Monday, August 26, 2013

Exciting News & Events at Project Tomorrow

Happy Monday to all our followers and supporters!

Below, you will find our Fall 2013 newsletter that highlights the latest exciting  news and events occurring at Project Tomorrow.

Be sure to read up on all the new changes, like the launch of our BRAND NEW website! Log onto to tomorrow.org to witness the new site for yourself! Please let us know what you think by commenting below, or on Facebook and Twitter.

In other related news, we are so thrilled to announce that our blog has reached over 2,000 page views! We are thrilled with your readership, and invite you to check back each day for new posts that will feature news and discussions concerning all things education related.

We would also like to apologize to those that tried to register for Speak Up 2013 earlier this morning. Due to the launch of our new site, you may have received an error message, or were simply unable to complete your request. We are happy to announce that registration is now up and running, and you may now register here. Thank you for your understanding. We appreciate all of you.

Don't forget to vote for Project Tomorrow's CEO Julie Evans' panel ListenUp! SpeakUp! GameUp! A Game Data Discussion at the SXSWEdu conference in Austin, Texas, which, with your help, will be scheduled to occur in March 2014! 

Happy Reading!

- The Project Tomorrow team

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The end of Summer is upon us...

Which means the sun-filled days are dwindling, and Fall and the upcoming school year are quickly approaching!
With the beginning of Fall also comes a renewed sense of energy; as the weather shifts and the trees and plants around us sense a change, we also respond by gaining momentum from the newfound environment.
Here at Project Tomorrow, we have been busy prepping and planning for the upcoming season. In this newsletter you will find information regarding registration and the launch date of Speak Up 2013, the debut of our new website and blog, a news alert regarding the FCC and the E-Rate program, voting information regarding a SXSWEdu conference panel, thought-provoking reports and presentations by Julie Evans, Project Tomorrow’s CEO, and updates regarding Project Tomorrow's Teacher Initiative Programs.
We hope you will welcome Fall with us, and enjoy reading about our latest ventures.
As always, please feel free to share with us your thoughts and comments.

Happy Fall!

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What is Speak Up?

Speak Up provides an easy way for students, parents and educators to participate in your local decisions about technology, as well as contribute to the state and national dialogue about educational technology. Since 2003, Project Tomorrow has collected the viewpoints of over 3 million students, educators and parents – the Speak Up dataset represents the largest collection of authentic feedback from these key educational stakeholders.

What schools/districts are saying about Speak Up:

"The South Carolina Virtual School Program looks forward to reviewing our Speak-Up survey responses every year, because it allows us to put a finger on the pulse of our students’ learning experiences. We are able to identify ways to expand and grow our program based on student feedback. The South Carolina Virtual School Program always focuses on the students’ open, written comments in the Speak-Up surveys, because this present students with the opportunity to openly express their thoughts, opinions, and suggestions about how we can adjust our program and adapt it to stay at the cutting edge in the growing field of online education."
--Vicki Williams, South Carolina Virtual School Program, South Carolina
"The data collected through the Speak Up survey[s] was shared with key stakeholders in the district including parents, patrons, Board of Education, and the Technology Advisory Committee members. Each group found the data informative and helpful to them in their work.
--Kristy Sailors, Director of Educational Technology-Blue Valley School District, Kansas

What changes are being made for Speak Up 2013?

As a new feature this year (to simplify the registration process) all districts and schools, in the current NCES database, are automatically registered to participate in Speak Up.
To manage your school or district information and obtain free, online access to your school or district’s aggregated results, your registration must be activated with a primary/main contact by registering on our website.
As always, registration is not required, but recommended as you will be kept up to date with important Speak Up information. To Learn more about the benefits of designating a main contact please go to our site here, or see below:

Benefits of designating a Main/Primary contact:

1.Gain administrative access by assigning your district (or school) an organizational login password (administrative password), which allows you to update district or school contact information.
2.Assign individual student survey passwords to schools. (optional)
3.Assign school primary contacts to facilitate the survey taking process at the school level. (optional)
4.Have the ability to monitor district/school’s survey counts at any time through the main contact login.
5.View your district and school data once it becomes available (administrative password is required to view data results.)
6.Ensure confidentiality of your surveys with your students by assigning a survey “secret password” for students to use to take the survey.
7.Receive weekly emails with up to date participation numbers by school and/or district (option to opt out of emails during registration process).
8.Receive an email from Project Tomorrow when your Speak Up local data becomes available.
9.Keep up to date on other important updates during the survey process.

Types of Main/Primary Contacts:

1.District- Has access to all schools within the district. Will only need to assign one contact for the district. The district assigned passwords (administrative and survey) will work for all schools within that district.
2.School- Access to an individual school site. This is optional. Can assign individual school level passwords different from the district passwords (district passwords will work in addition to school level passwords).
3.Private School- Access to your individual school. If you would like to group a set of private schools to receive a grouped dataset much like the district level reports, please contact the Speak Up Team at speakup@tomorrow.org.
4.Organization – Please contact the Speak Up Team at speakup@tomorrow.org to help set up your registration.
5.International school- Access to your individual school. If you would like to group a set of schools to receive a grouped dataset much like the district level reports, please contact the Speak Up Team at speakup@tomorrow.org.

