FETC attendees, don't miss today's session at 10am!

Are you at the Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC) in Orlando, Florida? If so, plan to attend Julie Evans's session TODAY at 10am with Robert Miller (Volusa County Schools) and Kari Stubbs (BrainPOP). Check out the details below:

Digital Teachers, Digital Principals: Transforming the Ways We Engage Students (CS154)

Friday 10:00-11:00 a.m

OCCC - North 220 FG

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 the connection between student engagement and empowered learning more explicit. Explore a 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. Hear examples of how digital content and games are transforming classrooms and and how games can influence classroom practice via the BrainPOP GameUp portal.

Julie Evans
Chief Executive Officer, Project Tomorrow

Julie Evans is the CEO of Project Tomorrow (www.tomorrow.org), an internationally recognized education nonprofit organization that focuses on improving learning opportunities for students through the effective utilization of STEM resources. Previously, Ms. Evans was a sales and marketing executive with Unisys and two ed tech startups. She is a graduate of Brown University and serves on several nonprofit boards and corporate advisory councils. Ms. Evans is a frequent speaker and writer on K-12 and higher education issues around digital learning. In April 2008 she was named one of the Top Ten Most Influential People in Education Technology over the past 10 years by eSchool News.

Robert Miller
5th Grade Teacher, Volusa County Schools

Robert Miller is a fifth grade teacher at Port Orange Elementary School in Port Orange, FL. An avid user of technology in his instruction, Robert is constantly revising his pedagogy to reflect current research in content delivery and student creativity. He is also an Apple Distinguished Educator, a Google Certified Teacher, and a member of the inaugural class of YouTube Star Teachers.

Kari Stubbs
Vice President, Learning and Innovation, BrainPOP

Dr. Kari Stubbs is an internationally recognized educator who began her career as a public school teacher in Kansas and Texas. She went on to lead the Kansas Title IID program, and served as an adjunct professor while earning her PhD in Curriculum with an emphasis on Technology. Currently, she serves as Vice President of Learning and Innovation at BrainPOP. Kari has presented extensively on the subject of technology and education, keynoting and speaking at conferences across the United States and around the globe from Shanghai and Dubai to Australia, Prague, Beijing, and beyond.

There's still time to register for today's webinar with ABC-CLIO and Libraries Unlimited!

Are you interested in learning how to harness students' evolving vision for learning? If so, plan to attend today's virtual event at 1pm PT/4pm ET featuring Julie Evans and our Speak Up data. Check out some last minute details below:

How to Harness Students' Evolving Vision for Learning: Research & Recommendations

Tuesday, January 12 at 1pm PT/4pm ET

Presented by Julie Evans, CEO, Project Tomorrow

Sponsored by Libraries Unlimited and ABC-CLIO Solutions

Click here to register

We look forward to seeing you online at 1pm PT/4pm ET!

Don't miss tomorrow's webinar!

There is still time to register for Julie's webinar with Libraries Unlimited and ABC-CLIO Solutions! Check out the information below to learn more about the webinar and how you can save your seat for this virtual event.

How to Harness Students' Evolving Vision for Learning: Research & Recommendations

Tuesday, January 12 at 1pm PT/4pm ET

Presented by Julie Evans, CEO, Project Tomorrow

Sponsored by Libraries Unlimited and ABC-CLIO Solutions

Click here to register

Analysis of the Speak Up Research Project data reveals that today’s K-12 students have a unique vision for digital learning that is often surprising and sometimes perplexing to the adults in their learning lives. Students are increasingly tapping into a diverse set of digital tools, content and resources to self-direct learning around areas of academic passion, both in and out of school. Most importantly, this emerging learning behavior is shaping how the students view information, research, learning and school.

In this webinar, Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow, will explore this phenomenon as she addresses these questions from School Library Connection Editorial Experts:

• What are the three elements that comprise the Student Vision for Digital Learning?
• What types of learning experiences support the Student Vision?  How prevalent are those types of experiences in schools today?
• How can teachers and librarians use this information about the Student Vision to transform learning in their schools?

Going beyond anecdotes and assumptions, this interactive and eye-opening webinar will provide school library leaders and educators with a new set of lenses for evaluating the future of learning. Julie will field questions from attendees after her presentation.

