The Education Alliance at Brown University : Portfolio Detail

Project Summary

Development & Dissemination Schools Initiative

The Development and Dissemination Schools Initiative was a five-year project of the New York City Board of Education's Office of English Language Learners and The Education Alliance at Brown University. Its goal was to help New York's English language learners (ELLs) acquire both English language and other skills and knowledge they needed to meet the New Standards that the Chancellor had established for all students in New York City.

Alliance staff worked closely with field-based staff who worked on site with the Development & Dissemination (D&D) schools in New York City. In the first phase of work we determined: 1) What kinds of access D&D Schools and teachers had to technology, email, and the Web, and 2) How the D&D Web site might be developed to assist schools in their improvement efforts. Information was collected through staff interviews, school surveys, and an on-site focus group. Data from these activities were used to identify objectives and strategies for collaboration on the web site.

While promoting the use of interactive tools, we also strove to understand the kinds of activities and content that fit needs of teachers in their practice, and the technology barriers and resource limitations they face. A second phase of work focused on the development of a dissemination plan for sharing best practices for English language learners and identifying features of "learning communities." Through this process we hoped to identify activities that could effectively assist teachers who were not oriented to using technology as a learning tool in discovering the benefits of online learning communities.