Speak Up News, October 2014

In this newsletter, you will find information regarding... * Speak Up 2014 launches next Monday! Register today, surveys are available October 6th- December 19th, 2014 * Register as your school or district's primary contact: Stay up to date with Speak Up news and gain free access to data * Sneak peek of this year's survey questions: View this year's student survey questions and learn about our new topics * Speak Up has a new look! Check out our new and improved look for this year's surveys * Speak Up on the Go! Check out this month's presentations with our CEO, Julie Evans. Happy reading! Feel free to share your thoughts with us on Facebook, Twitter, and our Blog. -The Project Tomorrow team

Speak Up 2014 launches next Monday!

Join the conversation about the use of technology for learning through Speak Up, a National Research Project. The Speak Up National Research project annually polls K-12 students, parents and educators about the role of technology for learning in and out of school and represents the largest collection of authentic, unfiltered stakeholder voice on digital learning. Since 2003, over 3.4 million K-12 students, parents, teachers, librarians, principals, technology leaders and district administrators have shared their views and ideas through Speak Up. Data findings are shared each year with federal, state and local policymakers to inform education programs, policies and funding. Surveys are open for input October 6th – December 19th, 2014 at:www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2014. For additional information on the Speak Up surveys, including FAQs, promotional materials and more please visit www.tomorrow.org/speakup.

Register as your school or district's primary contact for Speak Up 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. Benefits of being the primary contact ▪ Gain administrative access by assigning your school or district an administrative login password, which allows you to update school or district contact information, assign individual student survey passwords to schools, and more. ▪ View your school/district survey counts at any time, and view your 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. ▪ Keep up to date on important updates during the survey process, such as participation numbers. Click here to sign up as your school or district's primary contact! All we need are your name, email address, an administrative organization login password (to view weekly survey counts and other important updates during the survey period), and a student survey password (secret word students will use to access the survey). If you have any additional questions regarding speak up registration, please contact the Speak Team at speakup@tomorrow.org.

Get a sneak peek of this year's student survey questions before they launch on October 6th! We've made our student survey questions available to view before Speak Up launches on October 6th. Click here to view the surveys for grades K-12, and check the website throughout the week as we update it to include more survey questions. New topics include: ▪ Blended learning ▪ 1:1 computing ▪ BYOD ▪ Coding ▪ Data privacy ▪ Student self-directed learning ▪ Ideal school mobile app ▪ 21st Century skills ▪ And more!

Speak Up has a new look! We are happy to announce our new and improved banner for this year's Speak Up survey! Be on the lookout for this banner when taking the survey:

Speak Up on the Go! Check out Julie Evans's webinars from last month by clicking the titles below: Engaging Students, Empowering Learning – New Roles for Digital Content and Games in the Classroom (BrainPOP) In this webinar, Julie introduces a new white paper that highlights Speak Up research findings around teacher and student use of digital content and games for learning, and how administrators are increasingly supporting those efforts. Engaging Parents' Support for Emerging Technologies in the Classroom: Data Review and Discussion (Blackboard K-12) Learn about new insights into the digital disconnect between students and educators, and stimulate conversations about how to effectively leverage new classroom models of innovation to drive both increased student achievement and teacher productivity. As always, don't forget to take the conversation online by mentioning @SpeakUpEdand @ProjectTomorrow on Twitter! Be on the lookout for more discussions regarding educational technology this month.

Thank you for your interest and continued support of Speak Up! 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.

Sample emails for students and parents

Use these emails to quickly get the word out to students and parents via email. We have two sample emails for you to use: one to encourage your students to participate and one to encourage parents to take the survey. We recommend add your own personal encouragement to the emails.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Students Speak Up – Your ideas are important to us!

Open October 6^th – December 19^th, 2014

Your opinions matter to us!   We are participating in the online survey Speak Up, so that we can learn more about how you are using technology in class and for homework. We’d also like to know more about how you are using technology to learn and how you would like your teachers to use technology class.

The online survey is open to students, educators (including future educators) and parents; it’s quick and easy to get involved.   The survey will be open until December 19^th, to take the survey visit: http://www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2014    

Your password is:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Parents Speak Up – Your ideas are important to us!

