Thursday, July 31, 2014

Save the Date!


Our Vision
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 3.4 million students, educators and parents – the Speak Up dataset represents the largest collection of authentic feedback from these key educational stakeholders.
Learn how to get Involved Here »

Be part of the Speak Up Movement
Speak Up 2014 will be open for input October 6th through December 19th, 2014! All districts and schools, in the current NCES database, are automatically registered to participate in Speak Up. To learn more on how to sign up as the primary contact for your school or district to manage your information and gain access to your local reports in Feb. 2015 please,
Learn More about how to register here »

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

New Research: Digital Tools and Personalized Learning


Did you miss yesterday's webinar with EdWeb.net?

No worries, watch the full webinar recording on Edweb's website: http://home.edweb.net/new-research-digital-tools-personalized-learning/

About the Webinar:
How is learning and teaching being transformed by digital tools?  How do administrators, teachers, parents, and students really use technology right now? And what does the future of personalized learning look like?  In this webinar for the edWeb.net Blended Learning community, Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow, shared survey findings from the Speak Up National Research Project and discussed learning and teaching with technology, 21st Century Skills, and STEM instruction. She was joined by Christie Gibson, Principal of Crull Elementary School, who shared insights from her Board of Education Report on state reporting, as well as comparisons of student growth with the amount of time digital tools are used in each classroom.  View the webinar to hear the latest on digital tools and personalized learning, today and tomorrow.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Speak Up News, July 2014

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Speak Up News, July 2014

In this newsletter, you will find information regarding...
Register to attend the Webinar: Digital Tools and Personalized Learning, Today and Tomorrow
Get a head start on Speak Up 2014! Registration now open, surveys will be available October 6th- December 19th, 2014
Speak Up on the Go! Past presentations with our CEO, Julie Evans.
Happy Reading! Feel free to share your thoughts with us on FacebookTwitter, and our Blog.

-The Project Tomorrow team

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FREE webinar, "New Research: Digital Tools and Personalized Learning, Today and Tomorrow"

Hosted by edWeb.net and Project Tomorrow

When: July 29th
Time: 4PM ET/ 1PM PT
Where: online for free!
Register here
How are learning and teaching being transformed by digital tools?
How do administrators, teachers, parents, and students really use technology right now?
And what does the future of personalized learning look like?
In edWeb.net's next webinar, Julie Evans will share survey findings from the Speak Up National Research Project and discuss learning and teaching with technology, 21st Century Skills, and STEM instruction. She will be joined by Christie Gibson, Principal of Crull Elementary School, who will share insights from her Board of Education Report on state reporting, as well as comparisons of student growth with the amount of time digital tools are used in each classroom. Join Julie and Christie on July 29th to hear the latest on digital tools and personalized learning, today and tomorrow.
Presented by Julie Evans, CEO, Project Tomorrow; with Christina Gibson, Principal, Crull Elementary School, Port Huron, MI
As always, if attending take the conversation to twitter! Don't forget to mention@SpeakUpEd@ProjectTomorrow@edwebnet, and #edwebchat - see you online!
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speakup

Speak Up 2014 surveys for students, parents and educators will be open for input October 6th through December 19th!

With Speak Up 2014 just around the corner, it's not too early to start making plans to take the survey. Get a head start and update your school or district profile for the 2014 surveys at: http://www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2014/.
Each year a school or district primary contact will need to re-register with a new district profile (contact info, passwords) to gain access to their Speak Up information both during and after the survey process.

2014 Promotional Material Tools now available:

▪ General Speak Up Information Flyer
Start spreading the word about Speak Up to your community! Share this speak up flyer with your staff, parents and local community members. Provides background information on the Speak Up Research project, available surveys, question topics and benefits of participation. Also a great email, newsletter or email template!
▪ District Timeline
Have you registered for Speak Up and are uncertain of what to do next? The district/school timeline is a great tool to help you prepare for the Speak Up survey period. This month by month timeline outlines our suggestions on how and when to encourage participation to ensure a significant sampling of representative data is collected in your district. Included are important Speak Up deadlines, participation emails dates and tips for encouraging participation.
▪ Superintendent Guide
This informational guide is a great resource for administrators interested in learning more about Speak Up. This two page guide provides background information on Speak Up, the benefits of participation, what’s included in the survey and the steps required to get your district involved. We recommend sharing this flyer with school or district administrators that are interested in participating but may not have the background information to get started.
▪ Speak Up Tweet List
This sample tweet list is meant to serve as a head start to promoting Speak Up registration and participation via Twitter, Facebook, or other social media. Feel free to use or customize any or all of these tweets to share your school/district’s involvement in the nationwide conversation about technology and education and to encourage others to do the same!

