Emphasis on Educational Technologies Within National Science Foundation Projects

Our research team evaluated 18 months of National Science Foundation (NSF) program announcements and awarded programs to discern the amount and type of emphasis placed upon educational technologies. NSF issued 65 solicitations for proposals, with 53.8% calling for educational technology components. A sampling of 366 of the 1,180 funded projects showed that 34.7% included educational technology. Twenty-five percent of the projects were in biology and cognitive science, with another 40% in general science, computer science, technical education, engineering, and math. Many types of educational technologies were funded, with an emphasis on cognitive tutors/intelligent agents, distance learning, and online communities.