Center for Educational Computing Initiatives
The Center for Educational Computing Initiatives (CECI) is an interdepartmental
research center that focuses on
advanced technologies emerging for educational uses. Research
at CECI involves the development of innovative technologies,
the application of technologies to specific learning objectives,
and the evaluation of the effectiveness of new technologies.
Recent CECI projects have focused on the educational application
of visualization, intelligent tutoring systems, multimedia archives,
and innovative web techniques. CECI also evaluates how computer technology
affects education, particularly how computer applications
improve the quality of education.
Examples of CECI's current projects include:
- The Technology-Enabled Active Learning (TEAL) project.
TEAL has reformed introductory physics education
at MIT. It is designed to help students develop better
intuition about, and conceptual models of, physical phenomena.
This new approach to teaching is centered on active learning.
It offers a highly collaborative, hands-on environment
that makes extensive use of desktop experiments, educational
technology, and computer-aided analysis of experimental
data, giving students direct experience with basic physical
phenomena such as electrical and magnetic fields.
- The iLabs project
(http://icampus.mit.edu/projects/index.shtml). iLabs is developing
a web-services based platform for the implementation of physical
laboratories that can be operated remotely over the internet.
This project, originally funded by Microsoft, has created
an open specification and reference implementation of a software
development kit. The software is used by laboratories in various departments
at MIT and at several universities around the world.
Undergraduates may participate in CECI projects through the Undergraduate
Research Opportunities Program.
For further information, contact Dean Steven R. Lerman, Room 3-138,
617-253-4277, lerman@mit.edu,
or Dr. Judson Harward, Room 9-317, 617-253-7896,
jud@mit.edu.
http://ceci.mit.edu/
