Top Ten Things Everyone Should Know About K-12 Students’ Views on Digital Learning

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In honor of Digital Learning Day last week, we released a sneak peek of the 2014 National Findings for K-12! Last fall, 431,231 K-12 students nationwide spoke up about digital learning and more – here’s a preview of what we learned:
  • 42% of 6th-8th graders say taking an online or virtual class should be a requirement for graduation.
  • Amongst girls, 64% of 3rd-5th and 50% 6th-8th graders want to code.
  • 46% of 9th-12th graders are Twitter users now – 4 times more than in 2011 when only 11% were tweeting
To read the full list of things everyone should know about K-12 students’ views on digital learning, click here.

Around the Web Wednesday

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Happy Around the Web Wednesday! Browse all the links below for the latest news and topics trending in education and technology. Be sure to let us know which article intrigued you the most!

Digital Debate: Is social media destroying social skills?

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The California Writing Project, a national partner of Digital Learning Day, utilized Google Hangouts to hold digital debates between students about issues in their schools, communities, and across California. Check out the first Digital Debate about social media in the video above.

Digital Debate Topic #1: Social Media
Cary Zierenberg’s eighth grade students from Natomas Charter School’s Leading Edge Academy and Sean Young’s students from Pleasanton Middle School chose to debate Topic #1: Social Media— Is social media destroying our social skills? The students and teachers are considering developing their own debate topics and taking each other on again later in the semester.

During Speak Up 2014, 46% of high schools students said they use Twitter – this is four times more users than in 2011 when only 11% of students were tweeting. Do you think social media is destroying students’ social skills? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments!

To learn more about the California Writing Project, visit their website. Click here if you are interested in learning more about their Digital Debates.

The 40-year-old California Writing Project is a network of sixteen regional sites, nine housed on University of California campuses and eight on California State University campuses. Every year, over 20,000 teachers participate in CWP campus, school, and district programs. These teachers, representing all grade levels, from kindergarten through university, often teach in disciplines other than English. The project also provides programs that serve administrators, paraprofessionals, students, and parents.The California Writing Project has a central mission: to improve student writing and learning by improving the teaching of writing. By having successful teachers of writing teach their colleagues, CWP is able to conduct significant numbers of programs each year, ranging from 1900-2300 programs.

CoSN 2015: The Eight Essentials for Success in Mobile Learning

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Tuesday, March 17
9:15-10:15am – M301
Focus Area: Pioneering Innovation

Presenters: 
Chris Dede, Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies, Harvard University
Julie Evans, CEO, Project Tomorrow

Description:
Researchers and developers have generated many insights about how to design, deliver, and evaluate highly successful mobile learning projects. These strategies for effective development and sustainability are summarized below, categorized as “8 essentials”:
• Purposeful planning for mobile device usage
• Leveraging content and curriculum that is mobile-empowered
• Understanding the power of Internet access
• Preparing educators effectively
• Securing leadership buy-in
• Building personal learner efficacy and capacity for self-directed learning
• Measuring project results with meaningful metrics
• Creating an ecosystem that is sustainable and scalable
Applying these strategies will greatly increase the chances for success of a mobile learning initiative.

This session will present examples illustrating successful use for each of the eight strategies. Participants will gain insights into how to develop, implement, and evaluate mobile learning initiatives.

Project Tomorrow Celebrates Digital Learning Day 2015

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Happy Digital Learning Day! Project Tomorrow is proud to be a longstanding Core Partner in Digital Learning Day. Subsequently, we’ve released a new participation map and a special sneak peek at the 2014 National Findings for K-12 students titled: Top Ten Things Everyone Should Know About K-12 Students’ Views on Digital Learning. Additionally all 2014 Speak Up district contacts now have access to a new data report to help with data analysis.
Not sure what Digital Learning Day is about? Keep reading to learn more about the event, as well as ways you can get involved.

Quick links:

▪ Digital Learning Day 2015: Learn more about this annual celebration, as well as ways to get involved.
▪ Top Ten Things Everyone Should Know About K-12 Students’ Views on Digital Learning: Get a sneak peek at the 2014 National Findings for K-12 students. 
▪ Speak Up 2014 Participation Map: We’ve created a new and improved participation map in honor of #DLDay – check it out!
▪ New data report for district contacts: If your district participated in Speak Up 2014, check out this new way to view your data.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts with us on Facebook, Twitter, and our Blog. Don’t forget to share your digital learning celebrations with@OfficialDLDay and with the hashtag #DLDay!

