Blog

12 Publications in 2020 Inform the Field

Physics co-teachers at whiteboard

This year we published a dozen articles in researcher and teacher practitioner journals that showcase the state of the field in STEM educational technology in 2020. Learn what students with low and high spatial skills notice in computer visualizations of plate tectonics (#2), how students can experience authentic messy data exploration of meaningful questions (#10), […]

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Explore NOAA weather data in CODAP

Screenshot of CODAP comparing Boston, MA, and Concord, MA, weather data

We experience weather every day. And it’s often the easiest icebreaker to start a conversation—“What’s the weather like in your neck of the woods?”—since weather is, well, everywhere! We know a lot about weather, too, thanks to datasets collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NOAA database includes data from thousands of […]

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Incorporating writing, data, and social justice in middle school classrooms

Three blocks with backgrounds of swirled colors representing flexible language use, expansive science repertoires, and contextual understanding of data

Twenty-five middle school teachers from Berkeley, Oakland, and the surrounding areas of northern California recently met online as part of a virtual professional learning workshop called “Telling Data Stories: Scientific Data, Student Experience, and Authorship for Social Justice in Middle School Classrooms.” The workshop was offered by the Writing Data Stories project, a collaboration of […]

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Infusing genetics with data science and three-dimensional teaching

Fast Plants seedlings

Let’s face it, three-dimensional teaching takes work. There are disciplinary core ideas (DCI), science and engineering practices (SEP), and crosscutting concepts (CCC) to pack in. A simple new tool may help biology classes reap the benefits of Next Generation Science Standards instruction with big payoffs. The 3D Teacher Moves Table, developed for a groundbreaking webinar […]

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CODAP awarded new Digital Promise certification

CODAP Digital Promise Badge

We are delighted to announce that our Common Online Data Analysis Platform (CODAP) has earned the Research-Based Design product certification from Digital Promise. The new product certification is intended to serve as a rigorous, reliable signal for consumers, including school administrators, educators, and families looking for evidence of research-based educational technology products. CODAP is easy-to-use […]

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Research in Educational Technology in 2019

We’re making an impact with 12 publications in researcher and teacher practitioner journals that showcase the state of the field in STEM educational technology in 2019. Learn about a theoretical framework that positions students as data producers rather than merely data collectors (#10), automated text scoring and feedback in Earth science curriculum modules (#3, #12), […]

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32-bit Fathom and why you should try CODAP

CODAP Sampler

I’ve been developing data exploration software for decades, having led the Fathom Dynamic Data Software development team at KCP Technologies before joining the Concord Consortium in 2014. And I’ve been steering the development of our Common Online Data Analysis Platform (CODAP) since then, thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation. Both Fathom and […]

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Inspiring students to do science like scientists

“Only by making sense of what they are seeing and doing can students truly appreciate what science is and what scientists need to do to better understand our world,” says Ed Crandall.

He brings this sense of adventure to his life and his teaching. When backpacking in Alaska and hiking in Zion National Park, the extreme beauty nearly crumpled him. Ed was equally moved when he first saw Maxwell’s equations in a physics lecture. He now laughs about “being brought to tears by math.”

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