Open October 6^th – December 19^th, 2014

http://www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2014/

Be a part of the conversation! Starting on Oct. 6^th we will be participating in the Speak Up national research project. Speak Up is the first survey designed to help parents share their ideas directly with schools and national policymakers. As key stakeholders, Speak Up provides parents with a mechanism for expressing their views to the administrators at their child(ren)’s school and district about key issues impacting their child(ren)'s education. Since 2003, Speak Up has collected and shared the views of over 3.4 million students, teachers, and parents from all 50 states, as well as internationally. By participating in Speak Up, parents are expressing their views to a wider audience of local, state, and national policy makers as well as the business community—and contributing to the national dialog about science, technology, and preparing students for the 21st century workforce.

The online survey is open to students, educators and parents; it’s quick and easy to get involved.  To take the survey visit: http://www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2014/  and click the blue parents enter here button!

Flashback Friday: "Apps and Games for STEM Learning"

Happy Flashback Friday! Every Friday we focus on Speak Up data, articles, and press releases from the past. This week we're looking at National Environmental Education Week's blog post, "Apps and Games for STEM Learning" from April 2014, which features data from one of our Speak Up 2013 reports. Check out a snippet of it below:

According to Project Tomorrow's latest Speak Up report released this week, "girls and boys across all grade levels see digital games as having significant learning benefits if employed within a school environment, including greater engagement in learning and making it easier to understand difficult concepts." 

One-quarter of teachers said that they are integrating digital games into their classrooms, and students are playing games outside of school to support their own learning. "Approximately one-quarter of middle school students have played an online game outside of school on their own, specifically to learn something. The percentage jumps to almost 50 percent amongst boys and girls who consider their technology skills advanced.

Interestingly, the report also showed that nearly one-third of high school boys say that they are very interested in a job or career in a STEM field, but only 19 percent of girls share that same vision for themselves. 

Be sure to check out National Environmental Education Week's original post, "Apps and Games for STEM Learning," their guide to the "Apps & Games for Environmental Engineering," and last year's Speak Up report The New Digital Learning Playbook: Understanding the Spectrum of Students’ Activities and Aspirations for more information.

Are you a teacher or student who uses apps and games for in the classroom? Let us know by participating in 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!

Speak Up data featured in "From Cell Phone Bans to BYOD"

Last week, Christopher Piehler wrote an article for The Journal about Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies in schools. "From Cell Phone Bans to BYOD" focuses on the evolution of these policies, and how smartphones were banned in schools not too long ago. Furthermore, he notes that while iPads were the dominant devices in classrooms, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore due to the Android and Microsoft tablets "boasting lower prices and easier enterprise management." Check out a snippet of his article featuring data from Speak Up 2013 below:

The era of one device dominating classrooms is over. Notebooks face competition not only from tablets, but from new categories of devices such as convertible laptop/tablets and phablets, as well as a device that many districts once banned: the smartphone. As our cover story shows, an increasing number of administrators, teachers and parents are giving up on cell phone bans and coming out in support of BYOD. According to Project Tomorrow’s most recent Speak Up survey, 60 percent of parents said they would like their children to be in a class where BYOD was allowed. And perhaps more importantly, two-thirds of parents said they would purchase a mobile device for their child to use in class. The same survey shows that a large majority of students in sixth through 12th grades already have access to smartphones.

While BYOD helps districts control spending on devices, it leaves ed tech leaders to ask the question, "What do schools do for the students who don't have devices?" Furthermore, "Does it ultimately help or hurt learning for students to do schoolwork on the same device they use for texting and games?"

Be sure to check out the original article, "From Cell Phone Bans to BYOD" by Christopher Piehler and let him know what you think about his two questions regarding BYOD in the article's comments section.

Our Speak Up survey asks questions regarding BYOD policies in schools, and what parents think about BYOD as well. A question we asked last year is:

Some districts are considering adopting a Bring Your Own  Technology (BYOT) to School program which would enable  students to use their own mobile devices within instruction. What  is your current policy on the use of student owned mobile devices  (smartphones, tablet computers) within class? 

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

Online Education Evolves as It Draws More Students - US News

How Virtual Reality Meets Real Life Learning With Mobile Games - MindShift

How Looking at Student Work Keeps Teachers and Kids on Track - MindShift

From Cell Phone Bans to BYOD - The Journal

Review of Common Core education standards begins in NC - News Observer
Ed Games Week Highlights the Emergence of Video Games in Education - Department of Education
What’s behind ‘bad’ math skills? - eSchool News

Have you already registered for Speak Up but need help spreading the word? Here's one of our sample emails for you to send out to your school/district! Don't forget to visit our website for our full list of promotional materials.

