Mission:
The Knowledge Loom is a resource where educators may review research that identifies best practices; view stories about the practices in real schools and districts; learn to replicate the success of the practices; add stories, knowledge, and questions to the collection; participate in online events and discussions; and discover supporting organizations and resources.

Background:
Five years ago, the U.S. Department of Education provided seed funding to the Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory (LAB) at Brown University to develop a "sustainable, customer-driven, distributed repository/database of information on best practices in teaching and learning." The LAB, which develops educational products and services for school administrators, policymakers, teachers, and parents, realized that a repository of best practices would not be enough to significantly improve teaching and learning. It decided to create the Knowledge Loom Web site as a learning community that encourages administrators, teachers, and others in the education field to share their own best practices with each other. The Knowledge Loom also features content from universities and nonprofits, individual schools and districts, and companies that develop educational products and services.

Outstanding Feature:
The home page of the Knowledge Loom links visitors to a collection of Spotlight features on a range of topics, including adolescent literacy, choice-based art education, middle school math, principals, and redesigning high schools. Each Spotlight links to relevant publications and research, current strategies, and success stories. The Spotlights also offer an interactive experience: Visitors can submit questions to education experts, post stories and ideas to share with their peers, and participate in online discussions.