As the initial step towards these ends, the Testbed developed a Web-based collaboration environment, the Community Web, that provides classrooms with content-specific resources, Web-based conferences, automated data sharing, and tools for data analysis.

The Testbed is developing knowledge and expertise by collaborating with other organizations, including nonprofit organizations, state departments of education, and publishers, as it supports these groups in their telecollaboration projects; in addition, the Testbed supports some projects initiated by individual teachers. We assist partner projects by providing services, support, and products, including technology planning, curriculum planning, online collaboration environments (Community Webs), organizational support, support for technology use, support for data analysis, and online scaffolding and tutorials. We share learning among partner projects and document the impact of these projects on the pedagogical practices of teachers and on student learning.

Plans for 1996-97 include a systematic investigation of the experiences of Testbed projects with supporting project staff, teachers and students in data-rich investigations. Current work includes development of workshops to train project support personnel and teachers in the use of data, including data analysis. We are applying emerging Web-based technologies in the creation of data analysis applets, and developing an online, forms-based authoring tool to facilitate building and maintaining data tables for Community Webs. This tool will enable large numbers of teachers and students to create and maintain their own shared data projects.