Assistant Professor of Political Science Dr. Linda K. Mancillas traveled to Seattle, Washington this past September to present her paper, "Born Digital: Using Media Technology in the Political Science Classroom" before attendees of the American Political Science Association's annual conference.

The study compares the learning outcomes of students who were engaged in online discussions of class materials with the outcomes of others who did not participate.

"Pre and post-test evaluations in three introductory classes at American University were used to assess the impact of technology on academic performance," she writes. "The instructor and the lectures were identical  for all three classes, but students in one class were required to post weekly responses to videos and articles on an online discussion board; students in the second class were encouraged, but not required to post; and students in the third class had no online discussion."
Ultimately, Mancillas found no statistically significant learning differences between the groups.