Join the SLC @ The Forefront community to participate in online discussions with peers, for invitations to upcoming webinars, to view past webinar recordings, to take a quiz and receive a CE certificate for a past webinar, and for access to more resources.

Click here to register for the webinar and learn more

Libraries Unlimited is committed to serving libraries by producing library science textbooks, reference works, practical handbooks, and professional guides of unparalleled quality.

ABC-CLIO Solutions provides robust digital resources that support librarians, patrons, educators, and students in the development and communication of informed positions on complex topics.

Don't miss Julie's session at FETC next week!

Are you attending the Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC) next week in Orlando, Florida? If so, plan to attend Julie Evans's session on Friday, January 15 at 10am with Robert Miller (Volusa County Schools) and Kari Stubbs (BrainPOP). Check out the details below:

Digital Teachers, Digital Principals: Transforming the Ways We Engage Students (CS154)

Friday 10:00-11:00 a.m

OCCC - North 220 FG

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 the connection between student engagement and empowered learning more explicit. Explore a 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. Hear examples of how digital content and games are transforming classrooms and and how games can influence classroom practice via the BrainPOP GameUp portal.

Julie Evans
Chief Executive Officer, Project Tomorrow

Julie Evans is the CEO of Project Tomorrow (www.tomorrow.org), an internationally recognized education nonprofit organization that focuses on improving learning opportunities for students through the effective utilization of STEM resources. Previously, Ms. Evans was a sales and marketing executive with Unisys and two ed tech startups. She is a graduate of Brown University and serves on several nonprofit boards and corporate advisory councils. Ms. Evans is a frequent speaker and writer on K-12 and higher education issues around digital learning. In April 2008 she was named one of the Top Ten Most Influential People in Education Technology over the past 10 years by eSchool News.

Robert Miller
5th Grade Teacher, Volusa County Schools

Robert Miller is a fifth grade teacher at Port Orange Elementary School in Port Orange, FL. An avid user of technology in his instruction, Robert is constantly revising his pedagogy to reflect current research in content delivery and student creativity. He is also an Apple Distinguished Educator, a Google Certified Teacher, and a member of the inaugural class of YouTube Star Teachers.

Kari Stubbs
Vice President, Learning and Innovation, BrainPOP

Dr. Kari Stubbs is an internationally recognized educator who began her career as a public school teacher in Kansas and Texas. She went on to lead the Kansas Title IID program, and served as an adjunct professor while earning her PhD in Curriculum with an emphasis on Technology. Currently, she serves as Vice President of Learning and Innovation at BrainPOP. Kari has presented extensively on the subject of technology and education, keynoting and speaking at conferences across the United States and around the globe from Shanghai and Dubai to Australia, Prague, Beijing, and beyond.

Webinar: How to Harness Students' Evolving Vision for Learning: Research & Recommendations

Happy new year! We hope you enjoyed the holidays! We're excited to kick off 2016 with our upcoming webinar with our friends at ABC-CLIO and Libraries Unlimited. Check out the details below:

How to Harness Students' Evolving Vision for Learning: Research & Recommendations

Tuesday, January 12 at 1pm PT/4pm ET

Presented by Julie Evans, CEO, Project Tomorrow

Sponsored by Libraries Unlimited and ABC-CLIO Solutions

Click here to register

Analysis of the Speak Up Research Project data reveals that today’s K-12 students have a unique vision for digital learning that is often surprising and sometimes perplexing to the adults in their learning lives. Students are increasingly tapping into a diverse set of digital tools, content and resources to self-direct learning around areas of academic passion, both in and out of school. Most importantly, this emerging learning behavior is shaping how the students view information, research, learning and school.

In this webinar, Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow, will explore this phenomenon as she addresses these questions from School Library Connection Editorial Experts:

• What are the three elements that comprise the Student Vision for Digital Learning?
• What types of learning experiences support the Student Vision?  How prevalent are those types of experiences in schools today?
• How can teachers and librarians use this information about the Student Vision to transform learning in their schools?

Going beyond anecdotes and assumptions, this interactive and eye-opening webinar will provide school library leaders and educators with a new set of lenses for evaluating the future of learning. Julie will field questions from attendees after her presentation.

