Kick off to Speak Up 2014!

Speak Up 2014 is now open! This year’s Speak Up annual surveys continue to pave new ground in education technology research by polling K-12 students, educators, administrators and parents about the use of mobile devices, online classes, games and digital content within learning. We listened to last year's participants and have added new topics to our surveys to spark more conversation, such as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), data privacy, student interest in programming and computing, and online assessments. This newsletter is specifically dedicated to the launch of Speak Up 2014! Below, you'll find all the information you need on what's new for 2014: ▪ ▪ Speak Up 2014 is open! Register today, surveys are available October 6th- December 19th, 2014 ▪ ▪ Announcing the Speak Up Loud and Clear leading schools: We are proud to announce our leading schools from our Speak Up 2013 survey period! ▪ ▪ First look at this year's survey questions: View this year's 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 ▪ ▪ Promotional materials: Help spread the word about Speak Up with our list of promotional materials. Happy reading, and remember to Speak Up now through December 19th! Feel free to share your thoughts with us on Facebook, Twitter, and our Blog. -The Project Tomorrow team

Speak Up 2014 is now open! Help us collect valuable data 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 6th – December 19th, 2014 at: www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2014. Instructions for completing the Speak Up survey 1. Go to the survey website (above). 2. Click on the appropriate survey (Student, Educator, Parent, Community member). 3. Follow the given instructions to access the survey. Begin by entering your school zip or clicking on the drop down button and select your state, then go to the next line and type in your school name to find your school. 4. Students will choose their grade level and enter in their school specific password* 5. Parents and Educators will NOT need the password to access the survey. To learn more about the project and how to get involved, visit www.tomorrow.org/speakup.

Speak Up Loud and Clear: Recognizing the Top Participating Schools and Districts based on Speak Up 2013 Participation With the launch of Speak Up 2014, we would like to take this time to recognize the schools and districts that went above and beyond in their promotion and encouragement of participation to their students, parents and educators during last year's Speak Up surveys! Thank you for making last year's surveys such a success! Last year 403,292 Students, Parents, Educators and members of the community representing over 9,000 schools nationwide participated in Speak Up 2013. Out of those over 9,000 schools, we have nominated a group of 250 schools that have gone above and beyond with their promotion creativity, outreach and use of data. Many of the nominated schools exceed over 80% student participation, allowing for an extremely rich dataset for schools to use in their own local planning and research. For a complete list of the top school and districts, visit http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/speakup-loud-clear.html. Speak Up Loud and Clear, formally known as Speak Up 200, is our annual recognition program that highlights schools that are effectively incorporating Speak Up data into their local decision-making. Each year, finalists are selected based on total student participation, length of time involved with Speak Up, and use of data in local decision making.

Get a look at this year's survey questions! We've made our survey questions available to view before Speak Up launches on October 6th. Click here to view the surveys, and be on the lookout for new topics and questions! New topics include: ▪ ▪ Blended learning ▪ ▪ 1:1 computing ▪ ▪ BYOD ▪ ▪ Coding ▪ ▪ Data privacy ▪ ▪ Student self-directed learning ▪ ▪ Ideal school mobile app ▪ ▪ College and career readiness skills ▪ ▪ And more!

Speak Up has a new participant badge! Wear this badge proudly as you display it on your website, your e-mails, your social media sites, blog, and more! Enjoy, and remember to get the rest of your community to Speak Up through December 19th, 2014!

Our Speak Up 2014 promotional materials are now available Start spreading the word about Speak Up to your community! Check out our helpful flyers, guides, sample emails, and more at http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/promo.html.

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.