All 2014 Promotional Materials will be available beginning August 18th at:http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/promo.html
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Speak Up on the Go!

View Julie's Past Presentations

By the Numbers: New Research on Games & Learning
Serious Play Conference
July 22, 2014
Inside an Innovative Classroom: A Day in the Life of Today’s Students and Teachers
Bbworld 2014
Las Vegas, Nevada
Wednesday, July 16 (Recording of presentation…coming soon)
▪ Online Learning Trends Breakfast with Project Tomorrow and Blackboard at ISTE
ISTE 2014
6/30/14
▪ Measuring Teachers' Readiness to Leverage Digital Content: Are you ready?
ISTE 2014
06/29/14

Webinar: New Research: Digital Tools and Personalized Learning, Today and Tomorrow
Project Tomorrow and Dreambox Learning
Hosted by District Administration Magazine
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
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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 FacebookTwitterInstagram and our Blog.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at jhostert@tomorrow.orgor via phone at 949/609-4660 ext. 17.
Jenny Hostert
Speak Up Operations Manager
Project Tomorrow

Friday, July 25, 2014

FREE webinar: Digital Tools and Personalized Learning, Today and Tomorrow

What: FREE webinar, "New Research: Digital Tools and Personalized Learning, Today and Tomorrow"
When: July 29th at 4PM ET
Where: online for free!
Register here
How are learning and teaching being transformed by digital tools? How do administrators, teachers, parents, and students really use technology right now? And what does the future of personalized learning look like? 
In edWeb.net's next webinar, Julie Evans will share survey findings from the Speak Up National Research Project and discuss learning and teaching with technology, 21st Century Skills, and STEM instruction. She will be joined by Christie Gibson, Principal of Crull Elementary School, who will share insights from her Board of Education Report on state reporting, as well as comparisons of student growth with the amount of time digital tools are used in each classroom.  Join Julie and Christie on July 29th to hear the latest on digital tools and personalized learning, today and tomorrow.

As always, if attending take the conversation to twitter! Don't forget to mention @SpeakUpEd, @ProjectTomorrow, @edwebnet, and #edwebchat - see you online!

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Finalists Announced for Innovation in Education Awards Honoring Schools, Educators and Students in Orange County

The ten finalists for the 2014 Innovation in Education Awards have been announced! Since 2006, Project Tomorrow and the OC Tech Alliance have recognized outstanding education programs, educators and students for their innovative uses of science, math and technology with this award.


Finalists for this year’s awards are:
  • Innovative Schoolwide Program of the Year in Science, Math & Technology – distinguishing a public, private, or parochial school that demonstrates innovation with an outstanding, results-based schoolwide program
    • Jose Sepulveda Elementary School, Santa Ana Unified School District
Program: Science and Health Focus
    • Journey School, Capistrano Unified School District
Program: The Digital Media Literacy Project
    • El Dorado High School, Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District
Program: Digital Media Arts Academy
  • High Impact Teacher of the Year in Science, Math & Technology – acknowledging the influence of a great teacher in his/her use of science, math or technology to significantly impact student academic achievement
    • Ed Hernandez, Tustin High School, 9-12 Engineering/Math Teacher
    • Kevin Crossett, Huntington Beach High School, 9-12 AP Computer Science/CAD Engineering Teacher
    • Glen Warren, McPherson Magnet School, Technology Teacher Librarian
  • Emerging Student Innovator of the Year in Science, Math & Technology – recognizing eighth grade, freshman, sophomore, or junior high school students who are creatively using science, math and technology resources to solve a school or community problem
    • Samantha Langit, Aliso Niguel High School, 9th Grade (rising sophomore)
    • Helen Kim, Brea Olinda High School, 10th Grade (rising junior)
    • Siblings Aamna and Haleema Abbasi, Beckman High School, 11th Grade (rising seniors)
The 2014 Innovation in Education Award recipients will be announced at the 21st Annual High-Tech Innovation Awards Dinner on Thursday, October 9th, 2014 in Costa Mesa. The annual education focused segment is a partnership between Project Tomorrow and corporate sponsors, Emulex Corporation and Microsemi Corporation.

