Topic: Web Sites

Rockman has conducted research and evaluation on a wide array of Web sites—from those focusing on science information and issues to those offering career and college information. We have evaluated Web sites that provide companion materials for media projects and those that carry the full content of the initiative. These evaluations often include usability studies, and many examine content learning or the marketability of the site’s resources.

A New Day for Learning: Phase II REA conducted a series of focus groups and usability testing sessions for the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF) in San Francisco, CA and Sacramento, CA to explore reactions to the content, organization and navigation of A New Day for Learning, an Edutopia "micro-site." more» Client: George Lucas Education Foundation Funding Agency: Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Topic: Web Sites, Technology and Education

America's Instructional Television Online/Educators Tools Online Opening Links to Standards (AITOL/E-TOOLS) Project The America's Instructional Television Online/Educators Tools Online Opening Links to Standards (AITOL/E-TOOLS) Project, funded by CPB's Future Fund, was a partnership between WSIU at Southern Illinois University and Kansas City Public Television (KCPT) that explored a new model for delivering educational services and programming to schools. more» Client: WSIU Public Broadcasting, Kansas City Public Television (KCPT) Funding Agency: Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) Topic: Instructional Materials/Programs, Web Sites, Technology and Education, School Services

Animation Program The goal of the ACME Network’s ACME Animation program is to create a permanent continuum for skill development, school achievement, and career success in art and animation for diverse and economically disadvantaged youth and young adults. REA served as the evaluator this program. more» Client: The ACME Network Funding Agency: The ACME Network Topic: Instructional Materials/Programs, Informal Learning, Web Sites, Distance Learning

Brokers of Expertise In partnership with WestEd and AIR, REA contributed to a statewide assessment of the need for professional development training and resources among California educators for the California Department of Education (CDE). REA led the development of a statewide survey of California educators and conducted focus groups with educators across the state in order to get both a broad, as well as in-depth, picture of the needs of California educators. more» Client: WestEd Funding Agency: Cal State Sacramento Topic: School Reform, Web Sites, Technology and Education

Career Coach REA served as the external evaluator of One Economy's online job site, the "Career Coach," located on their Beehive website. The Career Coach was designed to provide people with help planning and exploring potential careers, finding the right career, preparing for a job, looking for a job, and getting hired. more» Client: One Economy Corporation Funding Agency: The Rockefeller Foundation Topic: Web Sites, Community Outreach

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

Critical Choices Rockman et al worked in conjunction with an internal evaluator at Northern Illinois University to evaluate the development of an online program to teach soft skills (time management, conflict resolution, professional behavior, etc.) to unemployed and underemployed individuals. more» Client: Northern Illinois University Funding Agency: U.S. Government: Learning Anytime, Anywhere Program Topic: Informal Learning, Web Sites, Technology and Education, Distance Learning

Digital Photo Web Site Focus Group Research Rockman et al conducted ten focus groups on digital photography Web site content and formats in four regional locations across the U.S. to help the client understand the different reactions of novice, intermediate, and experienced photographers. The study was designed to inform this large consumer IT company’s sales division about revising their Web site to be more targeted and effective. more» Client: A large consumer IT company Funding Agency: Topic: Web Sites

DNA Files SoundVision Productions developed a sequel to the award-winning DNA Files radio program. The program was designed to educate the general public on topics related to genetic science. The accompanying Web site provided additional educational resources even after the program went off-air. more» Client: SoundVision Productions Funding Agency: National Science Foundation (NSF) Topic: Informal Learning, TV/Radio, Web Sites

EARTH-The Operator's Manual (E-TOM) Evaluation Funded by NSF, Earth – The Operators’ Manual (ETOM) was a users’ guide to current and future energy resources of our planet, and provided “users” with the information, attitudes and tools to make wiser choices about powering homes, schools, businesses and communities. ETOM used a hybrid model of science communication that included television programming, in-person presentations, and Web 2.0 social networking. REA used a mixed-methods approach, including the use of surveys, focus groups, web analytics and outreach event observations to investigate the impact of project resources. more» Client: Passport to Knowledge Funding Agency: National Science Foundation (NSF): Informal Science Education Program (ISE) Topic: Instructional Materials/Programs, Informal Learning, Museum, TV/Radio, Web Sites, Technology and Education

Evaluation of the Student Friendly Services Web Site The Intersegmental Coordinating Committee (ICC) contracted with Rockman et al to perform an in-depth assessment of the Student Friendly Services (SFS) Web site. The goals of the study were to give the ICC insights about users’ thoughts and opinions on the site’s navigation, appeal, content, and application in order to inform decisions on improving the site, attracting new users, and meeting the needs of current users. Rockman gathered feedback on key aspects of the site from more than 200 target audience members (students, parents, and educators). more» Client: Intersegmental Coordinating Committee (ICC) Funding Agency: Topic: Web Sites, Community Outreach

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

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

myJobPath The Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) developed myJobPath, an online tool designed to assist low-income job seekers with their job search, through lessons and organization tools about networking. more» Client: Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) Funding Agency: The Department of Commerce: Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) Topic: Web Sites, Community Outreach

Pacific Film Archive: CineFile The Pacific Film Archive (PFA) received an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant to create an online film resource to increase K-20 classroom access to their archives. REA is evaluating the PFA's efforts to collect data from audiences and make design choices based on these data. more» Client: Pacific Film Archive Funding Agency: Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Topic: Instructional Materials/Programs, Museum, Web Sites, Community Outreach, Technology and Education

Preschool Media Pilot (Ready to Learn) KQED, the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) media organization serving northern California, was one of five national entities piloting “Raising Readers,” an online course on language and literacy for pre-school educators and caregivers. The six-week course is part of the TeacherLine professional development series designed by PBS and is sponsored by Ready to Learn, a federal initiative. The course was piloted with groups of early childhood educators and caregivers by five PBS stations in Fall 2007. more» Client: KQED Funding Agency: Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) Topic: Instructional Materials/Programs, TV/Radio, Web Sites

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

University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP): Exploring Evolution/Evolution All Around Us (EE/EAAU) REA conducted a thorough, multi-component evaluation of University of California Museum of Paleontology's (UCMP) Understanding Evolution website. The site provides an online resource for teachers to use in teaching evolution. The site also provides classroom resources: a conceptual framework, a suite of evaluated lessons appropriate for different grade spans, and teaching strategies to avoid or overcome roadblocks to teaching evolution. more» Client: University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) Funding Agency: National Science Foundation and Howard Hughes Medical Foundation Topic: Assessment, Instructional Materials/Programs, Museum, Web Sites, Technology and Education

Where Fun and Learning Click! Rockman et al provided formative and summative evaluation services for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and five teams picked to design innovative websites for eight to thirteen year-olds as part of the " Where Fun and Learning Click!" program. more» Client: Corporation for Public Broadcasting Funding Agency: Corporation for Public Broadcasting Topic: Informal Learning, Web Sites

YouthLink YouthLink was a program that employed young people to use digital media arts to realize their creative voices, explore career options, and contribute to their communities. Students took basic and advanced video or digital arts production classes that culminate in the creation of a portfolio of work. In the summer, students worked as interns at local technology and nonprofit organizations. more» Client: Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) Funding Agency: National Science Foundation (NSF): Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) Topic: Instructional Materials/Programs, Web Sites, Community Outreach, Technology and Education