Join the SLC @ The Forefront community to participate in online discussions with peers, for invitations to upcoming webinars, to view past webinar recordings, to take a quiz and receive a CE certificate for a past webinar, and for access to more resources.

Click here to register for the webinar and learn more

Libraries Unlimited is committed to serving libraries by producing library science textbooks, reference works, practical handbooks, and professional guides of unparalleled quality.

ABC-CLIO Solutions provides robust digital resources that support librarians, patrons, educators, and students in the development and communication of informed positions on complex topics.

California Edcators & Tech Leaders, don't miss Julie's presentations this week!

California educators and technology leaders - Julie Evans is hosting sessions this week at the CETPA Annual Conference and eLearning Strategies Symposium! If you're attending these events, be sure to mark her sessions down to learn more about our Speak Up data about students, digital learning, blended learning, and more.

CETPA Annual Conference
Top 10 Things Tech Leaders Should Know about Today’s Students and Digital Learning
Tuesday, December 1st
4:50pm-5:40pm in Room 411B

Since 2003, the Speak Up Research Project has collected the authentic, unfiltered views and ideas of almost 4 million K-12 students, parents and educators on digital learning. The annual data findings regularly inform federal, state and local policies, programs and funding for education technology. In this session, we will leverage the national and California specific findings to debunk lingering mythology around student use of technology, in school and out of school, and provide you with new insights on digital learning expectations and aspirations. With a focus on the key trends in mobile, blended and virtual learning, we will also examine the role of digital content, social media and online assessments in the development of new learning environments – and what tech leaders need to know to best support your stakeholders. In addition to the student data, the session will also include key findings from parents, teachers and administrators. Tech leaders will have opportunities to share their perspectives on these topics in this highly interactive session and to learn how their school or district can participate in the annual Speak Up process.

eLearning Strategies Symposium
Keynote: Taking the Pulse on eLearning Today: The Views of K12 Students, Educators and Parents
Friday, December 4th
8:30am-9:30am in Pacific 2-4

For the past 13 years, the Speak Up Research Project has collected and reported on the views of almost 4 million K-12 students, educators and parents regarding digital learning. Using current and longitudinal Speak Up data, we will provide new insights into the students’ vision for the use of games, mobile devices and digital content within learning, and counter mythology with the authentic views of teachers and parents regarding technology use within instruction. Going beyond anecdotes and assumptions, this interactive and eye-opening presentation will provide leaders with new metrics for evaluating the pulse of eLearning in their school or district.

1-2-3-4 New Ways to Examine Blended Learning Outcomes
Friday, December 4th
11:05am-12:05pm in Emerald Bay 3

While the debate continues as to how to measure outcomes in blended learning environments, some districts are now evaluating their blended learning programs based upon student annual growth, student engagement in learning, teacher effectiveness and parental support. In this flipped seminar, we will explore the how/when/why/what of those outcome measures, and collaboratively develop a new template for assessing the real impact of blended learning.

We look forward to seeing you this week!

At #AASL15 this weekend? Attend our TWO sessions on November 6th!

Librarians and media specialists, are you at the American Association of School Librarians (AASL)17th National Conference & Exhibition in Columbus, Ohio this weekend? If so, don't miss Julie Evans's TWO sessions tomorrow, November 6th:

We Got This - Integrating Digital Databases Within Classroom Instruction
11:20am - 12:20pm
Room C216
Julie Evans (Project Tomorrow), Victoria Jones (Westtown School), Elizabeth Cousins (The Shipley School)

Many school leaders report challenges in the integration of digital content within classroom instruction and yet school librarians and libraries are uniquely positioned to address these key challenges.  We will present the results from a study and discuss findings with the librarians from two project high schools.   Audience members will learn key strategies for integrating digital databases within classroom instruction, and how innovative librarianship can enhance both student and teacher outcomes.  Modeling interactive learning, the audience will be polled throughout the session regarding their views on the outcomes using a Jeopardy style game format.  The session supports the AASL strategic plan by demonstrating the relevancy of librarians within digital learning adoptions.

