Speak Up 2009 Unleashing The Future

8/8/2019 Speak Up 2009 Unleashing The Future

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SpeakUp2009

UnleashingtheFuture:Educators“SpeakUp”abouttheuseofEmergingTechnologiesforLearning

ProjectTomorrow,2010 [1]

Overview

Technology has enabled students to have greater access to vast array of resources, classes and experts;

empowering students to become “Free Agent Learners” who are creating meaningful personalized learning

experiences24/7outsideofthetraditionalclassroomandschoolstructure.

In the report Creating our Future: Students Speak Up about their Vision for 21st Century Learning, Project

Tomorrow(2010)outlinedcompellingevidencethatstudentsareusingtechnologytotakeresponsibilityfortheir

own learning, often times bypassing traditional educational settings. As “Free Agent Learners,” students use

technology to personalize their learning experience to meet their individual learning styles and interests.

Students,however, arealso interestedin incorporating thesetypesoflearning experiencesin their classroom.

Thestudentssharedavisionfor21stcenturylearningthatincludesthesethreeessentialelements:

Social-based learning – students wantto leverage emerging communications and collaboration tools to

createandpersonalizenetworksofexpertstoinformtheireducationprocess.

Un-tethered learning – students envision technology-enabled learning experiences that transcend theclassroom walls and are not limited by resource constraints, traditional funding streams, geography,

communityassetsoreventeacherknowledgeorskills.

Digitally-richlearning–studentsseetheuseofrelevancy-baseddigitaltools,contentandresourcesasa

keytodrivinglearningproductivity,notjustaboutengagingstudentsinlearning.

With the Speak Up Project in 2009, we endeavored to better understand how educators are responding to

students’interestinanewparadigmforlearningandhowtheymayalreadybeleveragingtechnologytofacilitate

digitally-richlearningenvironmentswherestudentshaveopportunitiestolearncollaboratively,withclassmates

or experts, anytime or anywhere. This report explores the views of teachers, principals and future teachers

collected during Speak Up 2009 and highlights how they use, and aspire to use, emerging technologies forteachingandlearning.

SpeakUp2009revealsthattheeffectiveintegrationoftechnologywithininstructionisimportanttobothdistrict

administrators and principals. Overwhelmingly, over 90 percent agree that the effective implementation of

instructional technology is important/extremely important to their mission. In fact, over one-half of district

administratorsreportthattheuseoftechnologywithininstructionisoneoftheirmostsignificantchallenges;the

type that ismost likely “to wake them up in the middle of the night.” In response to this priority, district

administratorsarebeginningtobuildaninfrastructurethatwillenableteachers(andstudents)tocreatesocially-

based,un-tethered, digitally rich learning environments. Supporting this vision, thetop technology tools that

administratorsbelievehave thegreatestpotential toenhancestudent achievementinclude: collaboration and

communications tools, mobile computers (such as laptops and netbooks) for every student, online classes,

campuswideInternetaccess,digitalmediatoolsandinteractivewhiteboards.

However,realizingthisvisionisnotwithoutchallenges,administratorsstruggletodevelopeffectivepoliciesthat

enablestudentstogaingreateraccesstolearningresourcesbeyondtheschoolwalls,andtosecurethefundingto

purchase technology, provide professional staff development and offer long-term curriculum and technology

support.



SpeakUp2009



Itis,therefore,essentialthatschoolsanddistrictscontinuetomakeinvestmentsintechnologyastheSpeakUp

datarevealsnewattitudesandvaluesabouttheimpactoftechnologyonboththelearnerandtheteacher.While

manyteachersareusingdigitalmediatools(66percent),digitalresources(46percent)andgames(42percent);

theyarelackingaccesstomobilecomputersordevicesforeverystudentandconsistent,reliableInternetaccess

intheirclassroom.

Teachers tellusthatasaresultofusingtechnologyin theclassroomstudentsaremoremotivatedto learn(51

percent), apply their knowledge to practical problems (30 percent) and take ownership of their learning (23

percent).Teachersalsoreportthatbyusingtechnologystudentsaredevelopingkey21stcenturyskillsincluding

creativity(39percent),collaboration(30percent)andskillsinproblem-solvingandcriticalthinking(27percent);

thus,effectivelypreparingthemforfuturesuccessintheworkplaceandtheglobalsociety.Teachersalsosee

changesintheirteachingpracticeasaresultoftechnologyintegrationwithininstruction.Overone-thirdofthe

teacherstellusasaresultofclassroomtechnologytheyaremorelikelytoencouragestudentstobeself-directed,

facilitatestudent centered learning andcreatemore relevant andinteractive lessons. Thelearningexperience

becomes more meaningful for the student as teachers have new found time to differentiate instruction (31

percent) to a greater degree, and have more access to information about how their students are doing

academically(29percent).

Sincefall2003,SpeakUphasdocumentedhowstudentsembracetheuseof technologyoutsideofschool,and

theirdesiretousethesametechnologytolearn.Technologyhasenabledstudentstopersonalizetheirlearning,

collaboratewiththeirpeers,takeclassesonline,andlocateexpertsorresourcestogainabetterunderstandingof

asubjecttheyarestudying.Perhaps,itistimethatwelistentoourstudentsandutilizethetechnologytocreate

opportunities that will challenge and stimulate them while nurturing their love for learning. By thinking

strategically,updatingourpoliciesandleveragingthepotentialresourcesaffordedthroughthecurrentnational

andstatefundingstreamswehaveauniqueopportunitytore-engagestudentsintheirlearning.Thisreport,

servesasacompaniontoCreatingourFuture:StudentsSpeakUpabouttheirVisionfor21stCenturyLearning,andhighlightstheviewsof1,987futureteachers,38,642teachersand3,890principalsand633districtadministrators

collectedduringSpeakUp2009.

