Qualtrics and SPSS Research Training Series

The UF Center for Digital Health and Wellness is hosting a Qualtrics and SPSS Training Series to be held in January and February, respectively. Please contact Rebeccah Mercado at rebeccahmercado@ufl.edu by December 8 with your date and time preferences. If you contact her after December 8, she will do her best to accommodate your schedule. Seating is limited.

Each series will consist of four 2.5 hour classes taught by Dr. Jose Lugo-Silva in the Florida Gym, Room 250. Please bring a laptop as these are highly interactive courses and participation is recommended.

Qualtrics is a robust, sophisticated service for creating and delivering web-based surveys. With over 100 question types available and the ability to create interactive questions and engage survey-takers with rich media, it becomes possible to increase response rates. Users can also pull questions from professionally designed surveys as well as create their own library of questions, surveys, messages, and media.

Quantitative survey data can be analyzed as it is collected and researchers can pre-create reports with graphs, charts, and tables that populate in real time. Likewise, data can be exported into SPSS, Excel, or a variety of other formats for additional analysis. Furthermore, Qualtrics reports can be exported to PowerPoint, Word, or as a PDF file to use in presentations, reports, and research writing.

USDOE Proposes New Regulations to Strengthen Teacher Preparation

The US Department of Education has announced proposed regulations to help ensure teacher training programs are effectively preparing educators.

Among the new regulations are changes to the eligibility requirements for TEACH Grants. The USDOE currently allocates about $100 million each year in TEACH Grants awarded to aspiring teachers who agree to teach at high-need schools after graduation.

Under the new rules, states would be required to evaluate teacher preparation programs to determine several factors, including how well graduates perform as measured by student learning outcomes. Based on these results, the USDOE would award TEACH Grants only to graduates attending programs deemed effective. Furthermore, states would be required to provide technical assistance to any programs rated as low-performing.

For more information on the proposed regulations, please see the USDOE website Improving Teacher Preparation and the press release U.S. Department of Education Proposes Plan to Strengthen Teacher Preparation.

Happy Holidays from Your OER Team!

Happy Holidays

Awarded Projects for November 2014

College of Education
Awarded Projects
November 2014
Principal Investigator: Diana Joyce Beaulieu (SESPECS)
Co-PI: Lynda Hayes (P.K. Yonge)
Funding Agency: Neuronet Learning, LLC
Project Title: Neuronet Learning: Interactive Learning for 4-5 Year Olds & Kindergarten Students
Project Period: 11/1/2014 – 6/30/2015
Award Amount: $2,000
Principal Investigator: Maureen Conroy (CEECS/SESPECS)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: Virginia Commonwealth University (Subcontract–IES flow through)
Project Title: Development and Validation of Treatment Integrity Measures of Classroom-Based Instructional Interventions in Early Childhood Settings
Project Period: 9/1/2014 – 8/31/2018
Award Amount: $179,506

 

Submitted Projects for November 2014

College of Education
Submitted Projects
November 2014
Principal Investigator: Pavlo “Pasha” Antonenko (STL)
Co-PI: Bruce MacFadden (Florida Museum of Natural History), Aaron Wood (Florida Museum of Natural History), Corey Toler-Franklin (Computer & Information Science & Engineering)
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation
Proposal Title: STRATEGIES: iDigFossils: Engaging K-12 Students in Integrated STEM via 3D Digitization, Printing and Exploration of Fossils
Requested Amount: $1,194,054
Principal Investigator: Thomas Dana (Dean’s Area)
Co-PI: Daniel McCoy (Dean’s Area)
Funding Agency: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Proposal Title: Adaptive Learning Networks in Secondary & Post-secondary Virtual Educational Environments
Requested Amount: $142,656
Principal Investigator: Mary McLean (CEECS/SESPECS)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: US Department of Education/OSEP
Proposal Title: Preparation and Retention of Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education Personnel: Preparing for Evidence-Based Practice in High Need Early Childhood Settings (Project Prepare)
Requested Amount: $1,232,603