Subject: Collect valuable data for your school by participating in Speak Up 2014

Join the conversation about the use of technology for learning through Speak Up, a National Research Project. 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.  

Surveys will be open for input October 6^th – December 19^th, 2014 at: www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2014.

Get your schools involved!  All schools in (DISTRICT NAME) are registered to participate in Speak Up.  To help facilitate the Speak Up process at your school we recommend designating a primary contact that will be in charge of the promotion and encouragement of the survey at your school. By assigning a primary contact you will be able manage your school information and obtain free, online access to your school aggregated results with diocese, state and national comparisons starting on February 4, 2015.

To learn more about the benefits of assigning a primary contact and participating in Speak Up please go to: http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/MainContactInformation.html.

To register now, please follow these simple steps:

• Go to: http://www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2014/Register.aspx
• Click on single school
• Enter in your school zip (or enter your state and then write in your school name). *
• Select your school from the list of schools
• Update your school profile information (contact name, email, and passwords). **
• Click submit!
• Start getting the word out about Speak Up at your school by going to out our promotional materials page at: http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/promo.html

* If your school does not come up by zip code or school look up, please contact the Speak Up Team at speakup@tomorrow.org. We may need to update the information in our system.

** Two school passwords are required:  An organizational login password “admin password” (to view weekly survey counts and other important updates during the survey period) and a “student survey” password (secret word students will use to access the survey).

100Kin10: Why we need more STEM teachers

After President Obama challenged the United States to produce 100,000 excellent new science, technology, engineering, and math teachers by the year 2021, the organization 100Kin10 has rallied scores of universities, nonprofits, foundations, and other partners around the single shared mission. Check out their video about why we need more STEM teachers!

Project Tomorrow is proud to be a 100Kin10 partner organization. 100Kin10 is a networked approach to providing America's classrooms with 100,000 excellent STEM teachers by 2021 while supporting tens of thousands more. Through unique, ambitious commitments, their 150+ partners (including Project Tomorrow) are together fueling the creation of the next generation of innovators and problem solvers. Click here to learn more about 100Kin10, and be sure to check out their Blow Minds. Teach STEM. campaign!

Getting to Know the Project Tomorrow Team

Happy Friday!

We hope you all had a great week! It's Friday, which means it's time to meet another one of our wonderful team members. Today we would like to introduce you to Greg Nicholson, our Director of Advancement!

Greg Nicholson

Director of Advancement

Project Tomorrow

GNicholson@tomorrow.org

949-609-4660 x13 voice

Gregory Nicholson is Project Tomorrow’s Director of Advancement. He is committed to securing the resources needed to achieve our mission, through fund as well as partnership development.  Previously, he was Assistant Director at the Cotsen Foundation for the ART of TEACHING where he was responsible for the recruitment of districts, schools, and teachers into the ART of TEACHING, as well as communications and partnerships.  In that role, he co-founded the Mathematics Leadership Corps in Culver City to promote improved teaching and learning in mathematics throughout the K-12 district.  He holds a doctorate in English Literature from Michigan State University, where he was a University Distinguished Fellow and the author of the university’s decennial re-accreditation report.  Prior to graduate school he worked in non-profit management in social services and education.  He was graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth College.

In his free time, Greg enjoys time with family and friends, especially if it involves hiking or bar-be-que.

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

K-12 Leaders & Laggards Circa 2014: How the States Are Doing - U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Essential to STEM Education: Other Subjects - US News

Rossier: Where Online Teacher Education is Personal - edSurge

Taking Classroom Tech Use to the Next Level: Specific Traits to Look For - MindShift

With Tech Taking Over in Schools, Worries Rise - The New York Times

Is the Flipped Class Model Here to Stay? - Education Week

5 must-have tools to hire and develop effective teachers - eSchool News

Analysis finds California students attend school more than U.S. peers - The Los Angeles Times

Digital vs. print

As with anything new, digital reading has been met with hesitation. Mark Pennington, a reading specialist in Elk Grove, believes that digital reading can eventually be on the same level as reading print. He says that the trick to being a good reader is being an engaged reader, and that it does not matter whether students are reading digitally or through print. "It's pretty clear that good readers are active readers engaged with the text," he said.

