Flashback Friday: "Project Tomorrow Survey Reports on Latest Digital Learning Trends"

Happy Flashback Friday! Every Friday we focus on Speak Up data, articles, and press releases from the past. This week we're looking at K-12 Tech Decision's article, "Project Tomorrow Survey Reports on Latest Digital Learning Trends" from June 2014, which features data from Speak Up 2013. Check out their article below:

Digital equity is a growing concern for K-12 educators and technology professionals according to the latest Speak Up Survey conducted by Project Tomorrow, a national non-profit education group headquartered in Irvine, California. According to the survey, 46 percent of district technology leaders cite digital equity as the most challenging issue they face. This is up from just 19 percent in a survey conducted in 2010.

Project Tomorrow’s annual Speak Up National research project gathers information for schools and districts across the U.S. to provide insight on digital learning trends. The latest survey sought to provide answers to these three questions:

• How are K-12 students currently using digital tools and resources to support schoolwork activities?
• How are K-12 students currently using digital tools to enable out of school learning activities?
• What are K-12 students’ aspirations for using digital tools and resources within innovative learning environments

Other noticeable findings from the survey include:

• Girls in K-12 use technology for digital collaboration at higher rate than their male peers.
• 29 percent of high school boys say they are interested in a STEM career. Only 19 percent of female high school students reported an interest.
• The use of Facebook is declining among students in grades 6-12, but nearly 44 percent regularly use apps like Instagram, Snapchat and Vine.
• One-third of middle school students say they prefer to read digital materials rather than printed materials, however, more than half say online textbooks would be an essential component of the “ultimate school.”

Are you interested in learning more about what students, educators, administrators, and more have to say about education and digital learning? Click here to read our previous reports.

Don't forget that you can be a part of the conversation. Speak Up and have your voice heard during Speak Up 2014! Speak Up provides an easy way for students, parents and educators to participate in local decisions about technology, as well as contribute to the state and national dialogue about educational technology. Data from the surveys - including data regarding online classes - will be released in February 2015. Click here to register for Speak Up 2014 and mark your calendars for the survey's launch date on October 6!

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!

Have you registered for Speak Up 2014 yet? Make sure you register to have your voice heard before our launch date on October 6th!

- The Project Tomorrow Team

Technology Education for Students Is Essential in Creating a Future STEM Workforce, and It Starts With Educating Teachers - Huffington Post

How Kids Are Learning to Code While Playing Minecraft - MindShift

Education Department tries to ease testing worries - eSchool News

Digital storytelling enhances K-12 classrooms - eSchool News

Fight on Common Core Is Dividing Louisiana - The New York Times

L.A. Unified halts contract for iPads - The Los Angeles Times

How digital learning can lead to a career in STEM

Technology use in the classroom is here and is no longer an idea of the future. Thanks to grants and state-subsidized funding, more and more schools are using devices within their classrooms. Not only does the use of educational technology provide a new way of learning, but it also makes it easier for teachers to satisfy Common Core standards.  Furthermore, it also gives students an opportunity to access 21st century technology, which will be relevant and used throughout their entire lives.

However, given that flipped classrooms are a relatively new practice, some schools still struggle with adopting devices into their classrooms. While lack of funding and device scarcity are obvious barriers to digital learning, another barrier is the lack of teacher education and understanding of how they can use technology in the classroom. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the majority of the US education workforce is comprised of individuals whose median age is 45 years, meaning that they did not experience technology learning in their own academic careers, making it a new concept for everyone involved. However, the technical knowledge of teachers is ultimately up to their administrators, who can provide tutorials, workshops, and other methods of training; one example is the Baldwin County Public School District in Alabama, which has created a Digital Renaissance Leadership Academy for teachers, where teachers are given the opportunity to improve their skill set.

