CLASS™ Partners and Associates
Partners and associates of CLASS™ provided various
support activities for the Project.
Summative Evaluation
Campbell-Kibler
Associates (CK-A) performed summative evaluations for the CLASS™
courses. Campbell-Kibler Associates, Inc., began its evaluation of CLASS™ July 1, 1998.
C-KA’s primary role as the summative evaluator was to explore the
degree to which CLASS™ was reaching its goals. As part of the
evaluation, C-KA provided CLASS™ staff with ongoing oral and written
feedback They assessed the individual courses, course development
framework, the degree to which courses met the requirement for a high
school diploma, and the Project dissemination plan. C-KA also provided
technical assistance to the University of Nebraska’s Center for
Instructional Innovation in their formative evaluation of CLASS™, as
well as in their project-based distance learning research efforts. CK-A
has been doing research and evaluation to increase gender and race
equity in math, science and technology education for the past 25 years.
Formative Evaluation
The Center for
Instructional Innovation (CII) provided the formative evaluation
for the CLASS™ Project. CII is a research and development center at the
University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, established in 1993 to provide basic research
from cognitive psychology, linguistics and cognitive science to the
design and evaluation practices in the nation's schools. Special
interest emphases in the CII research are the design and evaluation of
technology-oriented distance learning methods and critical examinations
of the role of technology in learning. CII assisted the CLASS™ Project
in developing the best methods of teaching Web-based learning.
Standards and Frameworks
The Nebraska
Department of Education (NDE) is governed by the State Board of Education
and is the policy-making body for all of Nebraska's public school
districts. In this effort, NDE promotes the use of technology to
improve educational opportunities. NDE is also actively involved in the
creation of frameworks for core curriculum areas, initiatives in
science and mathematics education, and links to post-secondary
institutions and with private corporations within the state.
Representatives of the NDE ensured that CLASS™ courses met national
standards and state frameworks.
Production and Technology
The Nebraska Educational
Telecommunications (NET) is a multi-faceted organization governed
by the State of Nebraska,
Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission and the University of Nebraska.
NET offers a full range of services, including noncommercial
television, radio, satellite and audio, video and multimedia
production. It is also one of the world's largest education media
libraries, Great Plains
Network (GPN) and is recognized nationally for its quality
television and radio programs for state, Emmy-award-winning Reading
Rainbow series. NET had responsibility for production of the CLASS™
courses and took on the technology development in year two.
Technology
Founded in 1942 as RCA Laboratories, the facility was renamed in honor
of RCA Chairman General David Sarnoff in 1951. In 1987 the company
became a subsidiary of SRI International. Today, Sarnoff Corporation is a
$140 million for-profit company with a global reputation for
innovation. As part of the CLASS™ Project, Sarnoff was to (1) Develop
technical components; (2) Perform system integration; (3) Assist in
technology transfer to/from commercial partners; (4) Define additional
requirements; (5) Piloting; and (6) Maintain hardware and software test
bed. Nebraska Educational
Telecommunications (NET) took on the technology component in year
two of CLASS™.
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