Enabling, empowering and engaging digital learning – the pivotal role of the school librarian in education transformation
4:30pm - 5:30pm
Room C213-214
Julie Evans (Project Tomorrow)

Since 2003, the Speak Up Research Project has polled 4 million K-12 students, educators and parents about their views on digital learning. A key finding from the resulting data has been the increasingly importance of curated digital content and in school mentoring to actualize the promise of technology to transform education. Enter the school librarian. In this interactive session, we will share new Speak Up findings that demonstrate the pivotal role of the school librarian in school and classroom adoption of digital content.

Will you be at our sessions? Give us a shoutout on twitter at @SpeakUpEd, @ProjectTomorrow, and @JulieEvans_PT! Be sure to include the #AASL15 hashtag in your tweets as well. See you there!

Valuing the Voices of Experts

During Connected Educator Month, Project Tomorrow CEO Julie Evans teamed up with Cable Impacts Foundation VP of Education Frank Gallagher to write a blog post about the importance of teacher voices while planning for "future ready" schools. Read the article below, and be sure to check out the original article on Connected Educators' blog. Special thanks to Connected Educators for inviting Project Tomorrow to celebrate Connected Educator Month.

Change is easier, and often more effective, when it’s done with you rather than to you. Many times in the past, education reform has come from the top down, without teachers having a voice.

We’ll never get “future ready” schools without the active involvement of educators in all aspects of the process. At Cable Impacts Foundation, when we embarked on the project to create “Building Your Roadmap for 21st Century Learning Environments,” a tool education leaders could use to map out and manage transforming their schools into technology-rich hubs of personalized digital learning and 21st century teaching, we involved teachers from the beginning. Their voices defined the teaching component of the Roadmap. The voice of teachers played a key role in constructing the Future Ready Schools initiative, as well.

So what do teachers think is most needed for creating a “future ready” school? Since 2003, the Speak Up Research Project has been asking students and teachers that kind of question. Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow, the organization that runs the Speak Up Project summarizes what the teacher survey data tells us.

Teachers have a unique perspective on what is working, what is not working and what other things should be done to improve their effectiveness and impact student learning. They see four things that are vital for creating a future ready school.

First, teachers realize that they need professional development but the traditional in-service methods just don’t work anymore. Educators want PD that is highly personalized to their strengths and weaknesses, contextualized to be relevant to their curriculum, and timely – providing just the right amount of coaching and mentoring exactly when they need it.

Second, teachers value opportunities to collaborate and learn from each other. Increasingly, that’s being done through social media tools and online communities that become their “home team” of colleagues and coaches with whom they can share advice and support.

Third, teachers want to be at the table when digital tools are being evaluated and selected for classroom use. In many schools and districts, the decisions about and investments in online curriculum, digital content licenses, e-textbooks and even what websites can be used with students are being made by individuals several steps removed from the classroom. Administrators look first for digital content that is research based while teachers seek products that are created or evaluated by other teachers, and that they can modify or customize.

Fourth, teachers want their administrators to be authentic, co-learners with them on the journey to creating future-ready schools. Educators want to have confidence that their leaders truly understand the challenges they face, that they have a personal understanding of a new classroom models, and that they will provide the supports necessary for teachers to build capacity.

In the Roadmap project, teachers gave us great insight into what was needed and the best ways to deliver resources and PD to meet those needs. Too often school reform has failed, in part because teachers weren’t an integral part of the process. With the fast-paced, constantly evolving, globally economy, complex civic and social spaces, change is a given. We can’t afford to ignore the voices of teachers.

Frank Gallagher is VP of Education at Cable Impacts Foundation, the pro-social foundation of the cable telecommunications industry dedicated to leveraging cable’s resources – including its platform, technology and content – to empower consumers and enhance communities. Cable Impacts is the lead sponsor and curator of the Future Ready theme of Connected Educator Month.




Julie Evans is CEO of Project Tomorrow, a non-profit group driven to ensure that today’s students are well prepared to be tomorrow’s innovators, leaders and engaged citizens of the world and well known for its Speak Up surveys.

Today's #SUchat: Developing Future Ready Leaders

#SUchat:  Developing FutureReady Leaders – using data to inform digital initiatives

Wednesday, October 14 at 4 pm PT, 5 pm MT, 6 pm CT, 7 pm ET

Co-hosted by Julie Evans with several district leaders who are leveraging Speak Up data to inform their digital learning initiatives. Discussion will be around how to use stakeholder data specifically to engage your community, understand the needs of your stakeholders and advance your vision. Join the conversation by including the hashtag #SUchat.