With the right instruction and use of technology, perhaps more students will be driven and prepared to enter careers in STEM. For example, while the lack of computers and adequate computer science classes/programs may have deterred students from programming careers in the past, the combination of the two is now possible through digital learning. Furthermore, if schools provide teachers  with resources supporting digital learning, teachers can then use technology to motivate, interest, and support students who are looking towards STEM careers.

Interested in learning more about how digital learning can lead to a career in STEM? Check out the original article, "Technology Education for Students Is Essential in Creating a Future STEM Workforce, and It Starts With Educating Teachers" by Felix W. Ortiz III.

Every year our Speak Up surveys contain questions regarding digital learning, STEM careers, and students' accessibility to devices. In our teacher survey we ask questions regarding those topics on top of questions about teachers' familiarity with technological devices, such as

How much do you agree with this statement: My pre-service education adequately prepared me to effectively use a wide range of technologies within my teaching practice.

Speak Up provides an easy way for students, parents and educators to participate in local decisions about technology, as well as contribute to the state and national dialogue about educational technology. Data from the surveys - including data regarding online classes - will be released in February 2015. Click here to register for Speak Up 2014 and mark your calendars for the survey's launch date on October 6!

Help spread the word about Speak Up with our sample tweets!

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!

Before surveys open:

• Empower your students to voice their opinions on the role of technology in & out of school--register for Speak Up: http://bit.ly/SU14survey
• Encourage your students to take part in the nationwide conversation about the uses of technology for learning: http://bit.ly/SU14survey
• Interested in being a part of the dialogue about K-12 program & policy decisions at the local, state & national level? http://bit.ly/SU14survey
• Interested in learning how online learning is changing the classroom paradigm within schools? Register for Speak Up! http://bit.ly/SU14survey
• Join us and 3.4 million students, parents, teachers, and admins who have participated in Speak Up since ’03, register now! http://bit.ly/SU14survey
• Our school has registered to be a part of a nationwide conversation about educational technology--join in today: http://bit.ly/SU14survey
• Our school just registered for Speak Up!  Join the conversation about the role of technology in & out of school: http://bit.ly/SU14survey
• Participate in Speak Up & share your ideas about how to leverage technology in schools to promote better learning: http://bit.ly/SU14survey
• Share your opinions about the role of technology in education--register your school or district for Speak Up today! http://bit.ly/SU14survey
• Use these promo materials to spread the word about Speak Up to fellow students, teachers, & admins in your school: http://bit.ly/SU14survey
• 70% of students say mobile devices allow access to research any time/place. Learn how your students use technology: http://bit.ly/SU14survey
• 3 out of 4 school administrators use smartphones, and more than half are tablet users… survey your school today: http://bit.ly/SU14survey

During the survey period:

• Speak Up Surveys are available Oct. 6 thru Dec. 19! Make your voice heard! http://bit.ly/SU14survey
• Don’t forget to submit your Speak Up surveys! If you are having trouble, refer to these instructions: http://bit.ly/SUoutreach
• Teachers-encourage your students to voice their opinions on the use of technology in school! See here http://bit.ly/SUoutreach
• Be a part of the thousands around the country who are speaking up to decision-makers about 21^st century learning http://bit.ly/SU14survey
• Teachers, to learn more about Speak Up before participating in this nationwide educational survey, see this FAQ page: http://bit.ly/PdRqbt
• Parents, to learn more about Speak Up before participating in this nationwide educational survey, see this FAQ page: http://bit.ly/PUS23q
• Speak up now about issues regarding the use of new technology such as mobile devices and tablets in schools: http://bit.ly/SU14survey
• Students, to learn more about Speak Up before participating in this nationwide educational survey, see this FAQ page: http://bit.ly/LLxSXP

To Speak Up, simply visit our official Speak Up 2014 page in order to register your district. Be sure to mark your calendars for our launch date, October 6th - you can do so with our invite here! Furthermore, check out our promotional materials page for tools to use to get your district on board and ready for Speak Up. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date on all things Speak Up!

