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 advanced cyberlearning researchers’ important work. CIRCL helped researchers ensure that their findings reached educators, policymakers, and the public. CIRCL also provided researchers with technical assistance, connected researchers, and supported strategic planning for future studies. In 2020, CIRCL became the Center for Integrative Research in Computing and Learning Sciences, which continues to be led by Digital Promise, EDC, SRI Education, and the University of Pittsburgh.

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
Hosting 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