Other hashtags to use include:  #CE15, #FutureReady, #digitallearning

Discussion topic 1:  

Stakeholder data: friend or foe?  How do district leaders currently value the importance of student, teacher or parent ideas around the use of technology within learning?  Are most districts deliberately seeking stakeholder data, and if so, for what purposes?   

We have heard from some districts that at times their preference is “not to know” what their stakeholders’ want or value.  Is that a common strategy?  

What are ways that districts are collecting stakeholder data to inform their plans?   Are those methods effective or efficient?  Or what challenges do leaders face in collecting or using stakeholder data?  

Discussion topic 2: 

Using stakeholder data:  What are some examples of how you have used stakeholder data from students, teachers or parents to advance your vision or to address the 7 gears of the Future Ready framework (http://dashboard.futurereadyschools.org/app/framework)?   

What has worked well for you?  What did not work for you? 

Does stakeholder data address some of the Future Ready gears better than others?  What ones are best?   Professional learning, community partnerships maybe?  Why is that?

Discussion topic 3:  

Using Speak Up to collect and analyze stakeholder data:  How does the Speak Up process help district leaders understand and appreciate the views of key stakeholders such as students, teachers, parents, administrators and community members?   What are the benefits of using Speak Up to address these goals? 

What have you learned from the Speak Up data that helped you advance your vision or address those Future Ready gears?  

How are you planning on using stakeholder data this year to inform your digital learning plans?     

We hope to see you on today's #SUchat!

Last call for tomorrow's webinar: Maximizing Your K-12 Communications to Support Student Success

Maximizing Your K-12 Communications to Support Student Success

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Eastern Time)

Presented by Julie Evans, CEO, Project Tomorrow

Sponsored by Schoolwires, a Blackboard solution

Click here to register

Did you know that 86% of the public believes that parent support is the most important way to ensure student achievement? Blackboard and Project Tomorrow have surveyed thousands of parents across the U.S. to understand how they want to be communicated with, which channels they prefer, and how to increase their engagement with schools and districts. In this webinar, explore the parent survey data we’ve collected and learn what tools and practices you need to maximize family and community engagement in your district that ultimately influence student success.

Join Project Tomorrow President & CEO Julie Evans to hear more about:

• What role parents feel social media and mobile have in K-12

• What parents believe are measures of student success

• What parents worry about for their child’s academic future

• What ways in which parents like to be communicated

Julie will field questions from the audience at the end of her presentation. K-12 administrators interested in parent engagement survey feedback and community engagement technology tools that will help districts maximize their communications will benefit from this webinar.

A CE certificate will be emailed to attendees within 24 hours of the live event.

If you miss the live session, a link to view the recording will be sent within 24 hours of the live event.

This is a free program from edWeb.net. edWeb.net is a social network and professional learning community that makes it easy for teachers and all educators to connect and collaborate with peers, share information and best practices, and spread innovative ideas to improve teaching and learning. To learn more about edWeb.net, click on their logo to the right.

Upcoming webinar: Maximizing Your K-12 Communications to Support Student Success

Maximizing Your K-12 Communications to Support Student Success

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Eastern Time)

Presented by Julie Evans, CEO, Project Tomorrow

Sponsored by Schoolwires, a Blackboard solution

Click here to register

Did you know that 86% of the public believes that parent support is the most important way to ensure student achievement? Blackboard and Project Tomorrow have surveyed thousands of parents across the U.S. to understand how they want to be communicated with, which channels they prefer, and how to increase their engagement with schools and districts. In this webinar, explore the parent survey data we’ve collected and learn what tools and practices you need to maximize family and community engagement in your district that ultimately influence student success.

Join Project Tomorrow President & CEO Julie Evans to hear more about:

• What role parents feel social media and mobile have in K-12

• What parents believe are measures of student success

• What parents worry about for their child’s academic future

• What ways in which parents like to be communicated

Julie will field questions from the audience at the end of her presentation. K-12 administrators interested in parent engagement survey feedback and community engagement technology tools that will help districts maximize their communications will benefit from this webinar.

