ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses the EdLab approach to educational research where the goal was to identify opportunities to make the research process more efficient. Many such opportunities stem from the adoption of digital platforms for teaching and learning, which can streamline the collection of data and in some cases automate the application of findings by altering the educational experiences offered to students. The evolution of digital platforms and tools make possible a major relocation of educational research activities from universities and applied research firms to sites of educational practice. Such sites can increasingly support what the EdLab teams came to called embedded research, that is, educational research activities embedded within the educational context. If educational research shifts to sites of practice, there will be a new level of demand for research methods and tools to improve the quality and to reduce the cost of research. Such methods may become the primary contribution of educational research based in universities. It was this vision of a possible future for educational research that motivated the EdLab interest in creating tools to achieve efficiencies in educational research.