Center for Innovative Research in Cyberlearning (CIRCL)

Challenge

Rapid advances in technology create an urgent need to prepare pre-K-to-gray learners for the changing world of work. The new field of cyberlearning research is advancing knowledge of strategies to ensure learners are ready to thrive in highly technological environments. Yet cyberlearning researchers need support in sharing their findings to inform and impact education.

Through their leadership of the Center for Innovative Research in Cyberlearning (CIRCL), EDC, Digital Promise, and SRI are advancing cyberlearning researchers’ important work. CIRCL helps researchers ensure that their findings reach educators, policymakers, and the public. CIRCL also provides researchers with technical assistance, connects researchers, and supports strategic planning for future studies.

Key Activities

The CIRCL team activities:

Convening researchers to share challenges, successes, and lessons learned
Launching and maintaining an online cyberlearning resource hub for the general public and educators, as well as for researchers
Addressing common needs of researchers through webinars, workshops, and consultation
Hosted a Summit on the Design of Digital STEM Learning Environments and published a related report

Impact

Led seven national convenings that have engaged hundreds of researchers, educators, students, designers, and industry experts in identifying strategies to accelerate the cyberlearning community’s work and impact
Published 24 CIRCL Primers that provide brief overviews of key cyberlearning topics for educators, journalists, policymakers, and proposal writers
Provided over 25 webinars on topics such as cyberlearning and diversity, equity, and inclusion and skills people need to succeed in work at the human-technology frontier