Evaluation of the Iowa-Nebraska Technology Challenge Grant

Personnel:
Marcia Harmon Rosenbusch, Director, National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
Jan Padgitt, Program Coordinator, Research Institute for Studies in Education, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
Eduardo Garcia, Research Assistant, Research Institute for Studies in Education, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa

Overview:
The purpose of the five-year Iowa-Nebraska Technology Grant, IN-VISION, is to demonstrate that technology provides an effective means to overcome the long-standing obstacles of cost, distance, and time that impede progress toward a better education for children. Foreign language was chosen as the lead discipline for this project because of the unique opportunity to integrate multi-disciplinary content. This project, using Spanish as the target language, demonstrates a system that uses existing curriculum, regular classroom teachers, and multimedia distance technology to meet national and local education goals. The National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center and the Research Institute for Studies in Education, both at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, and the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, DC, serve as the evaluators of the Iowa-Technology Challenge Grant.

Procedures:
The evaluation process uses a method that examines accountability, effectiveness, and impact. It is based on the goals and objectives of the project and includes both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to provide information for both formative and summative purposes.

1. Accountability: Documentation and reports are requested periodically from the project's participants to assess the timely completion of project objectives, goals, and activities.

2. Effectiveness: Information is collected and analyzed to assess the influence of project activities conducted as well as the implementation process. Data focus on such aspects as perceptions of effectiveness, the training and support provided, and overall satisfaction. Examples of effectiveness data include:

• children's Spanish instruction and capacity building of classroom teachers as Spanish teachers;
• K-12 foreign language teacher capacity building
• delivery of staff development through distance education
• collaborative partnerships.

3. Impact: Information is collected and analyzed to document changes in attitudes, behaviors, skills, and practices. Examples of impact data include students' attitudes toward the language, culture, and people who speak the language; their listening and speaking skills; teachers' language proficiency, and their skills in implementing strategies for teaching languages. More information about the IN-VISION Project.