AbouttheSpeakUpNationalResearchProjectandSpeakUp2009

Speak Up is a national initiative of Project Tomorrow, the nation’s leading education nonprofit organization

dedicatedtoensuringthattoday’sstudentsarewellpreparedtobetomorrow’sinnovators,leadersandengaged

citizens.Sincefall2003,theannualSpeakUpNationalResearchProjecthascollectedandreportedontheviews

ofover1.85millionK-12students,teachers,administratorsandparentsrepresentingover23,000schoolsinall50

states. The Speak Up data represents the largest collection of authentic, unfiltered stakeholder input on

education, technology,21st century skills, schoolsof the future andscienceandmath instruction. Education,businessandpolicyleadersreportusingthedataregularlytoinformfederal,stateandlocaleducationprograms.

Demographicsofreportingsample

In fall 2009, Project Tomorrow surveyed 299,677 K-12 students, 26,312 parents, 38,642 teachers, and 3,947

administratorsrepresenting5,757schoolsand1,215districtsincludingpublic(97percent)andprivate(3percent)

schools. Schools from urban (38 percent), suburban (31 percent) and rural (32 percent) communities were

represented.Overone-halfoftheschoolsthatparticipatedinSpeakUp2009wereTitleIeligible(anindicatorof



SpeakUp2009



studentpopulationpoverty)and42percenthavemorethan50percentminoritypopulationattending.TheSpeak

Up2009surveysforK-12stakeholderswasavailableonlineforinputbetweenOctober18,2009andDecember

18,2009.

TheK-12surveysincludedfoundationquestionsabouttheuseoftechnologyforlearning,21stcenturyskillsand

schoolsofthefuture,aswellasemergingtechnologies(onlinelearning,mobiledevicesanddigitalcontent),mathinstructionandSTEMcareerexploration.Inaddition,educatorssharedthechallengestheyencounterintegrating

technologyintotheirschoolsanddistricts.

For the first time, Project Tomorrow also surveyed 1,987 college students enrolled in teacher preparation

programs.SpeakUpforAspiringTeacherswasopenforinputNovember4th

,2009throughFebruary14th

,2010.

Participating college students represented seventy-one different colleges with 69 percent of the students

reportingthemselvesasundergraduatesineducationorrelatedmajorsorteacherpreparationprogramsand31

percentin graduate programs. Of theparticipatingcolleges, 89percentwere 4-yearpublic institutions and6

percentwere4-yearprivateinstitutions.

TheSpeakUpsurveysforaspiringteacherssoughttocollecttheviewsofthenextgenerationofteachersonthe

roleoftechnology intheirpersonallivesaswellaswithintheirpreparationprograms,andtheiraspirations for

usingtechnologyintheirfutureclassrooms.Webelievethatthedatafromthisstakeholdergroupisimportantto

the national discussion on how to effectively create new classrooms and learning spaces that will prepare

studentsforfuturesuccess.

Thedataresultsareaconveniencesample;schools,districtsandcollegesself-selecttoparticipateandfacilitate

thesurvey-takingprocessfortheirstudents,educatorsandparents.Allschools,districtsorcollegesintheUnited

Statesareeligible toparticipate intheannualresearchproject. Tominimizebias inthesurveyresults,Project

Tomorrowconductssignificantoutreachtoensureadequateregional,socio-economicandracial/ethnic/cultural

distribution. To participate in Speak Up, organizations register to participate, promote the survey to their

constituentsandscheduletimefortheirstakeholderstotakethe15-minuteonlinesurvey.StartinginFebruary

2010, all participating organizations receive free, online access to their data with comparative national

benchmarks.StafffromProjectTomorrowsummarize,analyze,andverifythenationaldatathroughaseriesof

focusgroupsandinterviewswithrepresentativegroupsofstudents,educatorsandparents.

This reporthighlightstheviewsof1,987futureteachers,38,642 teachers and3,890principalsand 633district

administrators collected during Speak Up 2009, and include comparative K-12 student data findings where

appropriate.

Creatingavisionfor21stcenturylearningOverwhelming , district administrators (90 percent) and principals (92 percent) report that the effective

implementationofinstructionaltechnologyisimportant/extremelyimportanttotheirmission.Furtheranalysis

revealsthatdistrictadministrators(60percent)aremorelikelythanprincipals(55percent),teachers(38percent)

orfuture teachers (38percent)tobelievethe integrationof instructional technology isextremelyimportantto

theirdistrict’scoremission.



SpeakUp2009



Over one-half ofdistrict administrators reported that theuse of technologywithin instructionwasoneof the

challengesmostlikelyto“wakeyouup”inthemiddleofthenight,justbelowadequatefunding(66percent).By

comparison,principals reported studentachievement (55 percent) andadequate funding(51 percent) as their

twotopchallenges.Integratingtheuseoftechnologywithininstructionrankedseventhontheprincipal’slist(out

of21challenges),suggestingthat district administrators aresetting thepace andvision forthe integrationof

technologywithintheirdistrict’sschools.

