Balancing Students' Aspirations with District Realities

Balancing Students’ Aspirations
with District Realities
New Speak Up Findings from Tech Leaders

Speak Up 2010 Findings Julie Evans
CoSN Conference Project Tomorrow
March 15, 2011 jevans@tomorrow.org

© Project Tomorrow 2011

Today’s Discussion: The Big Questions

What are the expectations of K-12 students for 21st
century learning?

How does that student vision compare with school
and district realities – from the perspective of
administrators and technology leaders?

How well are today’s K-12 schools meeting the
expectations of students?

What is the future of learning?


Discussion Agenda:

Speak Up National Research Project
Student Vision for 21st Century Education
Deep Dive into the Tech Leaders and
Administrators Data Findings
Conversation – Your insights!


Defining 21st century education . . .

“I believe that the purpose of education is not to make men
carpenters, but to make carpenters men. To be competitive in a
workplace that is changing and will change continuously throughout
our careers, my peers and I need to be able to read and
understand new information at a level never before prevalent.
This should be, however, a familiar aim for the forces of academia,
however, since what we must learn, in essence, is to learn.

I would ensure a broad and balanced education that exposes every
student to rigorous inquiry in every discipline, from physics to pottery
and makes them active participants in the process of inquiry and
learning.”

11th grade student
Pittsburgh PA



• Annual national research project
Online surveys + focus groups
Open for all K-12 schools and schools of education
Institutions receive free report with their own data

• Collect ideas ↔ Stimulate conversations
K-12 Students, Teachers, Parents, Administrators
Pre-Service Teachers in Schools of Education

• Inform policies & programs
Analysis and reporting of findings and trends
Consulting services to help transform teaching and learning


Speak Up is facilitated annually
by Project Tomorrow
(formerly known as NetDay)

Project Tomorrow
(www.tomorrow.org)
is the leading education nonprofit
organization dedicated to the
empowerment of student voices in
education.


• Empowering authentic voices – since 2003:
1.9 million K-12 students
180,000 teachers and librarians
124,000 parents
15,500 school and district leaders
30,000 K-12 schools – from all 50 states, DC,
American military base schools, Canada, Mexico,
Australia, int’l schools . . .

2.2 million respondents


Speak Up survey question themes

Learning & Teaching with Technology
21st Century Skills: Digital Citizenship
Science and Math Instruction
Career Interests in STEM and Teaching
Professional Development / Teacher Preparation
Internet Safety
Administrators’ Challenges
Emerging Technologies in the Classroom
Mobile Devices, Online Learning, Digital Content
Educational Games, Web 2.0 tools and
applications
Designing the 21st Century School

National Speak Up 2010 Participation: 379,355

K-12 Students 294,399
Teachers 35,525
Librarians 2,135
Parents (in English & Spanish) 42,267
Administrators 3,578
Technology Leaders 1,391
Schools / Districts 6,541 / 1,340

Participating States for Student Surveys: 48 states
Top 12 (# of participants):
TX, CA, AL, AZ, FL, NC, IL, MD, IN, NV, PA, WI



About our K-12 Schools:
34% urban, 29% suburban, 37% rural
51% Title 1 eligible – indicating community
poverty
34% majority-minority student population



Release of national findings:

Student & Parent Data: April 1

Educator Data: May 11

Stay tuned to all Speak Up announcements:

www.tomorrow.org

SpeakUpEd – Twitter and Facebook


Release of two national reports
March 16 and May 5, 2010
Available at: www.tomorrow.org

Creating Our Future: Unleashing the Future:

Students Speak Up Educators Speak Up
about their Vision for about the Use of
21st Century Learning Emerging Technologies
for Learning
Speak Up 2009 National
Findings: K-12 Students Speak Up 2009 National
& Parents Findings: Teachers,
Aspiring Teachers &
Administrators

Key Findings: Speak Up 2003 – 2010

Students function as a “Digital Advance Team”

Students regularly adopt and adapt emerging technologies
for learning

Students’ frustrations with the unsophisticated use of
technologies within education

Lack of relevancy in education exacerbated

Persistent digital disconnect between students and adults


What can the Speak Up
findings tell us about the
future of learning?


What can the Speak Up data tell us about the
future of learning?

Increasingly, students’ aspirations around
the use of emerging technologies within
education is a reflection of their desired
vision for learning in general.


Result:

A new uniquely “student
vision” for leveraging emerging
technologies to drive
achievement and educational
productivity


Creating Our Future: Students Speak Up about
their Vision for 21st Century Learning

Social–based learning
Un–tethered learning
Digitally–rich learning



Three Essential Elements
Social–based learning

Students want to leverage
emerging communications
and collaboration tools to
create personal networks of
experts




Un-tethered learning
Students envision
technology-enabled
learning that transcends
classroom walls



Digitally-rich
learning
Students see the use of
relevancy-based digital
tools, content and
resources as key to
education productivity


Social-based learning
Digitally rich learning

Un-tethered learning

Online and blended learning
Using mobile devices within instruction
E-textbooks and digital content



Tech Leaders & Administrators

Implementations
Benefits
Barriers
Aspirations

Using mobile devices within instruction


Who is learning online?

Growth in student experiences with academic online learning

2010

2009

Students Gr 9-12
2008 Students Gr 6-8

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Includes:
• Online class taught by a teacher
• Self-study online class
• Blended class environment


Administrators Speak Up about online learning

Who is your primary audience for online
classes in your district?