A CE certificate will be emailed to attendees within 24 hours of the live event.

If you miss the live session, a link to view the recording will be sent within 24 hours of the live event.

This is a free program from edWeb.net. edWeb.net is a social network and professional learning community that makes it easy for teachers and all educators to connect and collaborate with peers, share information and best practices, and spread innovative ideas to improve teaching and learning. To learn more about edWeb.net, click on their logo to the right.

Today's webinar: Digital Learning Trends Making an Impact on Student Engagement and Development

Last call for registration for today's webinar with Blackboard! Join Julie Evans as she explores Speak Up 2014 data - more information below:

Digital Learning Trends Making an Impact on Student Engagement and Development

Blackboard and Project Tomorrow

Monday, September 14

3:30pm ET

Click here to register

The increased use of technology, both in school and out of school, creates an urgency for teachers to embrace digital learning to make the student educational experience more productive and personal. The annual Speak Up National Research Project provides an exclusive window into the views of education leaders, teachers and students on personalized learning and innovative learning environments. In this webinar we will share the latest Speak Up national findings from over 403,000 K-12 students, parents and educators with an emphasis on how the use of digital content, tools and resources in innovative classrooms are having a large impact on students' engagement and development of critical college and career ready skills.

Be sure to sign up for the remaining sessions in the Fall 2015 K-12 Blackboard Innovative Teaching Series (BITS) series! With over twenty sessions planned through December, there are plenty of opportunities for free teacher professional development. Click here to register and learn more.

Don't miss this month's upcoming webinars with Blackboard!

Stay up to date with the most recent Speak Up data by saving your spot for Julie Evans's webinars with Blackboard - with one coming up this Monday! Learn how you can save your spot below:

Digital Learning Trends Making an Impact on Student Engagement and Development

Blackboard and Project Tomorrow

Monday, September 14

3:30pm ET

Click here to register

The increased use of technology, both in school and out of school, creates an urgency for teachers to embrace digital learning to make the student educational experience more productive and personal. The annual Speak Up National Research Project provides an exclusive window into the views of education leaders, teachers and students on personalized learning and innovative learning environments. In this webinar we will share the latest Speak Up national findings from over 403,000 K-12 students, parents and educators with an emphasis on how the use of digital content, tools and resources in innovative classrooms are having a large impact on students' engagement and development of critical college and career ready skills.

Maximizing Your K-12 Communications to Support Student Success

Blackboard and Project Tomorrow

Wednesday, September 30

3pm ET

Click here to register

Did you know that 86% of the public believes that parent support is the most important way to ensure student achievement? Blackboard and Project Tomorrow have surveyed thousands of parents across the U.S. to understand how they want to be communicated with, which channels they prefer, and how to increase their engagement with schools and districts. In this webinar, explore the parent survey data we’ve collected and learn what tools and practices you need to maximize family and community engagement in your district that ultimately influence student success.

Webinar with Blackboard: Digital Learning Trends Making an Impact on Student Engagement and Development

Digital Learning Trends Making an Impact on Student Engagement and Development 

Blackboard and Julie Evans

Monday, September 14

3:30PM ET

Click here to register

The increased use of technology, both in school and out of school, creates an urgency for teachers to embrace digital learning to make the student educational experience more productive and personal. The annual Speak Up National Research Project provides an exclusive window into the views of education leaders, teachers and students on personalized learning and innovative learning environments. In this webinar we will share the latest Speak Up national findings from over 520,000 K-12 students, parents and educators with an emphasis on how the use of digital content, tools and resources in innovative classrooms are having a large impact on students' engagement and development of critical college and career ready skills.

Don't miss the first webinar from the fall K-12 Blackboard Innovative Teaching Series (K-12 BITS)! Registration for the series is now live - click here to sign up.

This Friday is your last chance to pick our panel for SXSWedu 2016!

There are only THREE days left to pick our panel for SXSWedu! Get your votes in before time runs out! 