To gain a better understanding of the administrator’s vision for learning, the Speak Up survey asked

administrators to reflect on Clayton Christensen’s predictions about teaching and learning, from the book

“DisruptingClass:HowDisruptiveInnovationWillChangetheWaytheWorldLearns,”andtosharetheirvisionfor

2019.“Whatwillteachingandlearning look likeinyourschoolordistrictin2019?Whattechnologieswillbe

pervasive?Will therole of theteacher bedifferent? Will students have different expectations for learning

experiences?Whatareyoudoingtodaythatcanhelppositionyourschoolordistricttobesuccessfulin2019?”

Interestingly,administratorspaintedavisionverysimilartowhatweheardfromthestudents:

“In2019,Ipredictthatschoolswillbebeyondtheboundariesoffourwalls.Allstudentsingrades2-12willhavelaptopsordevicesthatwillallowanyhardsurfacetobecomeacomputer.Anytime,anyplacelearningwillbethenorm.

Printedmaterials,suchastextbooksandlibrarybookswillbereplacedwithdigitalreadersthatcanhold

thousandsofbooks.”CTO/CIO/TechnologySupervisor(AL)

“Cellphones(ortheirreplacements)willbeusedintheclassroom.Teacherswillhavemoretechnologyattheirdisposaland

textbookswillberare.”Principal(AL)

“Teachingwillgobeyondschoolwallsandinvolvesexplorationaroundtheworldviatechnology…” Principal(AL)

“Ibelievethateducationwillfinallyevolveintoaninteractivelearningprocess.”Principal(TX)

Infact,whenaskedtodesigntheultimateschoolofthefuturethereareseveralsignificantsimilaritiesinthetopfivepicks for middle and high school students, principals and district administrators (see Table1). Common

elementsincludecommunicationsandcollaborationtoolsandmobilecomputersforeverystudent.While,online

textbooksdidn’tmakethetopfivelistforprincipalsordistrictadministrators,demandforonlinetextbooksasa

potentialtool fordrivingincreasedstudentachievementincreasedfrom39percentin SpeakUp2008to about

one-halfofadministratorsinSpeakUp2009.Likewise,onlineclassesareatoppickfordistrictadministrators(58

percent)withonlyaslightlylowerrankingontheprioritylistofprincipals(44percent)andstudents(50percent).

Studentscontinue toseethepotentialtransformativeimpactofgamesandvirtualsimulations forlearningand

tellusthatthesetoolshelpthemconnectcontentwiththerealworldandgivethemopportunitiestoapplytheir

knowledge,testtheirassumptionsandtakerisksinasafeenvironment.Bycomparison,onlyaboutone-quarter

ofthedistrictadministratorsandprincipalsselectedgamesandsimulationsforinclusionintheirultimateschool.



SpeakUp2009



Table1:Toptechnologypicksfortheultimateschool

MiddleandHighSchool

Students

Principals District

Administrators

Communicationstools(61%) Interactivewhiteboards(60%) CollaborationTools(67%)

Digitalmediatools(60%) Mobilecomputerforevery

studentsuchaslaptop,mini-

notebook,tabletPC(58%)

Mobilecomputerforeverystudent

suchaslaptop,mini-notebook,

tabletPC(66%)

Onlinetextbooks(58%) Communicationstools(55%) OnlineClasses(58%)

Mobilecomputerforevery

studentsuchaslaptop,mini-

notebook,tabletPC(57%)

DigitalMediaTools(54%) CampuswideInternetAccess(57%)

Gamesorvirtual

simulations(56%)

Collaborationtools(51%) Interactivewhiteboards(55%)

Asprincipalsanddistrictadministratorsworktowardgreaterintegrationoftechnologyintoclassroominstruction,

their primary challenges include funding to acquire new technologies (55percent) or update the technology

infrastructure (45 percent), staff professional development (46 percent) and on-going technical support (32

percent).Districtadministrators(31percent)andprincipals(23percent)includeddatacollectionandreporting

requirementsontheir“topfivelist”ofchallenges.Roundingout the“topfive”wereassessmentof technology

skills (35 percent) for district administrators, while principals selected evaluating emerging technologies for

classroomuse(24percent).Giventhecurrentlandscape,howdoadministratorsmovefromtheircurrentstateto

realize their new vision for 21st century learning? Let’s explore this further through the essential elements

envisionedbythestudentsandreportedin“CreatingourFuture:StudentsSpeakUpabouttheirVision for21st

CenturyLearning”:social-basedlearning,un-tetheredlearninganddigitallyrichlearningopportunities.



SpeakUp2009



EssentialElement1:Social-basedlearning

Studentswanttoleverageemergingcommunicationsandcollaborationtoolstocreate

andpersonalizenetworksofexpertstoinformtheireducationprocess.

Administrators“SpeakUp”aboutlearningin2019…

“Teacherswillbefacilitators,helpingstudentswithfindinginformationandcollaborativegroupsforlearning.

Studentswillbeconstructingtheirownlearningbasedonexperience,researchandcollaborationusingtools

thatwilldoawaywithwallsandphysicalbarriers.”

