9454715 Manning The school networking project "Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh" has begun to create a networked educational environment in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. The project has highlighted a number of research questions involving the issues of student usage, community access, teacher enhancement, institutionalization, dissemination and content. It is proposed to extend "Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh" with the formation of a new Urban Research Laboratory in which these questions can be thoroughly addressed. The Urban Research Laboratory involves "Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh," the Pittsburgh Public Schools, and a set of affiliated institutions which include vendors, universities and other school districts. Each of the participants in the Laboratory's activities helps to address one or more of the research questions mentioned above. Project activities within the Urban Research Laboratory are identified through a competitive process in the school district and are carried out in classrooms of the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Typical projects use the wide area network connectivity provided by "Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh" to access remote resources or facilitate collaborations with groups outside the school classroom. The same connectivity provides the thread which binds the three groups which contribute to the activities of the Urban Research Laboratory. "Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh" is itself a collaborative effort, with technical support provided through the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, assessment support and project management through the University of Pittsburgh, and educational support from the Pittsburgh Public Schools.