Congratulations to all of the finalists! Click here to learn more about the Innovation Awards, and click here to learn more about our partner, OC Tech Alliance. 

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Around the Web Wednesday

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!



Be sure to check back each week for our Around the Web Wednesday series. Have a great day!

- The Project Tomorrow Team

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

MIT Blossoms: Blended learning simplified


Nowadays, blended learning consists of iPads, smartphones, and laptops in the classroom. However, blended learning programs can use technology as simple as a television. MIT Blossoms (Blended Learning Open Source Science or Math Studies) provides free math and science video lessons for teachers to use in class. The program was inspired by "old-fashioned" blended classrooms that consisted of only a television and a VCR, which teachers used to play videos that accompanied their lessons. Blossoms's founder Richard Larson, a professor of engineering systems at MIT, put his own spin on this version of blended learning by adding active learning sessions designed to be conducted by a classroom teacher.

Each video lesson consists of video segments, a teacher's guide, printable hand-outs and a list of additional online resources that are relevant to the lesson. For example, Blossoms's first video lesson featured Larson teaching about triangles, random numbers and probability, which featured him sawing a yardstick into pieces. Today there are over one hundred free lessons available, which are being used all over the world in countries such as the US, China, Pakistan, and Brazil.

It's safe to say that the program isn't popular due to new and innovative technologies. Instead, MIT Blossoms focuses on what classrooms really need - full attention on both the teacher and the lesson. Unlike most blended learning classrooms, Blossoms is not "student-centered" but is instead "teacher-centric"; the lesson are designed to avert student attention at both the teacher on the video and the classroom teacher. Furthermore, the program is not BYOD - in fact, students must turn off their laptops and smartphones once lessons begin to ensure that "students are looking at the video, at the teacher, or at each other, not at their own screens."

While Blossoms differs from several other blended learning programs, it still focuses on the same outcomes: student-directed learning with guidance from an experience teacher, less distracted classrooms, and more student collaboration. Although the program may be much simpler than other programs, it is definitely seen as a "gentle bridge" to educational technology for teachers who are hesitant, and also enables teachers to play an active role in the classroom while bringing in educational technology to their students.

Interested in learning more about MIT Blossoms? Read the original article "Putting Teachers at the Center of Education Technology" (Slate) or visit visit the program's website.


Monday, July 21, 2014

Julie Evans featured at this year's Serious Play Conference


What: Julie Evan's presentation, "By the Numbers: New Research on Games & Learning," at the 4th Serious Play Conference
When: July 22nd at 10:30am
Where: SCI 108 within the USC School of Cinematic Arts

The Serious Play Conference is a leadership conference for professionals who embrace the idea that games can revolutionize learning. Produced by the Serious Games Association, an international organization for everyone in the serious games industry, the Serious Play Conference will be held at USC from July 22nd to July 24th.

This year, Julie Evans is a speaker at the Serious Play Conference and will be presenting "By the Numbers: New Research on Games & Learning," which features data from Speak Up 2013. If attending, don't forget to take the conversation online and mention @SpeakUpEd and @ProjectTomorrow!

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Around the Web Wednesday

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!



Be sure to check back each week for our Around the Web Wednesday series. Have a great day!

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Tune in to BbWorld K-12 Live!

Every year Blackboard K-12 hosts BbWorld - a conference for education's leading visionaries. This year they have launched BbWorld K-12 Live: a brand new, digital track of BbWorld just for the K-12 community, which is online and free to attend if you can't make it to the conference in Las Vegas.

You can register for BbWorld K-12 Live at their website, http://bbworldk12live.com/, to watch the keynote speakers in live time, or you can click here to view the full schedule and sign up. Once logged in, use the comments to share your thoughts, ideas and reactions. Don't forget to take the conversation to Twitter with the hashtag #BbWorldK12Live!

Also, if you are in Las Vegas for BbWorld, Julie Evans's session is tomorrow at 4:15pm. Don't forget to mention @SpeakUpEd, @ProjectTomorrow, and #BbWorldK12Live on Twitter if you are attending! See you online!