-The Project Tomorrow team
***
Happy Digital Learning Day

Digital Learning Day 2015

About Digital Learning Day

Since 2012, Digital Learning Day has provided a powerful venue for education leaders to highlight great teaching practice and showcase innovative teachers, leaders, and instructional technology programs that are improving student outcomes. This grassroots effort blossomed into a massive nationwide celebration as teachers realized that Digital Learning Day is not about technology, it’s about learning. It’s not about laying off teachers for laptops, it’s about enhancing the role of the teacher in America’s classrooms. Digital Learning Day promotes the effective use of modern day tools afforded to every other industry to improve the learning experience in K-12 public schools.

Digital Learning Day Live!

This year, Digital Learning Day is going live! Digital Learning Day Live! will highlight some of the nation’s most promising digital learning initiatives and foster a stimulating discussion about what it takes to integrate technology effectively, strategically, and meaningfully in schools. This free online event streams live from Washington, DC, beginning at 1PM EST. To RSVP to this free, online event, visit the Digital Learning Day website.

Get involved!

It’s not too late to start celebrating Digital Learning Day! Check out some of these easy ways to get involved:

▪ Visit Digital Learning Day’s Planning Resources Hub to find free and easy to use tools to get started with your digital celebration.
▪ View the interactive activity map to gain ideas from other celebrants
▪ Spread the word about digital learning by visiting Digital Learning Day’s Facebook page, Twitter account (@OfficialDLDay), and by using the hashtag #DLDay.
▪ Join the virtual experience by participating in Digital Learning Day Live!

Visit Digital Learning Day’s official website to learn more, and keep reading to see how we’re celebrating digital learning today.
***

Top Ten Things Everyone Should Know About K-12 Students’ Views on Digital Learning

Sneak peek at the 2014 National Findings for K-12 Students

We are excited to release a sneak peek of the 2014 National Findings for K-12 students in honor of Digital Learning Day! Last fall, 431,231 K-12 students nationwide spoke up about digital learning and more – here’s a preview of what we learned:

▪ 42% of 6th-8th graders say taking an online or virtual class should be a requirement for graduation.
▪ Amongst girls, 64% of 3rd-5th and 50% 6th-8th graders want to code.
▪ 46% of 9th-12th graders are Twitter users now – 4 times more than in 2011 when only 11% were tweeting.

To read the full list of things everyone should know about K-12 students’ views on digital learning, click here.
***

Interactive District Participation Map

Check out our new interactive participant map, which shows how loudly all of our Speak Up 2014 districts spoke up about education, technology, and more.
Click here to view the map.
***

Did your district participate in Speak Up 2014?

If so, we’ve provided a way for all district contacts to view a report of their district’s school results in a side by side comparison format. Follow these steps to view your data:

1. Visit the view data homepage and log in under option 1.
2. Once logged in, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on “Download Excel Summary.”
3. Select which audience you would like to view data under.
4. Download the spreadsheet.

Please note this information is only available to districts that participated in Speak Up 2014.
***
Thank you for your interest and continued support of Speak Up! Be sure to stay updated on all things Speak Up by following us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagramand our Blog.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact our Speak Up Operations Manager, Jenny Hostert, at jhostert@tomorrow.org or via phone at (949) 609-4660 ext. 17.
Many thanks to our sponsors and partners for the support of Speak Up 2014: Blackboard Inc., BrainPOP, Fuel Education, DreamBox Learning, Schoolwires, Qualcomm Wireless Reach, Rosetta Stone, American Association of School Administrators, Consortium for School Networking, Digital Learning Day, Digital Promise, edWeb, International Association for K-12 Online Learning, International Society for Technology in Education, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National School Boards Association, Secondary Education Teachers’ Association, and the Southern Regional Education Board.

Digital Learning Day is in ONE day!