Julie Evans is featured in a proposal for SXSWedu 2016's panel picker,where educators can cast their votes for the most compelling ideas and ultimately shape the conference line-up. Voting ends on this Friday, September 4th 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 session information below:

Pink or Blue? Examining gender in games

Contrary to what we may want to believe, emerging research indicates that use of digital tools and content within learning is not gender-blind. While girls and boys share a common interest in technology to support personalized learning, their uses of and aspirations for digital learning are often quite different. This is especially true with game-based learning. In this workshop, we will roll up our sleeves and interact with a variety of games that are popular in education. Using a new evaluation tool, participants will gain an insider perspective on gender-bias or sensitivity within games by examining the characterization, imagery and language, storyline and results of the game play.

Additional Supporting Materials
http://www.tomorrow.org/docs/Guide_EvaluatingGender-Sensitivity_DigitalGames.pdf

Questions Answered

1. Learn background and terminology associated with the emerging field of gender-sensitivity in digital learning, most notably in digital content & games
2. Gain first-hand experience in determining the gender-sensitivity of specific types of games through the use of a new evaluation tool and game play
3. Understand the importance and impact of gender-sensitivity when designing, implementing and evaluating games for K-12 education

To vote, visit http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/52375. 

Did you miss Tuesday's webinar: Technology, Training, and Teaming to Ensure Great Teaching for All Students?

If so, our friends at Alliance for Excellent Education have the webinar available "on demand" on their website! Click here to watch Technology, Training, and Teaming to Ensure Great Teaching for All Students from Alliance for Excellent Education and  the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF), featuring our CEO Julie Evans and Matthew Baker from Manheim Central Middle School (PA) and Pennsylvania’s Keystones to Opportunity Literacy Initiative.

If interested, you can also download Julie's presentation from the event - click here or click on the image below.

To watch a recording of Technology, Training, and Teaming to Ensure Great Teaching for All Students, click here.

FREE webinar tomorrow: Technology, Training and Teaming to Ensure Great Teaching for All Students

Don't forget - tomorrow is Julie Evans's free webinar with the Alliance for Excellent Education and the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future! Plan to take part in this special event about technology and teacher training - see below for more information.

Technology, Training and Teaming to Ensure 

Great Teaching for All Students

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. (ET) 
Registration required

Panelists

Patrick Finn, NCTAF Commissioner and Cisco Systems

Julie Evans, Project Tomorrow

Teacher, Digital Learning Day Partner

Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education

Please join the Alliance for Excellent Education and the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF) for the first in a series of webinars exploring the conditions needed to support great teaching for deeper learning. The promising practices, recommendations, and lessons learned will inform a collective effort, led by NCTAF, around supporting great teaching.

This inaugural joint webinar will focus on the potential of technology to transform the teaching profession, increase opportunities for collaboration and professional learning, and improve student learning. Panelists will share data and experiences and discuss digital best practices to build teachers’ expertise and their ability to create powerful learning environments for their students. What opportunities exist now and in the near future for using technology to support great teaching? How can research results be connected with what is happening in practice? What recommendations should be put forward regarding technology integration and policy?

Bob Wise, president of the Alliance and former governor of West Virginia, will moderate the discussion. Panelists will also address questions submitted by viewers from across the nation.

Register and submit questions for the webinar online at http://all4ed.org/webinar-event/aug-25-2015/. 

Please direct questions concerning the webinar to alliance@all4ed.org. If you are unable to watch the webinar live, an archived version will be available athttp://www.all4ed.org/webinars approximately 1–2 business days after the event airs.

The Alliance for Excellent Education is a Washington, DC–based national policy and advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all students, particularly those who are traditionally underserved, graduate from high school ready for success in college, work, and citizenship. www.all4ed.org

The National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future (NCTAF) was founded in 1994 as a bipartisan effort to engage education policymakers and practitioners to address the entrenched national challenge of recruiting, developing, and retaining great teachers in order to ensure that all students have access to quality teaching in schools organized for success. For twenty years, NCTAF has worked to drive and inform the national dialogue about the importance of great teaching, especially in hard-to-staff schools. NCTAF’s research and recommendations inform innovations and improvements in teaching quality nationwide, focus attention on the importance of equitable distribution and retention of teachers, and promote promising practices for the development of teachers’ skills and career pathways. www.nctaf.org 

Pick Your Panels: Vote Us Onto the Official SXSWedu 2016 Line-Up

We need your help! Julie Evans is featured in a proposal for SXSWedu 2016'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 4th 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 session information below:

Pink or Blue? Examining gender in games

Contrary to what we may want to believe, emerging research indicates that use of digital tools and content within learning is not gender-blind. While girls and boys share a common interest in technology to support personalized learning, their uses of and aspirations for digital learning are often quite different. This is especially true with game-based learning. In this workshop, we will roll up our sleeves and interact with a variety of games that are popular in education. Using a new evaluation tool, participants will gain an insider perspective on gender-bias or sensitivity within games by examining the characterization, imagery and language, storyline and results of the game play.