The Independent Project: a Student-Designed School

When Sam Levin was a junior in high school, he noticed three flaws in his school: (1) there was a lack of engagement and mastery, (2) he and his peers did not know how to gather or create data, and (3) the students in his school were unhappy. Instead of letting administrators solve these issues, Levin decided to take matters into his own hands and designed a school that promoted student engagement and development of skills.

Overseen by guidance counselor Mike Powell, The Independent Project began in the fall of 2012 and involved just eight students. Rather than being a group of the school's top students, the inaugural class of The Independent Project featured a mix of straight-A student and students who were struggling in their classes. "The idea was that it was for students who could manage their time well, were looking for something more than the traditional program, and had a passion for learning," explains Powell. Given their passion for learning, students were able to create their own school syllabuses and were able to choose their own books and research topics and questions in math, science, social studies, and literature. The students also met with teachers who served more as advisers and helped guide the students through their semester-long individual projects and their three-week long group project.

While The Independent Project created a positive learning environment that enabled students to learn about topics they are passionate about, it did encounter some bumps. The students found it difficult to do peer-to-peer constructive criticism without the guidance of a teacher and also found it difficult to be fully accountable of their learning. Furthermore, the Project continues to struggle in growing in numbers, as most students know it requires more work and would rather stick to traditional teacher-run classrooms. However, despite these difficulties the students of The Independent Project have learned to ask more questions and have gained a greater awareness of how to answer them, as well as have become better at time-management.

To learn more about The Independent Project, watch the video above, read the original article, or visit their website. What do you think about the Independent Project? Let us know!

Monday, July 14, 2014

The Future of Classrooms and Curriculum


When we think about the future, we tend to think of robots, flying cars, and extremely advanced technology. While we cannot fully predict the future, we can guess what it will be like. This is what Douglas Kiang, a computer science educator in Hawaii and instructor for EdTechTeacher, spoke about during his keynote at the ISTE 2014 conference.

Kiang noted that today's students "are part of the Maker generation, the do-it-yourself (DIY) generation, and this is really driving informal learning." This "Maker movement" is what drives individualized learning, as it lets students take ownership of what they learn and create something that matters to them. Furthermore, students of the Maker movement use technology to share their accomplishments with their peers and ultimately build a community, and they use the Internet to learn things the way they want to. By incorporating these ideas into more flexible curriculum, students will have a greater purpose to learning, as they will be able to learn on their own time. "We want to allow our kids to explore and to take risks, but you also want to give your kids a map - something that makes them want to do something and not stand in one place," Kiang said.

Besides curriculum, Kiang also predicted the future of classrooms. He noted that it's important to empower individual students voices, as they will feel valued while also feeling part of something larger; building a sense of community is important to the classroom - it offers shared value, meaningful relationships, and a safe place to learn from failures. Today's classrooms tend to be isolated - students learn individually rather than as a community - but can become more inclusive by "bringing the outside in." This "outside" could be content-area experts who work with students or could even be a change in the physical classroom setting.

"Our role as teachers is to facilitate student collaboration, to allow them to show us what they're good at, and to encourage students to bring their skills together to create a community of learning and exploration," Kiang explained. While it is difficult to say if these ideas will be incorporated into future curriculum and classrooms, doing so would lead to a much more inclusive and productive learning environment for students.

Interested in learning more about this topic? Read the original article, ""What will the classroom and curriculum of the future look like?" by Laura DeVaney or visit Douglas Kiang's website here.

Douglas Kiang (@dkiang) is a dynamic speaker, teacher, and workshop presenter with over twenty years of teaching experience in independent schools at every grade level. He currently teaches at Punahou School in Honolulu Hawaii, where he teaches computer science, and heads the Curriculum Resource Teacher group. He also is an instructor for EdTechTeacher, specializing in professional development for technology integration worldwide. He is the author of five bestselling game strategy guides and his latest book on Minecraft in Education is soon to be published by Peachpit Press. Douglas holds a Master's Degree in Technology, Innovation, and Education from Harvard and is an Apple Distinguished Educator.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Augmented Reality in the Classroom

When we think of augmented reality (or AR) we tend to think of video games in which players fully immerse themselves in the digital experience. While AR does stand for the augmentation of what users see in the "real world" with additional information, the point of mobile AR - the use of mobile devices to augment one's experience - is not to immerse participants in their devices but to give them a heightened sense of their surroundings.