While more and more schools adopt digital readers like iPads and Chromebooks, some research shows that students comprehend more from reading print. Even though digital readers allow students to interact with their text in new ways, a study done by West Chester University found that younger students may be overwhelmed by the multimedia environment that e-books provide (which can therefore overwhelm their limited working memory) and that older students find it difficult to take notes on digital readers.

Perhaps all it takes is a shift in perspective in order to alleviate these issues with digital reading. Hillview Middle's principal, Erik Burmeister, says that annotating digital books is actually better than traditional note-taking, as annotating provides permanent notes whereas traditional annotating typically means throwing away the books at the end of the year. Despite these achievements with digital reading tools, more research still needs to be done about whether digital tools or pen and paper are more effective. In the meantime, schools like Elk Grove and Hillview Middle will continue to use digital tools to help students understand what they're reading.

Interested in learning more? Check out the original article, "Can Students ‘Go Deep’ With Digital Reading?" and West Chester University's study.

Every year we ask questions about how educators and administrators are successfully using digital tools in the classroom, or which tools they wish they used in the classroom. An example is:

Imagine you are designing the ultimate school. Which tools would have the greatest positive impact on your (the student’s) learning? 

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!

Free webinar: Engaging Students, Empowering Learning – New Roles for Digital Content and Games in the Classroom

What: Engaging Students, Empowering Learning - New Roles for Digital Content and Games in the Classroom

Who: Julie Evans, Robert Miller, and BrainPOP

When: Wednesday, September 17 at 3:30PM EST

Register here

Research tells us that engaging students in learning has the potential to improve achievement; teachers know that instinctively.  But how to increase student engagement is still often an elusive concept in many classrooms.  Promising new developments in the use of digital content, and specifically digital and online educational games, in elementary and middle school classrooms aim to make that connection between student engagement and empowered learning more explicit.  In this webinar, Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow, will introduce a new white paper that highlights Speak Up research findings around teacher and student use of digital content and games for learning, and how administrators are increasingly supporting those efforts.  And Robert Miller, 5th grade teacher from Daytona Beach, Florida, will share examples of how digital content and games are transforming his classroom today.  With a combination of research findings and classroom practices, this webinar will provide you with new strategies and ideas to use in your classrooms this year!

About BrainPOP: Founded in 1999, BrainPOP creates animated, curricular content that engages students, supports educators, and bolsters achievement. Their award-winning online educational resources include BrainPOP Jr. (K-3), BrainPOP, BrainPOP Español, and, for English language learners, BrainPOP ESL. BrainPOP is also home to GameUp, an educational games portal for the classroom.

Flashback Friday: "Are Teachers of Tomorrow Prepared to Use Innovative Tech?"

Happy Flashback Friday! Every Friday we focus on Speak Up data, articles, and press releases from the past. This week we're looking at MindShift's article, "Are Teachers of Tomorrow Prepared to Use Innovative Tech?" from February 2013, which features data from a report we did with Blackboard Inc about the digital experiences and expectations of tomorrow's teachers. Check out a recap of the article below:

With a new generation of teachers coming into the work force, it's no surprise that there is a discrepancy between what principals expect of these teachers-to-be and what they're actually learning in school. 

Principals expect new teachers to be trained in educational technology.  They want new hires to incorporate social media into their classrooms as a way of communicating with students and parents; they also want new hires to already have experience with blended learning and teaching online classes. However, tomorrow's teachers' tech training focuses only on simple management tools. Despite this, 72% of pre-service teachers report they're well-prepared to use technology in the classroom; however their knowledge of technology may be from growing up with it rather than learning how to use digital tools during their training. 

Incoming teachers seem to be caught between generations: while they use technology in their own lives and to enhance their own education, they're learning to teach in a system that's behind the times. 68% of teachers-in-training learn about digital learning through field placements or by taking advice from their peers and professors. Despite these discrepancies between principals' expectations and the realities of tomorrow's teachers' tech education, it is certain that new teachers are more accepting and more knowledgeable of using technology in the classroom.

To learn more about the topic, check out the original article, "Are Teachers of Tomorrow Prepared to Use Innovative Tech?" (MindShift) and our report with Blackboard Inc.

Are you a principal and have something to add to this conversation? Participate in 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!