Additional Supporting Materials
http://www.tomorrow.org/docs/Guide_EvaluatingGender-Sensitivity_DigitalGames.pdf

Questions Answered

1. Learn background and terminology associated with the emerging field of gender-sensitivity in digital learning, most notably in digital content & games
2. Gain first-hand experience in determining the gender-sensitivity of specific types of games through the use of a new evaluation tool and game play
3. Understand the importance and impact of gender-sensitivity when designing, implementing and evaluating games for K-12 education

To vote, visit http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/52375. 

FREE Webinar: Technology, Training and Teaming to Ensure Great Teaching for All Students

Technology, Training and Teaming to Ensure 

Great Teaching for All Students

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. (ET) 
Registration required

Panelists

Patrick Finn, NCTAF Commissioner and Cisco Systems

Julie Evans, Project Tomorrow

Teacher, Digital Learning Day Partner

Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education

Please join the Alliance for Excellent Education and the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF) for the first in a series of webinars exploring the conditions needed to support great teaching for deeper learning. The promising practices, recommendations, and lessons learned will inform a collective effort, led by NCTAF, around supporting great teaching.

This inaugural joint webinar will focus on the potential of technology to transform the teaching profession, increase opportunities for collaboration and professional learning, and improve student learning. Panelists will share data and experiences and discuss digital best practices to build teachers’ expertise and their ability to create powerful learning environments for their students. What opportunities exist now and in the near future for using technology to support great teaching? How can research results be connected with what is happening in practice? What recommendations should be put forward regarding technology integration and policy?

Bob Wise, president of the Alliance and former governor of West Virginia, will moderate the discussion. Panelists will also address questions submitted by viewers from across the nation.

Register and submit questions for the webinar online at http://all4ed.org/webinar-event/aug-25-2015/. 

Please direct questions concerning the webinar to alliance@all4ed.org. If you are unable to watch the webinar live, an archived version will be available at http://www.all4ed.org/webinars approximately 1–2 business days after the event airs.

The Alliance for Excellent Education is a Washington, DC–based national policy and advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all students, particularly those who are traditionally underserved, graduate from high school ready for success in college, work, and citizenship. www.all4ed.org

The National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future (NCTAF) was founded in 1994 as a bipartisan effort to engage education policymakers and practitioners to address the entrenched national challenge of recruiting, developing, and retaining great teachers in order to ensure that all students have access to quality teaching in schools organized for success. For twenty years, NCTAF has worked to drive and inform the national dialogue about the importance of great teaching, especially in hard-to-staff schools. NCTAF’s research and recommendations inform innovations and improvements in teaching quality nationwide, focus attention on the importance of equitable distribution and retention of teachers, and promote promising practices for the development of teachers’ skills and career pathways. www.nctaf.org 

Reminder - FREE webinar tomorrow: "Ten Things Everyone Should Know about Today's Students and Digital Learning"

Thursday, June 25, 2015

2PM-3PM ET

Hosted by the NROC Project

Click here to register

Join Project Tomorrow CEO Julie Evans for a overview of the annual Speak Up Research Project, designed to provide schools nationwide with insights into how today's students want to leverage digital tools for learning. This year's study focused on the views and attitudes of students in four specific types of digital learning environments:

• Laptop initiatives
• Blended learning
• Online learning
• STEM experiences

Attend the webinar to learn and consider the impact on new strategies you may be considering to engage 21st Century learners! Click here to save your spot for this insightful webinar.

The NROC Project is a national non-profit impacting college & career readiness. NROC (pronounced "en-rock") is a community-guided, non-profit project focused on new models of digital  content development, distribution, and use. To learn more about the NROC Project, click here.