1. Teachers (53%)
2. Students (40%)
3. Administrators (36%)


How is online learning implemented?

Administrators: Types of Online Learning Provided to Students

Self directed class

Blended class
2010
2009
100% class - other teachers

100% class - our teachers

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%


Administrators: what barriers do you face
implementing online learning for students?

Top responses:

1. Limited funding
2. Creating rigorous online courses
3. Concern about course quality
4. Evaluating the quality of online courses
5. Inadequate technology or support


Evaluating the quality of online courses –
what is most important?

Evaluating Online Courses - what matters most?

Align to content standards
Ease of use
Student achievement
Integrates digital content
Includes embedded assessment
Course completion rates
Developed by expert org
Recommended by state/prof org
Administrators
Developed by instructional experts Tech Leaders
Used by similar district

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%



Additional findings: online and blended learning

62% of Tech Leaders say their district is currently
implementing online learning

46% of Tech Leaders say that in the future they
will move online courses “into the cloud”

39% of Administrators identify online classes as
part of their ultimate school



Using mobile devices within
learning


Potential uses of mobile devices for schoolwork

Top vote getters with students:
Check grades 74%
Internet research 68%
Take notes for class 59%
Text or IM classmate or teacher re: schoolwork 53%
Use the calendar 50%
Access online textbooks 44%

It’s all about productivity!


Potential benefits of mobile devices for
schoolwork

Top vote getters with administrators:
Increases student engagement 84%
Extends learning beyond school day 66%
Personalizes learning 64%
Improves home communications 60%
Access online textbooks 56%

More about engagement!


Value of mobile devices within technology plan

Top vote getters with tech leaders:
Minimizes tech expenses 53%
Improves home communications 52%
Provides 1:1 opportunity 50%
Provides access to online textbooks 47%
Better use of scarce resources 31%
Puts responsibility on parents to provide devices 30%

More about managing resources!


So, what is holding you back from allowing
students to use their own devices?

Administrators say: Tech Leaders say:

1. Teachers not trained 1. Concerns about
2. Current district policies network security
3. Concerns about network 2. Staff capacity to
security support
4. Concerns about theft 3. Student access
5. Devices can distract 4. Id curriculum
students 5. Acceptable use policies


Administrators: How likely are you this year to
allow students to use their own mobile devices
for instructional purposes at school?

Administrators say:

Likely Unlikely
22% 63%



Additional findings: mobile learning

37% of Tech Leaders say their district is not sure
what approach to take but definitely are
interested in mobile learning!

Only 5% of Tech Leaders are advancing a BYOT
approach at this time

35% of Administrators identify mobile devices as
part of their ultimate school


Students’ desires for the features and
functionality of digital textbooks

Three themes emerge from the data:

Students want interactivity and relevancy

They want tools to facilitate collaboration

They want ways to personalize learning


Potential benefits of digital content within
instruction

Top vote getters with administrators:
Increases student engagement 72%
Extends learning beyond school day 64%
Prepares students for work 62%
Improves teacher tech skills 52%
Personalizes learning 51%
Increases relevancy of instruction 51%
Decreases dependence on publishers 51%

Engagement + Relevancy

So, what are the barriers to integrating
digital content in your curriculum?

Administrators say: Tech Leaders say:

1. Computer access 1. Funding to purchase
2. Teacher training digital content
3. Evaluating digital 2. Teacher training
content quality 3. Computer access
4. Alignment to curriculum 4. Evaluating digital
5. Concern about legal content quality
policies and internet 5. Concern about legal
safety issues policies and internet
safety issues


Evaluating the quality of digital content –
what is most important?

Evaluating Digital Content: what matters most?

Student achievement

Teacher evaluation

Created by teachers

Certified by ed associations

Compiled by state dept of ed

Conference demo Administrators

Created by content experts Teachers

Referred by colleague

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%



Additional findings: digital content

60% of Tech Leaders say they recommend digital
content to administrators and teachers as an
agent for education transformation

25% of Tech Leaders say they are currently
implementing digital or e-textbooks

46% of Tech Leaders would consider a digital
content library “in the cloud”

54% of Administrators identify digital textbooks
as part of their ultimate school

“My school (or district) is doing a
good job of using technology to
enhance student achievement.”


“My school (or district) is doing a
good job of using technology to
enhance student achievement.”

Would your stakeholders agree with this statement?


“My school (or district) is doing a good job of
using tech to enhance student achievement.”

Student Aspirations vs. District Realities

Strongly disagree

Disagree Administrators
Tech Leaders
Agree Students

Strongly agree

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%


The Future of Learning?

What do administrators say
schools will look like in 2019?


A vision for education in 2019

“School will become a 24 hour around the clock opportunity
with students logging into school from “home.” The role of the
teacher will be to lead and assist students in “discovering”
the uses for the technology and information. Every student
from Pre-K through twelfth grade will have access to learning
through the most advanced IT devices available. Learning will
occur online at least 80% of the time. School buildings will
be open on evenings and Saturdays for remediation, recreation
and community activities for the purpose of socialization.”

Principal from Michigan


More Speak Up? www.tomorrow.org

• National Speak Up Findings

• Additional data analysis from Speak Up 2010

• Presentations, podcasts and webinars

• Evaluation services

• Reports and white papers


Thank you.
Let’s continue this conversation.

Julie Evans
Project Tomorrow
jevans@tomorrow.org
949-609-4660 x15

Copyright Project Tomorrow 2011.
This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted
for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes,
provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced
materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the
author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written
permission from the author.


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