Additionally, if you are a future teacher and want to leave your input, Speak Up for Higher Ed - Tomorrow's Teachers Speak Up! is open until October 6. Click here to learn more about the program and sign 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

Digital learning takes front row seat in classrooms - CBS News

San Francisco 49ers Go Long on STEM Education at Levi’s Stadium - TIME

Policymakers hail STEM education as a strong foundation, pushing innovation - Washington Post

STEM is incredibly valuable, but if we want the best innovators we must teach the arts - Washington Post

Mobile learning’s major impact - eSchool News

A Look Inside New Orleans Schools, Run Almost Entirely By Charter Companies - MindShift

Florida Polytechnic Library Goes Book-Free - NPR

Free webinar - Enabled, Engaged, Empowered: The New Student Vision for Digital Learning

What: Enabled, Engaged, Empowered: The New Student Vision for Digital Learning

When: Monday, September 15 at 3PM EST

Who: Julie Evans and Blackboard K-12

Register here

The dynamic profusion of emerging technologies, both in school and out of school, is propelling today’s K-12 students to make new demands on their schools for a dramatically different kind of educational experience. Enabled, empowered and engaged, our students have a unique vision for 21st century education that reflects their desires for social-based learning experiences that are un-tethered to the traditional classroom, and rich in digital media and content.  The annual Speak Up National Research Project provides an exclusive window into the views of students on personalized learning and new classroom models. In this webinar, we will share the latest Speak Up national findings from over 403,000 K-12 students, parents and educators with a special emphasis on the how today’s students want to be engaged with mobile learning, online and blended learning, and e-textbooks and digital content.  The discussion will provide new insights into the digital disconnect between students and educators, and stimulate conversations about how to effectively leverage new classroom models of innovation to drive both increased student achievement and teacher productivity.

About Blackboard: From their beginning as a small education technology company, Blackboard has been dedicated to improving every aspect of the education experience for millions of learners and educators around the world. They work with thousands of higher education, K-12, professional, corporate, and government organizations, providing them with tomorrow’s education experience today.

Need help promoting Speak Up to your stakeholders?

Speak Up partners - need help promoting the survey to your stakeholders? Check out some of our ideas for inspiration! Don't forget that Speak Up opens on October 6th until December 19th - participants can register here.

Promote participation in Speak Up:                                 

q  Encourage your stakeholders to participate in Speak Up through email blasts, newsletters, your blog or other online social media tools.

q  Highlight the Speak Up survey on your website using the Speak Up Partner logo (with a link to the survey).

q  Inform your stakeholders that you are actively promoting participation in Speak Up by issuing your own “customized” press release using the Speak Up press release template provided by Project Tomorrow.  Project Tomorrow will issue its Speak Up national press release on October 6^th.

q  Distribute Speak Up Info flyers during your presentations at conferences or from your booth on the exhibit floor.

q  Host a “Speak Up” media event to encourage participation in Speak Up.

q  Use social media networks such as Facebook or Twitter to get the word out about Speak Up to your stakeholders.

Spotlight students’ views in the dialogue about K-12 education 

q  Include Speak Up data in your articles, promotional materials or presentations.

q  Share how the Speak Up results are important to your organization’s mission and work.

q  Use the Speak Up results to identify your stakeholders’ needs, secure funding or demonstrate the success of your initiatives.

q  Schedule Julie Evans, CEO- Project Tomorrow, to present the Speak Up findings to your team, at a conference or through a webinar.

q  Host a regional or state summit to share Speak Up data and develop an action plan for creating 21^st century schools.

Strengthen the Speak Up network

q  Blog about how you are using Speak Up data to inform your decisions about curriculum or technology, programming, legislation, or services.

q  Share promising practices with staff from partnering organizations, schools and districts who are involved with Speak Up.  

Flashback Friday: "10 Major Technology Trends in Education"

Happy Flashback Friday! Every Friday we focus on Speak Up data, articles, and press releases from the past. This week we're looking at THE Journal's article, "10 Major Technology Trends in Education" from February of this year, which features data from Speak Up 2013. Check out some of the major trends below:

1. Personal Access to Mobile Devices
• Students overwhelmingly have access to personal mobile devices. 89% of high school students have access to Internet-connected smart phones, while 50% of students in grades 3-5 have access to the same type of devices.
2. Internet Connectivity
• In 2013, 64% of students surveyed identified 3G- or 4G- enabled devices as their primary means of connecting to the Internet, with another 23% saying they connect through an Internet-enabled TV or Wii console.
• When asked why traditional broadband access wasn't their primary means of connectivity, students said there was less contention for access with other members of the family through these non-traditional devices
3. Use of Video for Classwork and Homework
• Video is a tool that has been on the rise in recent years. 46% of teachers are using video i the classroom, while 1/3 of students are accessing video online - through their own initiative - to help with their homework (e.g. Khan Academy).