Librarian(TX)

Studentscontinuetotellususingtechnologytocommunicateandcollaboratewiththeirclassmatesandteachers

helpsthemlearnandenhancestheirexperience.Technologyhasenabledstudentstoreachoutbeyondthe

boundariesoftheirtraditionalcircleoffriends,classroomandschooltoseeknewexpertstoaddtotheirlearning

network.Everadaptingtonewtechnologiesstudentshavemovedbeyondtheuseofemail,andprefertouse

communicationtoolsthatprovidemoreinstantaneousinteractionsuchasIMortextmessaging.Theyalso

communicateviatheirsocialnetworkingprofile,discussionboardsandonlinechats(ProjectTomorrow,2010). So

howpreparedareschoolstoprovideopportunitiesforsocial-basedlearning?

Areeducatorsinvestinginandusingtechnologytofacilitatecollaboration?

Facilitatingmeaningfulsocial-basedlearningrequiresasupportivetechnologyinfrastructure,accesstotechnology

(providedbythestudentorschool)andexplicitopportunitiesforstudentstocollaborate.Teachers(63percent),

principals (55percent) anddistrict administrators (54percent) agree that communications tools shouldbean

integralpartofa21stcenturyschool.Collaborationtoolssuchasblogs,socialnetworkingsites,orwikishavea

roleintheultimateschoolfordistrictadministrators(67percent)andprincipals(51percent);however,only27

percentof teachers agree at this time. While administrators envision thepotential for social-based learningenvironments, the Speak Up 2009 data suggests we’re not there yet. Teachers are still more likely to

communicatewiththeirpeersorstudents’parents(90percent)ratherthanstudents(34percent).Howeverit

shouldbenotedthataswehaveseenwithothertechnologies,teachers’personaluseoftechnologytoolsand

servicesoftenprecedestheincorporationof thesetoolsintoclassroomuse. Interestingly,in the2009datawe

noticedastrongincreaseinteachers’personaluseofsocialnetworkingsitesoutsideofschool.In2008,only15

percentofteacherstoldusthattheyregularlyupdatedasocialnetworkingsite;in2009,48percentarenowsocial

networkusers.

Do our future teachers hold promise for creating social-based learning environments? About one-quarter of

responding future teachers report they are learning, in their teaching methodscourses, how touse Internet-

based(Web2.0toolssuchas,blogs,wikis,socialnetworkinganddigitalmedia)toolsto facilitatecollaboration

betweenstudents.ItappearsfromtheSpeakUpdatathattheprimaryskillsbeingtaughtinthemethodscourses

arearoundtheuseofproductivitytoolssuchaswordprocessing,spreadsheetanddatabasetools(53percent).



SpeakUp2009



Howdowegetthere?

Effectiveuseofsocialbasedlearningdependsuponasolidinfrastructureandappropriatepoliciesthatleverage

thepotentialofthesetoolstoimproveteachingandlearningopportunitiesforall.Echoingstudents’frustrations

about technology use at school, teachers also report their use of technology is circumvented by filters and

firewalls(45percent),lackofcomputersortechequipment(41percent)andsloworinconsistentInternetaccess(37percent).

EssentialElement2:Un-tetheredlearning

Studentsenvisiontechnology-enabledlearningexperiencesthattranscendtheclassroomwalls

andarenotlimitedbyresourceconstraints,traditionalfundingstreams,geography,

communityassetsoreventeacherknowledgeorskills.

Administrators“SpeakUp”aboutlearningin2019…

“Studentscanlearnanywhere,home,schoolorontheroad.”

DistrictAdministrator(KY)

Studentsarealreadyusingmobiledevices(suchascellphones,SmartPhonesandMP3players)topersonalize

their learning as they look up information on the Internetor access online textbooks, collaborate with their

classmates, take notes, record lectures or video class presentations or experiments, or even play educational

games–allwithoutbeingtetheredtoaclassroomoracomputerlab.Studentsalsoareusingmobiledevicesto

enhancetheirpersonalproductivityastheycommunicatewithclassmatesandtheirteachers,receivereminders&

alertsabout tests andprojects, organize schoolworkor create/share documents ormedia (Project Tomorrow,

2010).Yet,despitetheincreasinglywidespreadaccessthatstudentshavetothesemobiledevicesandstudents’

aspirations to use them within a wide range of learning situations, students continue to find resistance fromteachersandadministratorsabouttheapplicabilityofsuchdevicesat school. Middleandhighschoolstudents

reportinSpeakUp2009thatthe#1obstacletousingtechnologyatschoolis“Icannotusemyowncellphone,

SmartPhoneorMp3player.”Thisisinstarkcontrasttopreviousyears;sinceSpeakUp’sinceptionin2003,the

primaryobstaclereportedbystudentshasbeen“schoolfiltersandfirewallsthatblockwebsitesthatIneed.”This

significantchange is illustrative of both thestudents’ increased access to thedevicesbut also thevalue that

studentsareplacingonsuch“computersinthepocket”asalearningtool.

Revolving around this discussion about theappropriate useof both mobile devicesandmobile computers at

schoolisalargerissueofInternetandnetworkaccess.

Openingthegatestocampus-wideInternetaccess

Aseducatorsmovetowardsaddressingstudents’desiresforun-tetheredlearning,administratorshavetobalance

thecompetingdemandsofprovidingmeaningfulInternet-basedlearningexperienceswithparents’demandsand

federalandstateguidelinesforensuringstudentsafetyontheInternet.Principalsanddistrictadministratorsare

equallyconcernedwith thedistrict’scurrent cell phone policies(55 percent), Internet safetyandthe district’s

subsequentliability(45percent)andcreatingacceptableusepolicies(30percent).



