Welcome to the Center for Education Research on Literacy & Inquiry in Networking Communities (LINC). This website represents innovative literacy and inquiry research approaches and curriculum designs for a digital age that networking communities across K-20 are developing. Some communities involve face-to-face networking across sites. Other digital teaching and learning communities are using the potential for collaborative work in real time across geographic space made possible by the development of advanced networking technologies, provided by CALren (CENIC), Internet2 and their partners, nationally and internationally.

LINC supports ethnographic research and innovative curriculum designs and research projects that enhance literacy and inquiry knowledge required in a digital age. LINC has three interconnected initiatives:

* Research Methodologies for exploring Literacy and Inquiry in classrooms

* Grounded, Interactive, Reflexive, Action-oriented.curriculum designs for literacy and inquiry across disciplines in K-12 classrooms

* Developing approaches to Teaching for Social Justice, building on ethnographic and discourse research on the complex work of teachers, committed to equity of access to.disciplinary knowledge for all students

Members of LINC, both university and Pre-K-12, engage in interactive planning to support the development of common projects that are locally interpreted and implemented, and globally connected.

* Projects in the K-12 networks focus on the areas of literature and writing, social science and science (See Yeager & Elder, 2005).

* Projects in Pre-K-20 networks focus on both informal and formal education settings through the development of a series of Digital Teaching and Learning Community initiatives in areas such as math, science, social science and literacy/language arts.

* Projects in the Pre-K-20 networks explore new approaches to researching teaching and learning in classrooms and other social settings (See Thematic School).

This innovative and dynamic networking approach makes resources at one site available to all members of LINC'S networks.

We hope that you will explore the resources available on this site. If you would like information on how to join these networking communities or how to build a networking community for your site, please contact us.