During the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) Conference in March, participants used their phones
Lucy Grant (Educational Technology
Consultant), Barbara Treacy (Director
of EDC's EdTech Leaders Online Program),
and Julie Evans participating
during the 2014 CoSN AR Experience.
(Photo provided by Heidi Larson)
to transform their surroundings during an Augmented Reality experience guided by Heidi Larson, Chris Dede, Matt Dunleavy, and a team of developers. Together the participants explored the benefits and challenges of the use of AR in classrooms, and were even able to sample their own AR history experience and discuss other AR experiences (i.e. for a social science experience, students could augment a town hall setting and take on the roles of voter, tax payer, and mayor). They found that students could benefit from AR by being able to study a topic in depth, work in teams, and learn more by teaching each other. Furthermore, teachers and chief technology officers may face challenges when it comes to building AR experiences but the payoff would be immense, as the experiences could be re-used from one year to the next.

While some AR experiences require time and a highly skilled team of developers, not all do. There are some simple versions that can just make presentations or pictures of students talk and show images or videos. Given this information, the options for AR use within the classroom are limitless and definitely worth exploring.

To learn more about the 2014 CoSN AR Experience, check out Heidi Larson's original article "Augmented Reality: Good for Schools?"

Heidi Larson specializes in virtual education, online collaboration, educational technology, and professional development. For over 10 years, she has advanced the efforts of EDC initiatives in these and other key aspects of education reform. Heidi is the State Outreach and Cross-REL/Technical Assistance Coordinator for the Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands at EDC and the Ed Tech Community of Practice lead for the Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund grantees. She is also developing online instructional modules about the use of social media in growing a business for EDC’s Social Technology Enabled Professional program. One of Heidi’s interests is how mobile technology and social media can benefit teaching and learning for educators and administrators, as well as students.

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

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!


Be sure to check back each week for our Around the Web Wednesday series. Have a great day!

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Summer Hours

The Project Tomorrow office will be closed every Friday until August 29th. If you have any questions, please email the respective staff member here and we will get back to you as soon as possible!

- The Project Tomorrow Team

Monday, July 7, 2014

Why do students pursue online education?

As we all know, the Internet is increasingly becoming more integrated in our daily lives. No longer is it just a source of entertainment and resource - it is also a huge part of academia. Learning House and Aslanian Market Research recently teamed up to form the report "Online College Students 2014: Comprehensive Data on Demands and Preferences," which takes a look at students who use the Internet and education technology to earn their degrees.

According to the study, students who enroll in online classes understand how the Internet and technology can help their future. While business is the most popular major for undergraduates taking online classes, a significant number also study health professions, computers and IT, social sciences, arts, humanities, and education. Most of these students are focused on long-term goals, citing job-related opportunities as their main motivation for pursuing an online degree. While most of online students are currently unemployed, about 40% report improvement in their employment status within one year of graduation.

Furthermore, students enroll in online classes due to its convenience and lack of limitations. A slight majority of online undergraduate students are enrolled in a campus or center within 100 miles of where they live, meaning that students can take classes at these faraway institutions without having to travel or relocate. However, price of tuition is less of a factor when students decide to take online classes - in fact, two-thirds of online students say that balanced a program's quality and value with the price rather than just chose the program with the lowest tuition.While there are several factors that determine whether a student takes online classes or not (i.e. some just have a clear preference for online study while others prefer programs that will easily allow them to transfer credit earned elsewhere), the majority choose to do so based on their future plans and out of convenience.

Click here to read Learning House and Aslanian Market Research's full report, "Online College Students 2014: Comprehensive Data on Demands and Preferences." What do you think about online classes? Let us know!

The Learning House, Inc. helps colleges and universities create, manage and grow high-quality online degree programs and courses. Partnering with more than 100 schools, Learning House enables institutions to efficiently and affordably achieve their online education goals. Services include product development and market research, marketing and lead generation, admissions and enrollment management, student retention, curriculum development and management, faculty training and professional development, learning management systems and 24/7 technical support.  As a thought leader in the industry, Learning House publishes an annual report on online college student preferences and demographics and presents an annual online higher education conference.

Having completed nearly 300 market studies for every type and level of post-secondary institution, Aslanian Market Research staff have an unparalleled depth of experience in higher education. For over 25 years, Carol Aslanian and her team have exclusively focused on understanding the emerging and ongoing demands, preferences, and attitudes of adult and other post-traditional students -- who collectively comprise more than half of all enrolled students.