SpeakUp2009



Unleashinglearningwithmobiledevices

Overalldistrictadministratorsaremorelikelythenprincipalsorteacherstorecognizethevalueofusingmobile

devices for learning (Figure 1). The primarybenefit citedby all audiences is increased student engagement;

however, district administrators,principalsandteachers tovaryingdegrees recognize that mobiledevicesalso

supportsocialbasedlearningbyenablingpersonalizedlearningandhelpingstudentsdevelopworkplaceskillsincollaboration,teamwork,andcommunications.

Figure1:Educators'SpeakUpaboutperceivedbenefitsofusingmobiledevicesforinstruction

Implementingmobiledevicesintoinstructionhasthepotentialtoserveatwo-foldpurposebymeetingboththe

needsof studentsand,atthesame time,helping todevelopteachers’capacity tofurtherintegratetechnology

intotheclassroom.First,usingmobiledevicesprovidesanopportunityforadministratorstoextendtheschool

day;therebymeetingthestudents’desiretolearnanytimeor anywhere. Secondly,investinginmobiledevices

has the potential to help teachers develop their own technical skills, and improve communications and

productivity (Figure2). Ifeducators are supportive ofusingmobiledevices for learning, thenwhatis stopping

them?



SpeakUp2009



Figure2:Mobiledevicesbenefitstudentsandteachers

Mobiledevicesarereadilyavailable,whyaren’ttheybeingusedforinstruction?

Over 50percent ofmiddleschoolandhigh schoolstudentsinclude mobilecomputers, such asa laptop,mini-

notebook,or tabletPC,in thelistof technologytools fortheirultimate school.Eventhougheducatorsseethe

valueofintegratingmobiledevicesintoinstruction,onlya fewteachersarecurrentlyusingmobiledevices (10

percent)oralaptop,mini-notebookortabletPC(14percent)toenhancestudentachievement.However,when

weasked theaspiring teachers toenvisiontheir futureclassroom andtechnology use, the next generationof

teachersaretwiceaslikelytoseethemselvesincorporating mobiledevices suchascellphones,PDAs,orMP3

players(24percent)andthreetimesaslikelytoincludelaptops,mini-notebooksortabletPCs(49percent)intheir

futureclassrooms. Students’demand forthe integrationof mobile computers anddeviceswithininstructioncontinues to grow. Yet, the majority of teachers and future teachers do not have the experience or skill to

effectivelyintegratethesedevicesintoinstruction;highlightingtheneedtoinvestinprofessionaldevelopmentto

ensure that a solid foundation is created in order to realize the students’ vision for un-tethered learning

experiences.

Whiledistrictadministratorsaresupportiveofintegratingmobiledevicesintotheclassroom,boththeteachers’

(76percent)andprincipals’(44percent)perceptionthatmobiledeviceswillbeadistractionmayinfluencethat

vision and subsequent implementation efforts. Furthermore, while students value the interactivity and

accessibilityof contentandtheirpeers throughthedevices,teachersareconcernedthatthesehighlyengaging

andcompellingdevicesmaycausemoredistractionsthanbenefitsandfearthatstudentswillsurftheInternet,textfriendsorplaygames(seeTable2).



SpeakUp2009



Principalsreport theprimarybarrierto implementingmobiledeviceswithininstruction isthepotentialtheftof

thedevicesatschool. Bothprincipalsanddistrict administratorsareequallyconcernedwithnetwork security,

andteachers’ lackofexperience inusingmobiledevicesforlearning.Teachersandprincipalshavea significant

differenceintheirperceptionsabouttheteachers’abilitytointegratemobiledevicesintoinstruction.Aboutone-

halfoftheadministratorsareconcernedthatteachersdon’tknowhowtoeffectivelyusemobiledeviceswithin

instructioncomparedtoonly24percentofteacherswhosharethatsameview.Districtadministratorsareslightly

moreconcernedthanprincipalsaboutstudentshavingaccesstomobiledevices.

Howwillwemeetstudents’demandforonlinelearning?

Studentinterestinonlinelearninghasexplodedoverthepastfewyearsandalmostthree-quartersofhighschool

studentsreporttheyknowsomeone(afamilymemberorfriend)whohastakenanonlineclass.SpeakUp2009

revealsthathighschoolstudentshaveawiderangeofexperiencewithonlineclasses,includingclasses:ledbya

teacher (13 percent), self-study (12 percent), or blended with a combination of online and face-to-face (8

percent).Thepercentofhighschoolstudentstakinganonlineclassforschoolandpersonalreasonsdoubledfrom

SpeakUp2008.Additionally,overone-thirdofhighschoolandmiddleschoolstudentswhohavenevertakenan

onlineclassalsoexpressinterestintakingone.