Flashback Friday: "Students Speak Up: Trust Us With Devices"

Happy Flashback Friday! Every Friday we focus on Speak Up data, articles, and press releases from the past. This week we're highlighting MindShift's article, "Students Speak Up: Trust Us With Devices" from June 2013, which features data from Speak Up 2012 and notes that students want technology in their schools. Check out this snippet from MindShift's article:

Of the more than 364,000 students surveyed, 65 percent of middle schoolers and 80 percent of high schoolers have access to a smartphone — nearly triple the number reported from the 2008 survey. Speak Up reports that, in the decade since they’ve been collecting data on how new technological tools can transform education, there have been big, dramatic changes. When they took their first survey in 2003, students’ biggest classroom hurdles were access to the Internet and working on outdated computers. Today’s students, however, have surpassed those original blockades to digital learning and are now most concerned that they aren’t able to access the full range of learning tools available to them, due to firewalls that keep them from social networks and a range of websites, as well as school restrictions on their smartphones.

On top of being experts at technology, students are also advocates for the use of technology in schools. A student from Brooklyn Tech High School in Brooklyn, New York, states that his school is "a bit technologically stunted" due to its lack of computers - some that aren't even connected to the Internet. He also notes that his school's ban on cell phones, iPads, and laptops is a huge mistake that limits students' ability to find information quickly and even promotes the use of cell phones for unrelated purposes, such as texting in class. However, having access to devices and high-speed Internet is just one problem that's waiting to be solved - teachers should also be trained in technology in order to stay up to date with their tech-savvy students.

Every year, Speak Up offers students an opportunity to share their opinions and ideas about technology use in school to their teachers, principals, superintendents, and even local governments. An example of a question from the student survey is:

Besides not having enough time in your school day, what are the major obstacles to using technology in your school? 

Speak Up provides an easy way for students, parents and educators to participate in local decisions about technology, as well as contribute to the state and national dialogue about educational technology. Data from the surveys - including data regarding online classes - will be released in February 2015. Click here to register for Speak Up 2014 and mark your calendars for the survey's launch date on October 6!

Pick Your Panels: Vote Us Onto the Official SXSWedu Line-Up

We need your help! Julie Evans is featured in two proposals for SXSWedu 2015's Panel Picker, where educators can cast their votes for the most compelling ideas and ultimately shape the conference line-up. Voting ends on September 5th so make sure to give our sessions a "thumbs up" - you'll need to create a SXSW username and password if you don't already have one, but the process is simple and free! Check out the second session below:

Session two - Learning My Way: Anytime, Anywhere, Anyplace

Giving students 24/7 access to learning materials can dramatically improve education outcomes as proven in 40+ pilot projects. However, data shows that up to 30% of U.S. households have no access to high-speed broadband at home, and in some districts it’s as high as 70%. This causes many students to power down after school. We need a viable solution to address the gaps for those students without access. Learn about new mobile-centric solutions to enable safe and affordable 24/7 learning.

Additional Supporting Materials

http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/pdfs/SU2013_MobileLearning.pdf

Questions Answered

1. Communicate how mobile technologies of the future can solve and enhance a new learning experience to help ensure today’s students are well prepared to be tomorrow’s innovators, leaders and engaged citizens of the world.
2. Start a conversation around new mobile-centric solutions to enable safe, affordable, and equitable 24/7 learning.
3. Learn how 24/7 access to their learning materials gives students, teachers and tutors the ability to improve education outcomes - and what you can do to diminish the digital divide in your area.

Speakers

• Julie Evans Project Tomorrow
• Vicki Mealer-Burke Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

Organizer

Catherine Baker Qualcomm

Vote for this session here

Don't forget - voting ends on September 5th!

