1. LESTER Learning Science and Technology Repository Lisa Spiro ETRAC, Fondren Library, Rice University http://lester.rice.edu Copyright Lisa Spiro ©2003. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.

2. Overview of LESTER (Learning Science and Technology Repository) The need History of LESTER Aims Audience Approach Benefits Goals for LESTER 2.0 Participating in LESTER LESTER Team Young or… Flatt?

3. The Challenge important research is being done in learning science & technology (LST) but too few people know about it expertise is fragmented gap between experimentation & implementation need a widely accessible information space where people can study new learning technologies and establish collaborations

4. Need for forum As Roy Pea argues, “The nation needs an integrated forum for building and sharing the wisdom and insights derived from highly diverse sources--university and think-tank- based researchers, industry groups, and teacher knowledge developed through their own innovations and implementations of learning technologies in their classrooms” (1999).

5. History of LESTER Grew out of an earlier project on Centers for Advanced Technology in Higher Education that I developed while researching emerging educational technologies The research was aimed at conceptualizing a new center focused on technology and education ETRAC (Educational Technology Research & Assessment Cooperative) is the result. ETRAC's mission is to promote "an informed understanding of how information technology can support the mission of the university." The first step in accomplishing this mission is to understand innovations in education and technology-- which is exactly what LESTER is about. Funded by Microsoft Research

6. Aims To make available detailed information about significant LST organizations, projects, and researchers To associate research into learning with specific technologies & projects To promote innovation in LST To foster collaborations among researchers To make visible research paths and suggest gaps in current research priorities and investments To serve as a free and open community space for LST To facilitate the implementation of new technologies and approaches in teaching & learning Like learning objects repositories, but focused on research into core technologies and how people learn

7. Audience LST researchers who want to understand current research trends, find potential collaborators, and make their own work more widely known educational technologists who are responsible for identifying & evaluating emerging learning technologies instructors funding bodies (both governmental and non-profit) students, particularly in instructional design (next generation of LST researchers & practitioners) average citizens interested in the future of education

8. Phase I Approach Rapid prototyping Focus initially on leading LST projects, researchers, and organizations, as well as funding organizations. Develop a robust, flexible relational database. Build the database so that it can be scaled up, extended, and federated. Actively collect information from the web pages of researchers & research groups, as well as journal articles, conference proceedings, and books on LST. Develop an LST Thesaurus to be used in describing data.

9. Current Status LESTER 1.0 released in December of 2002 Currently approx. 265 projects, 290 researchers, 180 research organizations, and 110 funding organizations (over 800 records) Received mostly positive feedback: “This is a GREAT project!!”, “I really like LESTER!!!”, “The LESTER effort will provide an important resource.” ETRAC funded for another year’s development work by Microsoft Research

10. Discovering Information Search by keyword or full-text Browse by researchers, projects, organizations, keywords, & funding sources

11. Sample Records Keyword viewProject view

12. User Control of Information Registered users may edit records about their organization, project, and researchers, or contribute new records

13. LESTER’s Benefits Complements other information sources: –Offers snapshot views of projects, with ability to dig down for more information –Often provides more current information than journals Highlights centers of activity in LST Exposes association between learning theories/ methodologies and the technologies that realize them User-centered Uses controlled vocabulary to maximize access to and quality of information

14. Overarching Goals for LESTER 2.0 Overarching goal: To make LESTER like the projects it profiles: an interactive, dynamic, innovative community space & repository Conduct complete evaluation of LESTER 1.0, involving LST community in shaping the evolution of LESTER After usability testing, overhaul interface Build community –Develop organizational structure for distributing responsibility for LESTER to community –Provide tools for communication & collaboration (e.g. online forums, document sharing, etc.)

15. Goals for LESTER 2.0: Content Enhance access to information: –Timely information about LST conferences, news, funding opportunities –Deeper information about researchers & projects: citations & abstracts –Expand the repository: Pre-print archive? Screen shots and multimedia information (video demonstrations)? Provide “learning web services”—federated access to timely information –Linking together LESTER with complementary repositories/databases

16. Goals: Managing & Sharing Information Enhance information retrieval –Improve search capabilities –Revise LESTER Thesaurus; develop taxonomy Push information based on user & interests Address gap between creation and implementation of new technologies & approaches –Capture information about results –Community reviews/annotations/assessments

17. Participating in LESTER Provide feedback by emailing lester@rice.edu or filling out brief online form at http://lester.rice.edu Register & contribute new information Consider a partnership Please help spread the word

18. LESTER Team Lisa Spiro, Project manager: lspiro@rice.edu Jim O’Brien, Lead developer: jamestobrien@yahoo.com Geneva Henry, Administrative oversight LESTER advisory board: Chuck Henry (University Librarian/CIO), Geneva Henry (Exec. Dir., Digital Library Initiative), Jan Odegard (Exec. Dir., CITI), Siva Kumari (Asst. Dean, School of Continuing Studies), Janice Bordeaux (Dir. Educational Assessment, School of Engineering ), Julie Cohn (Center for Technology in Teaching and Learning) Research assistants: Altovise Rogers & Ann Pavlick Metadata advisors: Alice Rhoades & Heather Phillips Web designers: Megan Wilde & Ashley Fell