Table2:Educators’biggestconcernsaboutusing

mobiledevicesatschool

Reason

Teachers

(n=34,280)

Principals

(n=2,893)

DistrictAdministrators(n=535)

Studentswillbedistracted 76% 44% 34%

Notallstudentshavethemobiledevices(digital

equity)

62% 48% 52%

Concernedthatstudentswillcheatusingthe

devices

33% N/A N/A

Teachersdon’tknowhowtoeffectivelyusethe

deviceswithininstruction

24% 51% 54%

Needcurriculumtosupporttheuseofmobile

devices

23% 37% 39%

Concernswiththeftatschool N/A 56% 40%

Currentdistrictcellphonepolicies N/A 56% 55%

Concernsaboutnetworksecurity N/A 54% 56%

Source:SpeakUp2009,©ProjectTomorrow2010



SpeakUp2009



Onlinelearningisakeycomponentofthestudents’visionforanun-tetheredlearningenvironment.Yet,many

studentstellusthattheprimarybarrierstoactuallytakinganonlineclassarealackofinformationaboutavailable

classesandthelogisticalstepsfortakinganonlineclass.Simply,studentsneedhelpintranslatingtheirinterestin

onlinelearningintoimplementationandmanyarelookingforassistanceinthisfromtheirschool.Andwhile

studentinterestinonlinelearningcontinuestoincrease,administratorsreporttheirprimaryaudienceforonline

classes continues to be teachers (55percent) followed then by students (49percent) and administrators (32

percent).Althoughtheprimaryfocusforonlineclassesisstillteachers,therewassubstantialgrowthsinceSpeak

Up 2008 in the number of administrators who reported they are providing online classes for students (103

percent),administrators(66percent)andteacher(21percent).

Even though student interest continues to increase and administrators seek opportunities to provide online

classesthenumberofteacherswhoareinterestedinprovidingonlineclassesisnotkeepingpacewithdemand.

Funding, Internet access and the capacity of the classroom teacher are the primary barriers cited by

administrators to implementing online learning. Interestingly, for almost one-quarter of the responding

administratorsonlinelearningisnotafundingpriorityintheirdistrictandoverone-thirdreporttheyarelimited

by state funding. Internet access continues to surface as a barrier to implementing online classes by both

principals(24percent)anddistrictadministrators(16percent).

Ingeneral,districtadministratorsaremorelikelytobeconcernedthanprincipalswiththeirstaff’sabilitytoteach

onlineclasses(30 percent) orusethe tools (26percent) aswell as theavailability ofstandards-aligned online

curriculum(19percent)ortheexpertisetocreateonlineclasses(24percent).

Further aggravating the situation is the fact that few classroom teachers have taught a 100%online class (5

percent)ortaughtinablendedonlinelearningsituationwhichincludesbothonlineandface-to-facecomponents

(4 percent). Despite the lack of experience in teaching online classes, an additional one-quarter of current

teachersareinterestedinteachinganonlineclass.Butisthatenoughtomeetthestudents’increasinginterestin

onlinelearning? Whowillanswerthestudents’demandforonlinelearning? Howwilladministratorsheedtheir

students’visionforonlinelearning?Willtheydeveloptheirexistingteachers’capacitytoteachonlinecoursesor

looktotheirnewestrecruits?

Aspiringteachersprovideanotheropportunityforschooldistrictstomeetthepent-upstudentdemandforonline

classes. Aspiring teachers (21 percent) viewonlineclassesand learning management systems(44 percent) as

viableoptionsforenhancingstudentachievement. Likewise,overone-half oftheadministratorswantaspiring

teacherstohaveexperienceparticipatinginanonlineclassbeforetheycompletetheircertificationprocess.At

thispointlessthanone-quarteroftheadministrators,however,sayitisimportantforaspiringteacherstohave

theskillstoteachanonlineclassandonly4percentofaspiringteachersreporttheyarelearninghowtoteach

onlineclasses intheirmethodscourses.Unlesseducators’investindevelopingboththeexistingandaspiring

teacher’s interest and capacity to facilitate online classes, demand will continue to outpace supply in the

traditionalK-12setting.



SpeakUp2009



EssentialElement3:Digitally-richlearningexperiences

Studentsseetheuseofrelevancy-baseddigitaltools,contentandresourcesasakeytodrivinglearning

productivity,notjustaboutengagingstudentsinlearning.

Administrators“SpeakUp”aboutlearningin2019…“Theavailabilityandeffectiveuseofdigitalresourceswillbeanintegralpartofeachclassroom

andthecurriculum.Itisstillnewandthelearningcurveissteep.

By2019,Iexpectthatitwillbearoutinepartoftheinstructionalprocess.”

ElementarySchoolPrincipal(CA)

Today’sstudentsareimmersedintheuseofdigitalmediatoolsandcontentathomeandschool.Atschool,the

SpeakUpdatarevealsthatstudentsprefertouseawiderangeofdigitalmediatoolstocreateslideshows,videos

orwebpages,aswellas learn througha digitally rich curriculumthat incorporates educationalgames,virtual

experimentsorsimulationsandin3Dvirtual realityworlds. Whendesigning theirultimate schoolbothmiddle

andhigh school students includedigital media tools (60percent),digital resources (51percent) andgamesorvirtualsimulations(60percentand52percentrespectively).

Aboutone-halfofthedistrictadministratorsandprincipalsconcurthatdigitalmediatools,digitalresourcesand

onlinetextbookshavethegreatestpotentialtoincreasestudentachievement.However,onlyabout25percentof

administratorsagreethatgamesorvirtualsimulationsarea“must-have.”

Whatdigitalresourcesarebeingusedintheclassroom?