Pick Your Panels: Vote Us Onto the Official SXSWedu Line-Up

We need your help! Julie Evans is featured in two proposals for SXSWedu 2015's Panel Picker, where educators can cast their votes for the most compelling ideas and ultimately shape the conference line-up. Voting ends on September 5th so make sure to give our sessions a "thumbs up" - you'll need to create a SXSW username and password if you don't already have one, but the process is simple and free! Check out the first session below:

Session one - Paying it Forward: Leveraging Today's Female Voices

This panel brings together female change agents intentionally gathered from across the ed tech space to examine the unique role women play at this nexus of education and technology. Research has demonstrated that the today’s young girls and women need role models in technology fields to develop self-efficacy in these fields. Whether you are examining how to further your own voice, grow your PLN, or mentor the next great generation of female ed tech leaders, this is a “must attend” conversation.

Additional Supporting Materials

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/07/03/36women.h33.html

Questions Answered

1. Exploration of the presence, role, and level of influence of female voices in education. While women have dominated the teaching profession for over the past century, the role of women as technology leaders within education is still emerging.
2. Interactive dialogue between panelists and attendees to explore multiple paths to ed tech leadership, including through university doctoral work, school district leadership, lending thought influence to agencies, corporate America, and publications.
3. Examination of the unique role women play at the intersection of education and technology. The experiences of this diverse panel of leaders will provide invaluable input into new best practices for supporting young girls and women in this field.

Speakers

• Kari Stubbs BrainPOP
• Julie Evans Project Tomorrow
• Kecia Ray Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools
• Mila Thomas Fuller National Council of Teachers of English

Vote for this session here

Don't forget - you have until September 5th to give us a "thumbs up!"

Flashback Friday: The Challenge of Educating Today’s Digital Natives

Happy Flashback Friday! As part of our new blog series, Flashback Fridays will focus on previous Speak Up data, press releases, and articles. This week we're highlighting IMS Global Learning Consortium's article from March 2014, "The Challenge of Educating Today's Digital Natives," which features Julie Evans and highlights the challenges that educators face when working with students who are experts in digital technology. Check out an excerpt from the article below:

While all K-12 and college students today enjoy some familiarity with technology, Evans said their data shows that the leading edge of the truly digital native student today is at the 8th grade level. “What we’re seeing is that it’s the middle school students and younger that are actually more digitally native, not only more comfortable using technology, but that they are fully taking advantage of this technology to supplement their education. We’re seeing about a third of middle school students that tell us they are doing self-directed learning outside of school using some type of digital resource.”

 "... The perception that these students were coming to class every day as empty vessels and their teacher needed to fill them with wisdom was not the case,” said Evans.

Students are increasingly taking online classes to supplement their traditional classes - sometimes without their teachers even knowing. Furthermore, while schools and platform providers try to guess which devices are most popular among students, students are actually "very device agnostic. What is most important to them is to use the right tool for the right task." Given this growth in students' thirst for knowledge and growth in number of platforms that allow students to access that knowledge, educators and schools should be aware of how their students are adopting technology and should use that information to adapt to meet their educational needs.

As "digital natives," students are experts in digital technology use and should be taken into consideration when schools are creating policies regarding technology. Our Speak Up 2014 surveys feature questions regarding students' use of technology, such as the question:

Besides not having enough time in your school day, what are the major obstacles to using technology in your school?

Speak Up provides an easy way for students, parents and educators to participate in local decisions about technology, as well as contribute to the state and national dialogue about educational technology. Data from the surveys - including data regarding online classes - will be released in February 2015. Click here to register for Speak Up 2014 and mark your calendars for the survey's launch date on October 6!

Why should your district participate in Speak Up 2014?

The Speak Up National Research Project collects and reports on the authentic, unfiltered views and opinions of K-12 students, parents and educators on critical 21st century education and technology issues. Since 2003, over 3.4 million K-12 education stakeholders have participated in the annual online surveys.  Data findings are shared each year with federal, state and local policymakers to inform education programs, policies and funding. Results will be available for participating schools and districts in February 2014. Speak Up is facilitated by Project Tomorrow® (www.tomorrow.org), a national education nonprofit organization.

