Institute on Science and Sustainability Rockman et al developed an evaluation plan as part of a planning grant for the California Academy of Sciences' Institute on Science and Sustainability Program. The Institute on Science and Sustainability has built upon the Academy's strengths to create a network of master science teachers in the San Francisco Bay Area to raise the level of science education. more» Client: California Academy of Sciences Funding Agency: Bechtel Jr. Foundation Topic: Museum, Professional Development, Community Outreach, Technology and Education, Informational Media

California Academy of Sciences: Science in Action Rockman et al evaluated various design, technical, developmental, and educational elements of the California Academy of Science's Science in Action exhibit. Science in Action was launched in conjunction with the opening of the Academy's new state-of-the art facility in September 2008. Science in Action included a museum exhibit component, multimedia dissemination of content, and people-facilitated interactive experiences, and includes mission-related exhibit and programmatic changes to reflect new scientific discoveries by Academy and other scientists in the Bay Area and beyond. more» Client: California Academy of Sciences Funding Agency: Moore Foundation Topic: Museum, Community Outreach, Technology and Education, Informational Media

Carleton College: On the Cutting Edge On the Cutting Edge is a comprehensive, discipline-wide professional development program for current and future geoscience faculty. The program attempts to engage a significant percentage of the total number of US geoscience faculty through participation in face-to-face or online Cutting Edge workshop experiences, in order to achieve a widespread and sustainable impact. To investigate this impact, REA is conducting an on-going retrospective analysis of project evaluation activities. REA is also collecting data via geoscience faculty interviews and in-depth case studies to better understand how the program affects faculties' teaching attitudes and practices. more» Client: Carleton College Funding Agency: National Science Foundation (NSF): Course, Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) Topic: Instructional Materials/Programs, Web Sites, Professional Development, Informational Media

Exploring Time Rockman conducted an impact study of the educational, two-hour, television special, Exploring Time, and the value-add of its associated web site, http://www.exploringtime.org. The program’s objective was to increase the public’s understanding of change over time—the multitude of changes that are occurring in the present, but at rates too slow or too fast to be seen. This evaluation explored the extent to which the programs and web site met this overall objective by looking at three impacts of the resources: (1) Comprehension of the program’s content, (2) Knowledge and understanding gained from viewing Exploring Time content, and (3) Further actions and outcomes that emerged after engaging with Exploring Time. more» Client: Twin Cities Public Television (TCPT) Funding Agency: National Science Foundation (NSF): Informal Science Education Program (ISE) Topic: TV/Radio, Web Sites, Informational Media

Focus Group Study for Edutopia REA conducted a series of focus groups for the George Lucas Education Foundation (GLEF) to support and extend the work associated with its Mott Foundation grant that produced the New Day for Learning report. more» Client: George Lucas Education Foundation (GLEF) Funding Agency: Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Topic: Instructional Materials/Programs, Web Sites, Technology and Education, Informational Media

Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ocean Adventures REA served as the evaluator of educational outreach activities for a six-part KQED series called Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Adventure. In the program, Jean-Michel Cousteau and his diving teams explored an array of natural phenomena, investigated little known territories and ecosystems hundreds of feet beneath the ocean's surface, and came face to face with the friendly and ferocious inhabitants of the deep. more» Client: KQED Public Television Funding Agency: The Dow Chemical Company. Additional Major Support from: the William K. Bowes Jr. Foundation, Ann Bowers and The Robert Noyce Trust, the William and Gretchen Kimball Fund, the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. Topic: Instructional Materials/Programs, Informal Learning, TV/Radio, Professional Development, Community Outreach, Technology and Education, Informational Media

Media in Informal Science Rockman et al was asked by the National Research Council to write a paper on adults' media-based learning in informal science. The paper included a comprehensive review of evaluation reports and articles on informal science education media and applicable learning theories. more» Client: National Academy of Sciences (NAS)/ National Research Council (NRC) Funding Agency: National Academy of Sciences (NAS)/ National Research Council (NRC) Topic: Informal Learning, TV/Radio, Informational Media

Music Instinct The Music Instinct: Science and Song, produced by WNET in New York, was a public television program that explored the connection between music and science. The project also included a website and outreach programming to science museums, music centers, and youth organizations. more» Client: WNET Funding Agency: National Science Foundation Topic: Instructional Materials/Programs, TV/Radio, Web Sites, Informational Media

MY HERO Project The MY HERO Global Exchange program, funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, facilitated digital arts storytelling and video production workshops in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Jordan, and Senegal, in conjunction with screenings from the U.S. Express anthology of art videos. more» Client: MY HERO Funding Agency: U.S. Department of State: Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs Topic: Instructional Materials/Programs, Web Sites, Community Outreach, Informational Media

Pathways to Technology The Pathways to Technology project was a multimedia outreach effort created to raise awareness of the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technology Education (ATE) programs, operating at community colleges around the country. Developed by the WGBH Educational Foundation in Boston, the Pathways to Technology project showcased ATE programs to prospective students and the people who influenced them via engaging multimedia resources. more» Client: WGBH Educational Foundation Funding Agency: National Science Foundation (NSF): Informal Science Education (ISE) Program Topic: Instructional Materials/Programs, TV/Radio, Community Outreach, Informational Media

Powers of Minus Ten (POMT) Green-Eye Visualization’s (GEV) NSF SBIR Phase I research project, Powers of Minus Ten (POMT), involved the design, production, and preliminary evaluation of 3D educational software of the same name. more» Client: Green-Eye Visualization Funding Agency: National Science Foundation (NSF): Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Topic: Instructional Materials/Programs, Technology and Education, Informational Media

Science Literacy Project Workshops Over the past decade, SoundVision Productions has offered a series of intensive, five-day science literacy training workshops for mid-career public radio reporters who are involved in reporting the sciences. The goal of the workshops was to enlarge the pool of skilled radio reporters and producers who bring science stories to the public radio audience. The workshops have been held in Boston, San Francisco, and Austin. more» Client: SoundVision Productions Funding Agency: U.S. Department of Energy Topic: TV/Radio, Professional Development, Informational Media

Seeing in the Dark Seeing in the Dark, a documentary film about stargazing directed by Timothy Ferris, is based on Ferris' book (of the same name) that was named by The New York Times as one of the 10 best non-fiction books of 2002. The program is in part personal documentary, as well as profiles the work of amateur astronomers. more» Client: Tim Ferris Funding Agency: National Science Foundation (NSF): Informal Science Education (ISE) Program Topic: Informal Learning, TV/Radio, Web Sites, Informational Media

Staff Development Study In 1999, APEX was considering entering the arena of online educational professional development, credentialing, and certification in collaboration with several institutional partners. APEX needed to define its market, identify the features and attributes of its offerings, position its courses and services against a growing set of competitors, and explore the pricing, marketing, and distribution of the products to teachers and school administrators. Rockman et al conducted phone interviews and collected survey ratings from district and building level staff development coordinators, technology coordinators, and teachers to help APEX identify the critical issues and inform the company’s plans and goals. more» Client: Apex Learning Funding Agency: Apex Learning Topic: Professional Development, Distance Learning, Informational Media