What is the Mass. Studies Project?

The MSP is an education outreach project located at University of Mass. Boston in the Institute for Learning and Teaching that provides a website with Massachusetts-related information and resources for K-12 educators and the general public; professional development training for teachers to integrate technology and relate the MSP web resources to curriculum frameworks; and curriculum materials development where needed that encourage state and community research and hands-on learning.

What does the web site contain?

• two databases on Massachusetts Organizations and Resources, originally organized around the topics of government, geography, local history, environment and people and their cultures. Education technology and education associations are also inventoried, and new themes of industrial history, immigration, women's studies and economics have been added. The Organizations database includes over 750 agencies and associations with educational offerings about Massachusetts, and the Resources database includes over 500 materials such as curriculum guides, activities, texts, and videos. There is a search feature that enables the user to find out what is available in a particular field, such as type of organization, name of city or region, theme, etc and for resources a search can go beyond these fields to include subject, format, grade level, etc. For example, Massachusetts teachers have to cover state history and geography in grades 3 and 4, and they are able to locate organizations in their area and appropriate resources. At other grade levels, teachers may search for a variety of Massachusetts topics: the Revolutionary War, the state constitution and founding documents, Native Americans in Mass. and the Salem Witch Trials, for example. Many disciplines have topics that can use state examples to make them more relevant: to name a few, agriculture, industrialization, immigration, water supply and watersheds. This kind of information is useful not only to teachers and students, but to the general public interested in knowing more about their state, region, and locality as well.

• texts of curriculum guides and reference materials for teachers and students that can be downloaded; new guides are being considered for inclusion. Massachusetts Facts, for example, has information that is also valuable for community officeholders and agencies, and the general public.

• activities, lesson plans, with an opportunity for teachers to share their own; these will be keyed to the state curriculum frameworks to aid teachers in relating hands-on, local materials to the required curriculum. We have added lessons produced in UMB institutes, and will include sharing of activities and ideas by any educator, subject to guidelines.

• connecting links to database organizations with websites and to other sites with educational information and materials on Massachusetts topics (Over 300 links). This kind of web assistance is used by the general public as well as busy teachers.

• highlights, with a focus on a theme: this section brings together all the resources on a particular subject, including featured organizations, curriculum, lesson plans, outstanding teachers, and links to related web sites. Watersheds of Massachusetts was our first featured theme. The current theme, Massachusetts History, Geography, and Government includes two new features, Mass. Firsts and Primary Sources. Local Studies will be the next special focussed topic.

Massachusetts Firsts offers questions and answers about the state's impressive records in education, government and industry. Teachers and their students are challenged to check out the facts on each "First". In some cases, new research and changing times move Massachusetts from first, e.g. as the #1 producer of the world's crop of cranberries to #2 in the past couple of years. In another instance, we were informed of research on Quincy's granite quarry railroad as the first railroad in the country, which turned out to be #12. However, Boston was #1 and #2 according to this reported source. Therefore, this section is open to editing and additions.

Primary Sources on Massachusetts Historical People and Places: its first offering is on Industrial History, with an electronic library of downloadable images and descriptions for research and projects. A teacher's guide, bilbiography and power point presentation are also included. The main industrial city to-date is Fall River as part of a case study done in cooperation with the Center for Computer-Based Instructional Materials at University of Mass. Amherst, whose online presentation of Lizzie Borden and Fall River is linked. Other industrial areas are now being included.

Who uses the website and how often?

The website receives hundreds of hits daily. There is no mechanism as yet to know how many users return to the site, which would be helpful to know. We plan to launch a campaign to notify others about the site and to request linkage. Watershed, history and technology groups will be asked to inform members on their Listserv about our focussed themes on Highlights. We will also inform those orgs. with webpages who are already listed in our Organization database, and educational groups and search engines that do not have us listed will be contacted. We do have an email address online through which we receive feedback and questions, and we also receive telephone calls requesting information about Mass. Studies.

How do you know if the MSP is meeting needs?

Through email requests for information (and acknowledgments), updating of listings, letters and phone calls. We have also had professional development institutes that have an evaluation process, and teachers have used our materials to produce lessons. For evaluation purposes, a stronger effort will be made to identify our audience and their needs, and to use the web for survey and evaluation.

How does the MSP hope to expand and improve offerings?

It is presently content rich but needs more eye-catching graphics and greater interactivity to entice people back many times. It needs to customize its databases so that there are more cross-connections and greater searchability. The addition of graphics and data libraries, a what's new section, and a bulletin board and discussion group to encourage exchange of information and ideas, would increase its usefulness and its audience at the same time.

The MSP hopes to connect to the new Department of Education program called CLASP (Curriculum Library Alignment and Sharing Project) and needs to secure funding to make the necessary changes in database structure and standards linkage to meet their criteria.

The project is applying for grants to increase the electronic library with additional primary sources - downloadable maps, photos and documents. The MSP also hopes to develop a data library of facts about the state and its communities (e.g. census, geography, climate data, political subdivisions and recent voting records, nationality by towns, names of governors and other political officers, etc.) that can be downloaded for inclusion in projects and reports as well.

Who sponsors, runs the MSP?

Affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Boston through the Institute for Learning and Teaching in the Graduate College of Education, the MSP is located in the Wheatley Building in Rm 2-186. There is a full time Project Director (partly pro-bono); staff are hired related to grants. A Steering Ctte. meets monthly and an Advisory Board has been organized. The web site is sponsored by both the UMass Boston server (databases) and the UMass Amherst K12 server (website). As yet it has no operating budget at the University and is dependent upon grants and charitable gifts.

Who are the partners and affiliated organizations of the MSP?

The MSP has partners within the University (Geography Department, Mass. Field Center for Teaching & Learning, Healey Library, Computing Services, MultiSite Education, Urban Harbors Institute) and throughout the state (Mass. Bays Education Alliance, Museum Institute for Teaching Science, Center for Computer-Based Instructional Technology at UMass. Amherst, Mass. Computer Using Educators, Mass. Geographic Alliance, Mass. Council for the Social Studies, Mass. Archives), who collaborate on joint grants and projects of mutual interest and benefit. It also works with educational collaboratives, school districts and cultural organizations related to specific grants or educational initiatives.