Asmorestudentscontinuetoseekopportunitiestousedigitallyrichcurriculum,theSpeakUpdataillustratesthat

for teachers their primaryuseofdigital resources is through teaching aides (66percent) or software tohelp

studentsdevelopskills in reading, writingand math (46 percent). Less thanone-quarter of the teachersareeffectivelyleveragingthepowerofdigitalresourcesbyusinggame-basedenvironments,podcastsorvideo,real-

timedata(suchas:population,weather,NASA,GOOGLEEarth,GIS)andsoftwaretohelpstudentsdevelophigher-

order thinking skills. Even fewer teachers areutilizing animations (17percent), simulations (12percent) and

virtuallabs(6percent)intheirclassrooms.Inthecontextofthenationaldiscussionabouthowtoeffectivelyignite

anewgenerationofscientists,engineersandtechnologists,itisespeciallyconcerningthatmanyteachersarestill

noteffectivelyleveragingthese21stcenturytoolstocompensateforinadequatelabequipmentortoolstoteach

inquiry-basedscience.

Ourfutureteachersarelearningtechniquesforincorporatingdigitalmediabothformallythroughtheirmethods

classes,andinformally,as theyobservetheirprofessorsteach(68percent)andstudyK-12teachers’useofthetoolsinactualclassrooms(76percent).Whenaskedwhich experienceswouldbestpreparethemtoteachina

21stcentury classroom, the college students’ top five picks include learning how to use technology to

differentiateinstructionforstudents(75percent),incorporatingdigitalresourcesinalesson(68percent),locating

and using electronic teachingaides (67 percent), creating and utilizing videoorpodcastswithin a lesson (57

percent)andusingelectronicproductivitytools(57percent).Aboutone-quarterexpressinterestinlearninghow

toincorporatemobiledeviceswithininstruction,usingsocialnetworkingsitesorsocialnetworkingtoolstoteach.



SpeakUp2009



TheSpeakUpdatarevealsadisconnectbetweenthestrategiescollegestudentsarelearningintheirteaching

methods classes and the technology that teachers are currently using in the classroom to enhance student

achievement(Figure3).Currently,ourfutureteachersarebeingtrainedtousewordprocessing,spreadsheetor

databasetools (53 percent), createmulti-mediapresentations (44 percent), andfind digital resources such as

videos,podcastsordigitalimagestoincludeinalesson(40percent).

Figure3:Shouldweprepareouraspiring teachers tousethesametechnologiesbeingused intheclassroom

todayorforafuturevision?

Toalesserdegree,thesesamecollegestudentsarealsolearningtocreateelectronicportfoliosofstudentwork

(31percent),createvideos,podcastsorwebsitestoteachatopic(28percent),anduseanimations,simulationsorgameswithininstruction(19percent).Additionally,throughtheircoursework,thesefutureteachersinteractwith

online curriculum (49 percent), online textbooks (40 percent), animations (21 percent) and simulations (15

percent). Less than 10 percent of our future teachers are experiencing the value of using game-based

environmentsorvirtuallabsintheirmethodscourses.

Inspiteofthelackofformaltrainingintheirteacherpreparationprogramsabouthowtoeffectivelyincorporate

games,virtualsimulationsoranimations, thisnew generationof teachers continues toseethe valueof these



SpeakUp2009



tools andaspires to include them in their futureclassrooms; highlighting how their ownpersonalexperience

servesasamodelforthepotentialpossibility.

When designing their ultimate school, futureteachers aremore likely than theveteran classroom teachers to

includedigitallyrichresourcesintotheirclassrooms(Table3).Acrosstheboard,thesefutureteachersaremore

likely than existing classroom teachers to desire digital media tools, digital resources such as, databases,electronic books, animations, or videos, and flip cameras in their classrooms. Future teachers also envision

games, virtual simulations and video conferences or webinars in their classrooms. This new generation of

teachers isalsofivetimesmorelikely touseelectronicportfoliosfor theirstudents;onceagain,illustratingthe

naturalaffinitytheyhavetowardstechnologythatwillenablethemtocreatedigitallyrichlearningexperiences.

Howaredigitalresourcesbeingevaluated?

Administratorsandteachersevaluatethequalityofresourcesusingavarietyofcriteriaincludingwhopublished

thedigitalcontent,whorecommendedthedigitalresources,expectedstudentoutcomesandprice.Teachersare

most likely to select digital resources created by a practicing teacher (Figure 4). Principals and district

administratorsplacea greatervalueoncontentthatisdevelopedby anorganizationrecognizedforitscontent

expertise,suchastheNationalScienceFoundationoruniversitiesthanteachersdo;principalshavethestrongest

preference for resources steeped in content expertise. Information about student achievement and teacher

“approved”statusareimportanttobothdistrictadministratorsandprincipals.

Figure4:Teacherspreferusingdigitalresourcescreatedbyotherteachers

Teacherscontinuetorelyon“wordofmouth”whendeterminingwhichdigitalresourcestoincorporateintotheir

instruction, over 40percent dependonreferrals from colleagues followedby recommendations from certified



SpeakUp2009



education membership associations (27 percent), education blogs or websites (20 percent) or their state

departmentofeducation(19percent).

Barrierstoimplementingdigitalresources

As digital resources become more widely available administrators are less concerned about locating free

appropriatedigitalresources(9percent)andmoreconcernedwithtrainingteachersabouthowtoeffectivelyuse

digitalresources(43percent),providingcomputers(35percent),andsecuringfundstopurchasedigitalmaterials

(30percent).Districtadministratorsarealsoconcernedthattheydonothavethestafftoidentifyorcreatedigital

resourcesthatmeettheirstandards.

Howdowegetthere?

Althoughteacherscontinuetoreportbarrierstousingdigitalresources,wearebeginningtoseeinourSpeakUp

2009datafindingsthatteachersarestartingtotransformtheirvisionfor21stcenturyclassroomsintoareality.