To view all the technology trends in education, read THE Journal's article "10 Major Technology Trends in Education" and check out our official reports here.

Want to give your input as to what today's technology trends in education are? Participate in 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!

Speak Up News - September 2014

Welcome back to school! We hope you all had a great summer! In this newsletter, you will find information regarding... * Speak Up 2014 launches next month! Registration now open, surveys will be available October 6th- December 19th, 2014 * Speak Up 2014 promotional materials are now available! Visit our website for a full list of our flyers and guides * Vote for our panels for SXSWedu 2015: "Paying it Forward: Leveraging Today's Female Voices" & "Learning My Way: Anytime, Anywhere, Anyplace" * Speak Up on the Go! Check out this month's presentations with our CEO, Julie Evans. Happy Reading! Feel free to share your thoughts with us on Facebook, Twitter, and our Blog. -The Project Tomorrow team

Collect valuable data for your school or district by participating in Speak Up

Join the conversation about the use of technology for learning through Speak Up, a National Research Project. 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. Surveys will be open for input October 6th – December 19th, 2014 at: www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2014. Get your schools involved! Register as the primary contact of your school or district to manage your district profile and assign organizational passwords to access your data in Feb 2015. Learn more about the registration process on our website or contact Jenny Hostert on the Project Tomorrow Team at jhostert@tomorrow.org to learn more. For additional information on the Speak Up surveys, including FAQs, promotional materials and more please visit www.tomorrow.org/speakup.

Our Speak Up 2014 promotional materials are now available! To see all of our helpful flyers and guides, visit our website here.

Vote for Julie Evans's panels for SXSWedu 2015 We need your help! Our CEO, 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 this Friday, September 5th so make sure to give our sessions a "thumbs up" before time is out - you'll need to create a SXSW username and password if you don't already have one, but the process is simple and free! Learn more about the sessions below: 1. 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. Vote for "Paying it Forward: Leveraging Today's Female Voices"" here 2. 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. Vote for "Learning My Way: Anytime, Anywhere, Anyplace" here Don't forget - voting ends this Friday on September 5th!

Speak Up on the Go! Our CEO Julie Evans has two free webinars this month! Check them out and sign up! Enabled, Engaged, Empowered: The New Student Vision for Digital Learning Date and time: Monday, September 15, 2014 3:30 pm EST Sponsored by Blackboard K-12 Sign up here The dynamic profusion of emerging technologies, both in school and out of school, is propelling today’s K-12 students to make new demands on their schools for a dramatically different kind of educational experience. Enabled, empowered and engaged, our students have a unique vision for 21st century education that reflects their desires for social-based learning experiences that are un-tethered to the traditional classroom, and rich in digital media and content. The annual Speak Up National Research Project provides an exclusive window into the views of students on personalized learning and new classroom models. In this webinar, we will share the latest Speak Up national findings from over 403,000 K-12 students, parents and educators with a special emphasis on how today’s students want to be engaged with mobile learning, online and blended learning, and e-textbooks and digital content. The discussion will provide new insights into the digital disconnect between students and educators, and stimulate conversations about how to effectively leverage new classroom models of innovation to drive both increased student achievement and teacher productivity. Engaging Students, Empowering Learning – New Roles for Digital Content and Games in the Classroom Date and time: September 17 @ 3:30 pm EST Sponsored by BrainPOP Sign up here Research tells us that engaging students in learning has the potential to improve achievement; teachers know that instinctively. But how to increase student engagement is still often an elusive concept in many classrooms. Promising new developments in the use of digital content, and specifically digital and online educational games, in elementary and middle school classrooms aim to make that connection between student engagement and empowered learning more explicit. In this webinar, Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow, will introduce a new white paper that highlights Speak Up research findings around teacher and student use of digital content and games for learning, and how administrators are increasingly supporting those efforts. And Robert Miller, 5th grade teacher from Daytona Beach, Florida, will share examples of how digital content and games are transforming his classroom today. With a combination of research findings and classroom practices, this webinar will provide you with new strategies and ideas to use in your classrooms this year! As always, be sure to take the conversation online by mentioning @ProjectTomorrow, @BrainPOP, and @BlackBoardK12 during on Twitter!

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, Instagram and 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.