Research Interests

Nomadic Inquiry via Mobile Learning


Kids learn by roaming through physical and information landscapes, not just by sitting in classrooms. Wireless Internet access and digital libraries will be soon ubiquitously available to everyone, but this only removes half of the barrier to the digital divide. For educational applications and learning appliances to be useful for youth and the larger education community, research needs to understand when and what kinds of human and online guidance, social supports, production tools, and activities are needed to make learning truly meaningful.

This research area explores different ways mobile, wireless technologies can be configured to support learning, communication, and collaboration among learners and educators. In designing and studying how children use wireless technologies in schools, museums, homes, and the outdoors, researchers can help shape future learning technology development.

G1:1 Global Researcher and Testbed Network for Technology-Enhanced Learning
eXspot RFID at the Exploratorium
I-Guides Project at the Exploratorium
The Electronic Guidebook Project
Handheld Design Awards for Education
CILT Synergy Project: Learning Science with Pocket Computers
The Center for Innovative Learning Technologies

Digital Kids


Digital technologies currently pervade the lives of youth. Future generations of learners will not only represent a more diverse population in the U.S., but also represent a broader range of demographics, learner profiles, media consumption patterns, personal needs, and expectations. Many youth spend more time reading Internet game FAQs and writing stories in online fan communities than they do for school. Should we worry or is this engagement and fluency with new media another form of literacy?

MacArthur Digital Kids Project

Online Science Learning & Digital Libraries


How do people learn about science and the nature of science from the Internet and Worldwide Web? How do they interpret science information and reason about web-based scientific evidence? How do you measure this? When given access to rich digital resources like STEM digital libraries, what do kids produce?

Evidence: How do we know what we know? Web resources for the Public Understanding of Scientific Evidence
Exploratorium Digital Library Project
Portal to Explortorium Collections
Web-based Inquiry Science Environment

Distributed Learning, Online Pedagogy


Back in 1996, high school teachers began teaching students they never met in person on the Internet. Teachers also taught each other in online communities, sharing new pedagogical strategies and disciplinary knowledge with other colleagues. Despite these efforts, strong skepticism still exists for the specific impact that online courses and online communities have upon learning and instructional practice when learning takes place online. How do you design robust netcourses and telecommunications to ensure learning and effective teacher practice? What practices do effective online moderators use to move dialogue forward? Here are some efforts I have worked on.

PBS TeacherLine
Facilitating Online Learning
The Virtual High School
The Multimedia Forum Kiosk and SpeakEasy

Equity Issues in Learning


How do you design learning environments to promote equity in learning?

National Girls Collaborative
AAUW Under the Microscope
A study on spatial reasoning with engineering students
AERA 97 session on equity and technology.

[Go back to Sherry's Homepage]