InSpeakUp2009, teachers reported using digitalmedia tools (66 percent),digitalresources (46percent) and

games(42 percent) toenhance studentachievement. Bycomparison, in2008 when teacherswere askedto

design their ultimate school and identify technology that would hold the greatest potential for student

achievement,only32percentchosedigitalmedia,35percentchosedigitalresourcesand21percentidentified

games.Thissignificantyeartoyeargrowthfromvisiontoimplementationindicatesthatteachersareopentothe

ideaofincorporatingmoredigitallyrich learningexperiencesintotheirclassrooms–andalsothat theusageof

thesetoolsbystudentsinschoolandathomemaybedrivinggreateradoptionbytheteachers.



SpeakUp2009



EndingThoughts

Meetingstudents’desiresforsocially-based,un-tethered,digitallyrichlearningexperiencesrequireseducatorsto

addressheadonkeyinfrastructureandfundingchallenges,policiesaroundtechnologyuseandinparticular,the

useofstudents’personaldevices,andtheongoingneedfornewapproachesfortrainingteachers,bothin-service

andpre-service.Similardiscussionsabouthowtomeetthesechallengesaretakingplacethroughoutthecountry

fromthehallsofCongresstolocalschoolboardmeetings.

Campus wide interactive Internet access is at

the cornerstone of the new student vision for

learning,supportedbytheabilityforstudentsto

access their work and classroom resources

anytime and anyplace. To fully implement the

vision however, teachers need meaningful

opportunities to learn how to effectively

integrateemergingtechnologiessuchasmobile

devices, online learning and digital resources

andexplorenewstrategiesforusingtechnology

to facilitate collaboration amongst their

students. Additionally, it is equally important

thatschools,districtsanduniversities(including

schools of education) collaborate to identify

effective digital resources that will not only

engage students in learning and enhance

student achievement but also, utilize the

technology to transform teaching practices for

greaterimpactandproductivity.

As administrators develop their strategic plans

and evaluate alternatives for investing in

technology,itisalsoimportanttoconsiderthe

voiceofthecollegestudentswhoarecurrently

enrolled in teacher preparation programs.

Perhaps, because they too grew up as digital

natives,thisnewgenerationofteachersbringsa

different set of experiences and perspectives.

These budding professionals appear to be

poised to leverage a wide range of emerging

technologies within their future classrooms

(Table 3); however, their formal training

highlightsaneedtoprovideadditionalguidance

tohelpthemeffectivelyleveragethetechnology

forlearning.Thesefutureteachersrecognizethe

Table 3: Key technology tools for facilitating 21st century

learning

Future

Teachers

(n=1,729)

Teachers

(n=35,964)

Principals

(n=2,462)

Social-basedLearningCollaborationtools 82% 27% 51%

Communications

tools

67% 63% 55%

Virtualoronline

whiteboard

37% 6% 29%

Un-tetheredlearning

Campuswide

Internetaccess

82% 80% 47%

Mobilecomputerfor

everystudent

(laptop,mini-

notebook,tabletPC)

49% 14% 58%

Mobiledevices(cell

phones,PDA,MP3

player)

24% 10% 34%

Onlineclasses 21% 10% 44%

Digitallyrichcurriculum

Digitalmediatools 79% 66% 54%

Digitalresources 59% 46% 42%

Electronicportfolios

forstudents

54% 10% 49%

Games

52% 42% 25%

includes

virtual

simulations

Onlinetextbooks 43% 19% 47%

Virtualsimulations 27% 5% N/A



SpeakUp2009



importanceofusingtoolsforfacilitatingsocialbasedlearning,suchascollaborationandcommunicationstoolsor

virtual whiteboards. They also recognize that campus wide Internet access and mobile computers are a

requirementtoprovidingun-tetheredlearning.Lastly,theyrecognizethatteachingaidesandvideosareonlyone

aspectofdigitalcontentandthatwewilltrulyunleashlearningandcreatemorerobust,meaningfulexperiences

forstudentswhenweusegames,onlinetextbooksorvirtualsimulations.Finally,theyarelookingatassessment

innewanddifferentwaysthroughelectronicportfolios.

While, these future teachers have a desireto integrate thetechnologytosupportsocially-based,digitally rich

curriculumintheirclassroom,theyareprimarilybeingtaughttousetechnologyforwordprocessing,spreadsheet,

databasetoolsormulti-mediapresentations.Lessthan25percentofthesefutureteachersarebeingtaughtcore

skills which will enable them to leverage the power of technology for student achievement with online

assessments, theuse of student achievement data to inform instruction,or facilitate collaboration amongst

studentsusingInternet-basedtools(suchasblogs,wikisorsocialnetworkingtools).Evenfewerarelearninghow

toteachonlineclasses(4percent).

Aswecontinueourlocalandnationaldiscussionsaboutcreatinglearningenvironmentsthatwillengagestudentsand enhance student achievement, perhaps we should begin to ask: are our schools and districts ready to

accommodatethedesiresthat this nextgenerationofteachershavefor truly21st century,technology-enabled

andempoweredclassrooms?



© Project Tomorrow, 2010

http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/

http://twitter.com/SpeakUpEd

Special Thanks to our Speak Up 2009 Sponsors:

Blackboard Inc.

CDW-G

K12 Inc.

Schoolwires

SMART Technologies

Wimba

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Speak Up 2009 Unleashing The Future

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