Top 5 reasons why your district should participate in Speak Up 2014:

1. Gain a better understanding of what our district’s technology needs are
2. Learn about the aspirations for our teachers for using technology more effectively – and what is holding them back
3. Find ways to improve school to home communications using new technology tools
4. Make more informed funding decisions
5. Ensure that our parents and students have a voice in national, state and local decisions about education.

To Speak Up, simply visit our official Speak Up 2014 page in order to register your district. Be sure to mark your calendars for our launch date, October 6th - you can do so with our invite here! Furthermore, check out our promotional materials page for tools to use to get your district on board and ready for Speak Up.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date on all things Speak Up!

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!

Have you registered for Speak Up 2014 yet? Make sure you register to have your voice heard before our launch date on October 6th!

- The Project Tomorrow Team

Online Education Push Continues at Calif. State Universities - Government Technology

Mobile Learning and the Long Tail of Education - Huffington Post

New app makes reading fun, prevents ‘summer brain drain’ - eSchool News

Could Video Games Measure Skills That Tests Can’t Capture? - MindShift

A New Ratio for the Japanese Cram School - The New York Times

Online School for Girls puts focus on connection, collaboration - LA Times

Giving Teachers Control of MDM - The Journal

Free webinar this Thursday: Using Digital Tools to Personalize Learning and Empower Student Thinking

Register here

Where: online for free!

When: Thursday, August 14 at 3PM ET/12PM PT

What: "Using Digital Tools to Personalize Learning & Empower Student Thinking"

Sponsored by DreamBox Learning

In this webinar you’ll hear from Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow, about the latest findings from the Speak Up National Research Project, and how digital tools are transforming teaching and learning. Topics will include learning with technology, 21st century skills, and STEM instruction. She will be joined by Dr. Tim Hudson, former high school math teacher and K–12 Math Curriculum Coordinator for Parkway School District in Missouri, and now Senior Director of Curriculum Design at DreamBox Learning, Inc., who will lead the discussion on how digital experiences in the K–8 math classroom can empower students to think independently, receive specific feedback, and self-direct their learning to achieve rigorous learning outcomes.

Discussion topics will include:

• How K-12 learning and teaching is being transformed by digital tools
• How administrators, teachers, and students are using technology to support learning
• What the future for personalized, blended learning in the elementary and middle school classroom looks like

Don't forget to take the conversation online by mentioning @SpeakUpEd, @ProjectTomorrow, @JulieEvans_PT, and/or @Dreambox_Learn on twitter!

An Online School Just for Girls

When two teachers at Westridge School in Pasadena decided to create a course based on pairing music and English together, they decided to turn to online education after their school became part of Online School for Girls, a nonprofit dedicated to educating girls. Paid by the online school, the teachers were able to build the course on their own time; now, Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition: The Music of Literature will hold its first lessons this fall.

Westridge is just one of eight schools in Los Angeles County that offers online classes through Online School for Girls. Despite the extra costs, the schools say the price is worth it and that they choose the nonprofit over other online options because it emphasizes teaching girls through creativity, practical lessons, and connection and collaboration. Furthermore, the schools found that it was time to join the edtech world or risk falling behind.

Through Online School for Girls, students are able to enroll in online courses that don't fit into their regular school schedules or are of a special interest not on campus. These courses are taught by teachers from around the world who provide lecture videos, homework assignments, and even feedback through video chat. Due to the program's emphasis on convenience outside of school, several students take courses to go beyond and prepare them for challenges outside of school.

Despite the nonprofit's praises for its convenient and relevant courses, some critics of Online School for Girls note that its single-gender model can reinforce stereotypes, and that gender has very little to do with academic performance. However, the students don't seem to mind the single-gender structure of Online School for Girls; since its establishment five years ago, the program has grown to over 80 schools and over 1,000 middle and high school students. In addition, Online School for Boys will launch this fall and pair with independent boys schools.

