The Center for Electronic Studying was founded in 1990 to investigate and disseminate information about reading, writing, and learning in digital environments. The underlying construct was that students’ content-area reading and learning could be enhanced in digital environments through the use of embedded supports, along with instructional strategies for using digital tools and resources effectively. Inherent in the approach of all CES projects is one of student choice – empowering student learners to know when and how to use digital tools and resources to maximum advantage when reading and learning online. Most of the federally funded projects at CES have focused on the learning needs of students with disabilities, investigating various ways technology can be used to support reading, writing, and studying in digital environmentsThere are three strands of work at the Center for Electronic Studying that have relevance for a proposal on online learning:

Supported eText. CES has successfully obtained funding from OSEP for two multimillion dollar national centers investigating the use of supported electronic text (supported etext) as an intervention for students with disabilities. The underlying construct is that digital text can be modified or enhanced in ways that promote improved comprehension, especially for students who struggle to learn from text due to difficulties with print and or language. The two national centers are the National Center for Supported eText (NCSeT) and Mathematics eText Research Center (MeTRC). Together the two centers have been engaged in investigating the ways in which supported etext can benefit students with sensory impairments, students with learning disabilities, and students with developmental delays. NCSeT and MeTRC build on a more than 15 years of work, most funded by OSEP, investigating different types of etext supports for different student populations. From this work has emerged a typology of etext supports organized by the role each support plays in the reading and learning process. eText Supports have been built into digital text libraries (e.g., Project INTERSECT) and online learning modules (e.g., the LORI Project: Learning Online Research Initiative). The concept of supported etext has been adopted by other research and development groups in the country, most noticeably at CAST. CES has also been funded to investigate the use of supported etext on the reading and learning of Spanish speaking ELL students (e.g, Project ESTRELLAS, funded by IES).

Computer-Based Learning Strategies. CES has investigated the use of cognitive learning strategies as an approach to improving students’ reading and learning in both print and online environments. The underlying construct is that technology-based strategies for reading and learning can improve student academic achievement by helping them overcome the negative impact of their disabilities. We have been successful in developing and testing strategies that can be learned and adopted by students with disabilities, as well as other at-risk populations. This 20-year strand of work has been funded by OSEP (e.g., Project Outline, Project SUCCESS, Project ACCESS, LORI Project) as well as other offices in the U.S. Dept of Education (e.g., Project COMPASS, Project WRITE). The LORI Project created and tested an online course for students with learning disabilities, focused on teaching a set of computer-based study strategies previously taught in face-to-face environments. Current projects in this strand are Project SOAR: Strategies for Online Academic Reading (funded by OSEP) and Project SAIL: Strategies for Academic Internet Learning (funded by IES). Both are R&D projects focused on developing interactive online instructional modules and materials to teach computer-based learning strategies to students with learning disabilities. The online modules incorporate a variety of etext supports to enhance student learning and application of the strategies. 

Personalized Learning Environments.The logical outcome for our work on computer-supported studying is the design, development, and evaluation of an online learning environment that can be customized by the learner to maximize the impact of their learning strengths and minimize the impact of their learning weaknesses. Prompted by our work on Project ESTRELLAS, we have been exploring ways to combine and utilize off the shelf applications to create an online learning environment that brings together all the tools needed for effective online learning and can be personalized by students to meet their learning needs. We will be seeking funding for a project in this new strand of work in the fall.

Research and technical faculty at CATE currently involved in CES Projects:

Dr. Lynne Anderson-Inman
Dr. Mark Horney
Dr. Carolyn Knox
Dr. Fatima Terrazas-Arellanes
Dr. Pat Almond
Dr. Ulad Slabin
Mindy Frisbee
Carmen Rivas
Alina Padilla Miller
Judith Blair
Len Hatfield