Mark Warschauer

Professor
Department of Education
Department of Informatics

email: markw@uci.edu
phone: 949.824.2526
office: Berkeley Place 3000C

Biography | Books | Papers | Research | Curriculum Vitae (pdf) | Links

Research

Improving Reading with Digital Scaffolding

This study, funded by the Haynes Foundation and the Spencer Foundation, is examining the effectiveness of "visual-syntactic text formatting," developed by Live Ink, for improving reading comprehension, retention, and proficiency among upper elementary school students, especially English language learners. Reading outcomes among students who use Live Ink are being compared to those among students who read in traditional formatting.

Writing in the Cloud

This study, funded by a Google Faculty Research Award, is investigating the effect of online collaborative writing projects on students' learning processes and outcomes. The study will use case study methods to examine a school district where students engage in cloud-based writing and collaboration using Google Apps for Education.

Technology, Writing, and Academic Achievement

This study, funded by  the Haynes Foundation, studied learning processes and outcomes in a culturally and linguistically diverse Southern California school district  carrying out an educational reform based on three innovations: extensive, purposeful nonfiction writing through the use of blogs, wikis, and other collaborative software; frequent external assessment of student writing through the use of automated writing evaluation; and an affordable one-to-one infrastructure of individual student netbook computers, free open source software, and free open educational resources. See a report on the study.

Netbooks and Open Tools in K-12 Education

This study, funded by a Google Faculty Research Award, investigated the educational educational use of low-cost laptops, open source software, and open educational resources in K-12 schools based on case study research in elementary schools deploying innovative one-computer-per-student programs in culturally and linguistically diverse elementary schools in Alabama, Colorado, and California. See a report on the study.

SciThink

This project, launched with a team of faculty and students in 2008, is developing a series of computer learning games for science education incorporating multiplayer teamwork; collaborative writing; simulated communication with great scientists of history; authentic problem-solving; combinations of peer, expert, and automated feedback; and extensive scaffolding and support for English language learners.

Learning for the 21st Century

This study, launched in 2008, involves an in-depth investigation of Southern California schools that are promoting deep understanding and 21st learning skills with new technologies. Through observations, interviews, surveys, and analysis of records and artifacts, the study seeks to better understand and promote best practices for teaching, learning, and assessment of 21st century skills.

Technology and English Language Teaching

This study, carried out from 2008-2009, investigated, through surveys, interviews, and case studies, the role of new technologies in English language teaching in 13 countries in the Americas and Asia, so as to better understand how new digital media will impact the nature of English teaching and learning in the next 10-20 years.

Technology, Out-of-School Learning and Human Development

This study, carried out from 2006-2008 with Deborah Vandell, examined learning and human development in a technology intensive, community learning center serving low-income immigrant students in Southern California.

Laptops and Literacy

This study, launched in the 2003-04 academic year, investigated the use of laptop computing and wireless networking in US schools. Case study research has been conducted on students who use laptops at home and throughout the school day in ten public schools, including students from diverse cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic backgrounds. The project investigates the types of literacy practices that students engage in using the laptops both at school and at home. A book on the research, Laptops and Literacy: Learning in the Wireless Classroom, has been published, as have several papers.

Expanding Engineering Thinking:
Interactive Visualization of Numerical Models

This 2002-2005 project, with funding from the National Science Foundation, established and investigated a high-tech classroom in the UCI School of Engineering for fostering visualization among engineering and computer science students. The classroom includes both a state-of-the-art smartboard that automatically translates formulas into graphs, and a virtual reality laboratory that allows three-dimensional modeling. For a more technical description, see the project Webpage. Also see articles on the study's results from the perspectives of civil engineering education and computer graphics instruction.

Technology and Academic Preparation:
A Comparative Study

This 2001-2002 study, funded by UC NEXUS and UC ACCORD, is aimed at documenting and comparaing the availability of, access to and uses of new technologies in diverse high schools of Southern California. Two sets of high schools were included in the study, a set of five high schools in low socio-economic status neighborhoods with relatively low academic achievement, and a set of three high schools in wealthier communities with higher academic achievement. For further information, see the Executive Summary (9 pages) or Full Report (165 pages) of the study, or read the following article based on the study's results: Technology and equity in schooling: Deconstructing the digital divide