From Chalkboard to Tablets presentation in DC

From Chalkboard to Tablets was presented in DC on April 19, 2013. I told myself if I was ever in the area I was going to attend one of the presentations given by Julie Evans.

I have multiple interests in the data provided by Speak Up National Research Project for the last 10 years:

• As a parent of a high school student attending a school, in a district, with a NO mobile device policy
• As a custodial GParent of a youngster growing up digital
• As a doctoral student
• As an employee who needs the next generation to be able to defend the nation's cyber interests

The report, From Chalkboard to Tablets, presentation, press releases and  the Congressional Briefing are available from the site.

The panelists provided a positive presentation and information about some schools that are integrating technology but as many of us know this is not the majority. While we have diverse tech skills amongst employees, students, educators, parents/GParents and those with access, when you look at the workforce replacements (current K-12) the diversity exists. Of course, the time with the panelists went quickly. I would still like to know the impact on students and educators who transfer in and out of the districts that have the great technology integrated programs. Due to career progression, economic factors, or military families I can only wonder what options do students have when transferring in and out of the technology integrated schools. Maybe another data set for the Project Tomorrow Team ?

I am glad I attended and met Julie. The next session is scheduled for June 4, 2013, 12-1330 @ the Capitol Visitor Center, House Visitor Center, Room 201 with a panel of Students. If you would like to attend, RSVP Jenny Hostert @ jhostert@tomorrow.org where the theme of the presentation is "Celebrating 10 years of giving a voice to students!"

Net Day Speak Up 2008

Speak Up is an annual national research project facilitated by Project Tomorrow. The purpose of the project is to:

Collect and report the unfiltered feedback from students, parents, admins, and teachers on key educational issues.
Use the data to stimulate local conversations.
Raise national awareness about the importance of including the viewpoints of students, parents, and teachers in the education dialogue. Since inception, over 1.2 million students, educators, and parents have shared their ideas through Speak Up.

You can too. Participate in Speak Up 2008 until December 19, 2008.

Quantitative survey results are available to participating schools and districts, online, free-of-charge, so that they can use the data for planning and community discussion. National findings are released through a variety of venues, including: a Congressional Briefing in Washington, DC, national and regional conferences, e-mail distribution, Project Tomorrow website, and our Speak Up partners. Local, state and national stakeholders report using Speak Up data to inform their new programs and policies.

All districts and schools, in the current NCES database, are automatically pre-registered to participate in Speak Up. To participate in the survey and obtain free, online access to your school or district’s aggregated results, your registration must be activated.

Speak Up Surveys submitted as of 11/6: 18,605 Students, 2,827 Teachers, 1,929 Parents, 326 School Leaders.

This last portion reminded me of what SLA Principal Chris Lehmann stated during his presentation at Ignite Philly, "Good data costs more than we are willing to spend". What better reason to participate in the survey? For three years I have requested anyone to register the Richmond County School System. This year they did with a same day response in email. No "Yeah but"s or "No"s, just a quick email response stating it is done and the magic word. So if your school district isn't registered...parents can still take the survey, but continue to contact your school board members, the IT and Ed Techies, so the voices of the students, teachers, and administrators can be heard as well. The schools in the NCES database are already loaded...some adult in the school or the school district has to activate the survey for an individual school or the entire district.