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In honor of Digital Learning Day, Project Tomorrow will release a special sneak peek at the 2014 National Findings for K-12 students titled: Top Ten Things Everyone Should Know About K-12 Students’ Views on Digital Learning. Additionally all 2014 Speak Up district contacts will gain access to a new data report to help with data analysis! Check www.tomorrow.org/speakup or @SpeakUpEd on Twitter this Friday for more details! Happy Digital Learning Day!
To learn more about Digital Learning Day, visit the event’s website, and watch their informative video above. How are you celebrating Digital Learning Day? Share your plans on their interactive map and on Twitter by mentioning @OfficialDLDay and #DLDay.

Started in 2012, Digital Learning Day has provided a powerful venue for education leaders to highlight great teaching practice and showcase innovative teachers, leaders, and instructional technology programs that are improving student outcomes. This grassroots effort blossomed into a massive nationwide celebration as teachers realized that Digital Learning Day is not about technology, it’s about learning. It’s not about laying off teachers for laptops, it’s about enhancing the role of the teacher in America’s classrooms. Digital Learning Day promotes the effective use of modern day tools afforded to every other industry to improve the learning experience in K-12 public schools. To learn more, visit http://www.digitallearningday.org/domain/54.

Around the Web Wednesday

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Happy Around the Web Wednesday! Browse all the links below for the latest news and topics trending in education and technology. Be sure to let us know which article intrigued you the most!

Mark your calendars – Digital Learning Day is this Friday, March 13th! Not sure what digital learning or Digital Learning Day are? Visit the event’s website for more information. How will you celebrate #DLDay? Let us know by commenting on this post or sharing your ideas on Twitter and Facebook.

The Road To TEACH #SXSWedu

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Wednesday, March 11 
12:00PM – 1:30PM 
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Theater 2 
320 East 6th Street
Do you have what it takes to be a teacher? Three college students, all aspiring teachers, embark on a cross-country road trip of self-discovery and adventure and find real-life inspiration from educators, policy makers, social entrepreneurs, and activists who share their own roads to the classroom. We follow Nadia, Rafael, and Grace’s personal journeys as they contemplate their futures and begin to understand the vast opportunities, personal rewards, and vital need for passionate young people to teach. Join the Q&A after the film and discuss how to inspire the next generation to teach.
Panelists
 
Grace Worm
Roadtrip Nation – Roadtripper
Julie Evans
Project Tomorrow – CEO
Lisa Zimble
Participant Media/TEACH Campaign – Producer
Mike Marriner
Roadtrip Nation – Co-Founder
Rafael Silva
Roadtrip Nation – Roadtripper

Paying it forward: Leveraging Today’s Female Voices in Ed Tech #SXSWedu

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SXSWedu Logo
Tuesday, March 10
3:00PM – 4:00PM
Austin Convention Center Room 12AB
500 East Cesar Chavez Street 
#edtech4women
http://www.tomorrow.org/SxSweduPanel.html

Are you at SXSWedu? Attend Julie Evans’s panel with Dr. Kari Stubbs, Dr. Mila Thomas Fuller, and Dr. Kecia Ray.

This panel brings together female change agents intentionally gathered from across the ed tech space with the hope of examining the unique role women can play at this interesting nexus of education and technology.  The discussion will be anchored around data on the presence, role, and level of influence of female voices in education and will include personal histories and testimonies on the growth in this field.

Join the conversation to hear from and interact with Nashville district leadership, the CEO of Project Tomorrow, a Vice President from BrainPOP, and the Director of the National Council of Teachers of English, all of whom have been national leaders in their field and have lent their expertise and vision to the work of the board of ISTE, the International Society of Technology in Education.  Research has demonstrated that the today’s young girls and women need role models in technology fields to develop self-efficacy in these fields.  While women have dominated the teaching profession for over the past century, the role of women as technology leaders within education is still emerging.

This interactive discussion explores multiple paths to ed tech leadership, including through university doctoral work, leadership with state and federal grants,  school district leadership, lending thought influence to visionary agencies such as Horizon K12 and Digital Promise, research  expertise, corporate America or a membership association, and contributing to the industry conversation through publications and at conferences such as SXSWedu.  The experiences of this diverse panel of education technology leaders will provide invaluable input into new best practices for supporting young girls and women in this field.  Whether you are examining how to further your own personal voice in the space, grow your PLN and exploring new professional career paths, or you are interested in how to leverage the experiences of women who are currently in this field to mentor and coach the next great generation of female ed tech leaders, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.