Registration Information:

To register, log onto our new website here.
If you prefer to have us register for you, please send us an e-mail to speakup@tomorrow.org with the following information:
1.The name of your district or school
2.Your State
3.Name, title, and email address of the main contact
4.A student survey password
5.An organizational login password (to view weekly survey counts and other important updates during the survey period)
We will then send you a follow up email with a PDF of your school list and passwords to confirm that your district/school has been registered.

Other new features of Speak Up 2013:

  • Educators and parents will not be required to enter a survey password.
  • Districts and/or schools will still need to assign a student level survey password to take the survey
  • New survey for Community members and Business Partners will be added to the survey deck

Questions? E-mail us at speakup@tomorrow.org

Speak Up 2013 Surveys will open October 2nd, 2013, and will run through December 20th, 2013!

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Make Sure to Log On and Witness All the New Changes!

We are pleased to announce the debut of our new website! Log onto www.tomorrow.org to see the new site for yourself. We hope you enjoy navigating all the new links, and that you find the information on the site to be useful and user-friendly. Please let us know what you think!
We want to give a special thanks to Judith Marciante, our website guru, for her diligence and hard work on putting together Project Tomorrow's new website.
Moreover, we are excited to announce the new Project Tomorrow blog!
Our new blog launched in mid-July, and has been gaining a rapid readership ever since! We reached1,000 views on Monday, August 5th, 2013.
We can't thank our followers enough for your support in Project Tomorrow. Please continue to follow our blog, where you'll find new posts daily highlighting important trends and topics in education, as well as updates and information about Project Tomorrow's initiatives. Feel free to comment on any and all posts that provoke thoughts, ideas, or discussions from your personal experiences. We welcome an honest and empathetic discourse concerning the educational experiences of our communities.
Additionally, you can stay updated on all things Project Tomorrow by following Project Tomorrow onTwitter and Facebook, Speak Up on Twitter and Facebook, and Julie Evans' Twitter account here.
Thank you, and Enjoy!
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On July 23, 2013, the FCC released the E-rate Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) which is designed to collect input from stakeholders on a broad range of issues.
The FCC is specifically seeking feedback on how to ensure that schools and libraries have access to 21st Century connectivity to support digital learning, on how to maximize the cost-effectiveness of E-rate funds and how to streamline the application process.
This NPRM is a very long document and there are lots of proposed rule changes for E-rate funding. The link to the actual NPRM can be found here.
The deadline for stakeholder feedback or comments is September 16. We recommend that all of our Speak Up friends take a look at this document as the proposed changes may impact your schools and districts and how you are currently using your E-rate funding.
If you decide to file a statement or comment with the FCC and would like to use Speak Up data to support your comment, please let us know. We are currently considering our own filing as well.
Thank you!
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Vote for Julie

Julie Evans, Project Tomorrow's CEO, regularly gives insightful and thought-provoking presentations on current educational trends directly affecting our children, schools, educators, and communities.
Have you seen one of Julie's presentations? You may see her work by logging onto our website here.
Julie has the unique opportunity to speak with a panel of other educational visionaries throughSXSWEdu!
The panel discussion is titled ListenUp! SpeakUp! GameUp! A Game Data Discussion
The speakers leading this important discussion are:
•Jessica Millstone, Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop
• Julie Evans, Project Tomorrow
• Allisyn Levy, BrainPOP
• Robert Torres, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
With your help, we can bring this timely and valuable discussion to fruition.
We would so appreciate you logging on, registering, and casting a vote for Julie's panel here, or by clicking the webtile below! Voting is currently live, and will run through Friday, September 6th.
Thank you for your participation!
PanelPicker Vote
About SXSWEdu
March 3-6, 2014 in Austin, Texas will be a formative four-day conference highlighting pivotal trends and topics in education lead by pioneers and visionaries in the educational field.
To learn more about SXSWedu, visit their site.
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Be sure to stay updated on the latest reports and presentations by Julie Evans, Project Tomorrow's CEO!

Below, you'll find the most recent links to Julie's reports, presentations, and webinars. We hope these reports bring you new insight and value into relevant educational trends and topics.
Feel free to share your comments with us via TwitterFacebook, and our Blog.
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fea_CA

Future Educators Association of California

The Future Educators Associaiton of California (FEA) is a Career and Technical Organization catering to Careers in Education and Child Development classes. FEA provides opportunities for leadership, competitions, conferences, networking, and scholarships. Click Here to find out more!
YT2LearnLogo_Blue_Small

YouthTEACH2Learn

The YouthTEACH2Learn Program is a free high school curriculum designed to give students a practical experience in teaching math and science in an elementary school setting. The curriculum is modeled after Cal State Fullerton's entry level education course and expands on the curriculum by providing students the opportunity to teach in a full classroom setting. Click Here for more information.
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Thank you for your continued support in Project Tomorrow!

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