What are your thoughts on online learning and online classes? Check out the original article,"Online School for Girls puts focus on connection, collaboration" and check out Online School for Girls' website to learn more about the nonprofit.

Our Speak Up survey features questions regarding online learning and online classes. An example question is:

If you could take an online class in whatever subject you wanted, what would be the advantages to you?

Speak Up provides an easy way for students, parents and educators to participate in local decisions about technology, as well as contribute to the state and national dialogue about educational technology. Data from the surveys - including data regarding online classes - will be released in February 2015. Click here to register for Speak Up 2014 and mark your calendars for the survey's launch date on October 6!

Register to become your school or district's main contact!

It's not too early to sign up as your school/district's main contact for Speak Up 2014! Speak Up provides an easy way for students, parents, educators and community members to participate in your local decisions about technology, as well as contribute to the state and national dialogue about educational technology.  As the primary contact for your district, school or organization you will be in charge of the promotion and encouragement of the survey at your selected organizational level. In return, you will receive free, online access to your aggregated results with state and national comparisons in February 2015.

The Speak Up Promotional materials page (http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/promo.html) offers convenient tools for helping make Speak Up a success in your district. You can find promotion flyers for posting at each school, informational flyers for your stakeholders, lesson plans for teachers, a banner ad to place on your website, sample emails, tweets and blog posts for encouraging participation and more.

Benefits of designating a primary contact:

• 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.
• Assign individual student survey passwords to schools .(*optional)
• Assign school primary contacts to facilitate the survey taking process at the school level. (*optional)
• Have the ability to monitor district/school’s survey counts at any time through the main contact login.
• View your district and school data once it becomes available *administrative password is required to view data results.
• Ensure confidentiality of your surveys with your students by assigning a survey “secret password” for students to use to take the survey. *Educators and parents are no longer required to enter a password to take the survey.
• Receive weekly emails with up to date participation numbers by school and/or district (option to opt out of emails during registration process).
• Receive an email from Project Tomorrow when your Speak Up local data becomes available.
• Keep up to date on other important updates during the survey process.

Types of Primary Contacts:

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.
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).
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.
Organization – Please contact the Speak Up Team at speakup@tomorrow.org  to help set up your registration.
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.

Information needed to register:

1. Name
2. Email address
3. An organizational login password (to view weekly survey counts and other important updates during the survey period)
4. Student Survey password (secret word students will use to access the survey

*Main contact information will need to be renewed for each survey year.

If you have any additional questions regarding speak up registration, surveys, or promotion please contact the Speak Team at speakup@tomorrow.org.

How games can work in the classroom

While the use of educational technology is a great way to prepare students for the future, none of that is possible without a good teacher. However, teaching and learning should not just be about academic content and retention - it should involve other ways of learning that differ from the traditional "sage on the stage" classroom model.

One method of moving away from a top-down practice of teaching is by incorporating video games into the classroom. While some may see it as a distraction, video games can actually be useful in the classroom because they encourage students to understand knowledge not just through memorization but through interaction. Of course, in order for video games to be effective, teachers will need to continue working directly with students and can then use games as a supplement that increases one-on-one learning.

ST Math - otherwise known as "Jiji math" due to its penguin mascot named Jiji - is just one example of successful game implementation in the classroom. Created by the MIND Research Institute, ST Math provides a fun game-based program that teaches math without using words. The company's founder, Dr. Matthew Peterson, says his company stays successful by incorporating three classic principles of good teaching:

1. Interactivity. The students need to come before the curriculum and learning needs to be interactive in order for students to create their own solutions. Rather than having students regurgitate information learned in class, they should be able to generate their own answers in order to have higher retention.
2. Informative feedback. Unfortunately, the majority of educational games lack in offering feedback other than simple rewards and scores that are no different than standardized test results. Informative feedback provides instant explanations about why an answer is right or wrong so that students can learn from their mistakes.
3. Intrinsic motivation. The cost of providing informative feedback is that students are no longer motivated by rewards. However, this may not be a bad thing - rather than being motivated by gold stars and smiley faces, students are now motivated to solve the problems instead of just passing the test.

