Michael K. Barbour

The Nature of Virtual Schooling in Rural Schools

In recent years, students in the current virtual program has consistently performed as well as or better than their classroom counterparts in final course scores and standardized exams, opposing a more well-documented trend in the literature for other K-12 distance education programs. Through the use of interviews, focus groups, journal entries, surveys, and participant observation, this study examines the nature of virtual school learning with secondary students, seeking to explore the factors that may affect performance.

Effectiveness of PowerPoint Games in K-12 E-Learning Environments

With Microsoft PowerPoint, a popular and commonly available classroom tool, it has become easier for teachers and students to use game design as a learning strategy in their classrooms. PowerPoint games (opens in new window) use a technology that most teachers have access to and facility with, MS PowerPoint , to facilitate the creation of a project-based, electronic board game with their students in a constructive environment. It is believed through the process of game design; particularly the writing of a game narrative and knowledge-based questions, students will acquire a deeper understanding of the content material based upon an adaptation of Sam Wineburg's levels of historical understanding. Through the use high stakes testing instruments, this study is designed to judge the effectiveness of game design as a learning strategy.

Whose History?

With the national standards movement in the U.S. , there have been struggles over what is and is not included in the social studies, and particularly the history curriculum. In Canada , two national projects (i.e., Historica's History by the Minute and the CBC mini-series Canada: A People's History ) have not received similar scrutiny. Using an emergent coding scheme, this project examines these two projects to investigate whose history is being told.

In the past, I have also been involved in these research initiatives.

(1999-2005)

The Centre for Advanced Placement Education (CAPE) was founded in the Fall of 1999 by a group of educators at Discovery Collegiate in Bonavista, Newfoundland, Canada. Prior to September 2003, the primary mission of the CAPE had been to provide Advanced Placement opportunities to rural learners across North America and, as a secondary activity, the CAPE was also involved in research into e-learning and the Advanced Placement program. With the creation of St. Brendan's College, the CAPE has become a research facility associated with St. Brendan's College that focuses upon the Advanced Placement program, specifically as it concerns the web-based or distance delivery of Advanced Placement courses. The CAPE ceased their operations in 2005.

Connecting the Home and School through Electronic Dialogue Research Initiative (2000-2003)

In today's society, there are many new technologies that educators have at their disposal to use both inside and outside of the classroom. Some of these web-enabled technologies are the focus of an on-going project on the "open school" model. This "open school" model is designed to provide access to information on a child's schooling to both students and parents outside of the traditional school day. The "Connecting the Home and School through Electronic Dialogue (CHASED)" research initiative considers the use of a number of different web-enabled technologies that are available free-of-charge on the Internet. The CHASED research initiative was in operation for approximately three years.