Check out MindShift's original article, "In the Bustling, Interactive Classroom, A Place for Digital Games" and check out their guide to games and learning here. Educators, how do you use games in the classroom? Let us know in our comments section or on Twitter!

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

Why Do Americans Stink at Math? - The New York Times

In the Bustling, Interactive Classroom, A Place for Digital Games - Mind/Shift

What Happens When School Design Looks Like Game Design - Mind/Shift

4 ways games make it ‘OK to play’ - eSchool News

Coding classes: Overcoming obstacles to add computer science - eSchool News

Hire Education: Mastery, Modularization, and the Workforce Revolution - Clayton Christensen Institute

Computer Science in K-12 Classrooms Needs to Catch Up - Huffington Post

Five ways colleges can use digital technology to improve communication - The Guardian

Could online learning be the key to getting hired?

It's no secret that today's job market is increasingly competitive. Employers now demand more academic credentials and skills for every type of job, with an emphasis placed on the latter - the estimated number of skillsets needed in the workforce has rapidly increased from 178 in 2009 to 924 in 2012. Furthermore, nearly 90% of college freshmen stated that they are pursuing a college degree in order to get a better job. Even the demographics of students seeking higher education has has shifted, with 42% of college students at 25 years of age or older. "Learning and work are becoming inseperable," notes the Institute for Public Policy Research. More working adults have become responsible for developing skills for the workforce.

However, attending universities/colleges may not always be the key to success. On top of rapidly growing tuition prices, few schools have adapted to the surge in demand of skillsets and are hesitant to restructure their programs to reflect the needs to today's labor market. Because of this, some students are wondering if their investments into higher education are worth it. Given this, what could be the link between gaining skills and entering the workforce?

In their recent study about the topic, the Clayton Christensen Institute found that online competency-based education could be the answer to this question. While online learning is not a new phenomena, online competency-based education is because it focuses on the right learning model, the right technologies, the right customers, and the right business model. Students of these programs benefit because the lessons break down learning into competencies rather than courses and subject matter, and because the programs are designed to adapt to the changing labor market. Furthermore, these programs are centered on specific learning outcomes and connect students directly with employers.

Interested in learning more about online competency-based education? Read the Clayton Christensen Institute's full publication, "Hire Education: Mastery, Modularization, and the Workforce Revolution"

Speak Up featured on eSchoolNews

Once again, Speak Up was featured on eSchoolNews in an article that discusses the top ways digital tools transform learning, which uses data from Speak Up 2013 and Julie Evans's recent webinar with edWeb.net. Check out some of the data below:

Teachers who self-assessed their use of digital tools as “advanced” (28 percent of respondents) use a variety of digital tools and approaches, including: 

• Internet to research information about a lesson (90 percent)

• Watching online videos to learn (74 percent)

• Text with colleagues (67 percent)

• Customize digital content for class use (56 percent)

• Participate in online professional learning communities (55 percent)

Interested in learning more about how digital tools can change learning? Check out Laura DeVaney's article, "The top ways digital tools transform learning," and access our Speak Up 2013 report.

eSchool News covers education technology in all its aspects–from legislation and litigation, to case studies, to purchasing practices and new products. First published in March of 1998, eSchool News is a monthly print and digital newspaper providing the news and information necessary to help K-20 decision-makers successfully use technology and the internet to transform North America’s schools and colleges and achieve their educational goals. The newspaper is read by more than 300,000 school leaders, and a companion web site—eSchool News Online (http://www.eschoolnews.com ) is visited by more than 500,000 unique visitors each month, including over 280,000 registered members.