Top 10 Things Teachers and Tech Leaders Should Know About Students and Digital Learning Presenter information

Today’s Discussion:  Introduction to Project Tomorrow and the Speak Up Research Project  Countdown of “Top 10 Things” about students & digital learning  Invitation to participate in Speak Up 2016  Your ideas/comments/questions

Project Tomorrow, a national education nonprofit organization Programs: Research & evaluation studies STEM education programs Advocacy for digital learning Mission: To ensure that today’s students are prepared to become tomorrow’s leaders, innovators and engaged citizens of the world.

Annual research project  Using online surveys + focus groups  Surveys for: K-12 Students, Teachers, Parents, Administrators, Community Members  Special: Pre-Service Teachers in Schools of Education  Open for all K-12 schools and schools of education  Schools, districts & colleges receive free report with their own data  Questions about how eLearning = 21c education Speak Up Research Project 4.5 million surveys since 2003 Data informs: policies, programs, funding at local, state and federal levels

 Learning & Teaching with Technology  College and Career Ready Skills  Students’ Career Interests in STEM  Professional Development / Teacher Preparation  Internet Safety / Data Privacy Issues / Homework Gap  Administrators’ Challenges / Bandwidth Capacity  Emerging Technologies both in & out of the Classroom  Mobile Devices, Online Learning, Digital Content, E-texts  Educational Games, Social Media tools and applications  New Classroom Models, Print to Digital, Online Assessments  Designing the Ultimate School/Classroom Speak Up survey question themes

 Students function as a “Digital Advance Team”  Students regularly adopt and adapt emerging technologies for learning  Students’ frustrations focus on the unsophisticated use of technologies within education  Persistent digital disconnect between students and adults  Exacerbation of lack of relevancy in current education  Students want a more personalized learning environment What have we learned over the past 13 years?

K-12 Students415,617 Teachers & Librarians40,208 Parents (in English & Spanish)37,655 School/District Administrators/Tech Leaders4,536 Community Members 6,251 About the participating schools & districts o 7,825 schools and 2,676 districts o 25% urban / 35% rural / 40% suburban o All 50 states + DC + Guam + DODEA schools Speak Up 2015 national participation: 504,267

K-12 StudentsXXX Teachers & LibrariansXXX Parents (in English & Spanish)XXX School/District AdministratorsXXX Community Members XXX [State/District] total surveys in 2015: [XXXX] Top participating [districts/schools] include: District/school 1 District/school 2 District/school 3

Social–based learning Un–tethered learning Digitally–rich learning Students & Digital Learning Personalized Learning Student Vision for Digital Learning

Ten Things Everyone Should Know about Today’s Students and Digital Learning

Use of digital tools for learning Ten Things Everyone Should Know about Today’s Students and Digital Learning

Current uses of technology for learning Four types of technology usage by students:  In school: o teacher directed o student self – initiated  Out of school time: o supporting schoolwork o supporting personal learning

Sample Digital Activities Grades 3-5 Grades 6-8 Grades 9-12 Take tests onlinexx% Use online textbooksxx% Use Google Apps for Education xx% Watch teacher created videos xx% What are examples of teacher-facilitated technology use by students?

Sample Digital Activities Grades 6-8 Grades 9-12 Look up info on a mobile device – in class xx% Text classmates for helpxx% Find videos to help with homework xx% Use social media sites to facilitate peer collaborations xx% What are examples of student self-directed technology use to support learning?

Using technology in my classes increases my interest in learning Agree: xx% of middle school students xx% of high school students

Obstacles to tech use at school Ten Things Everyone Should Know about Today’s Students and Digital Learning

Students: Obstacles to using technology at school

I would learn more if my classes used more technology to support my learning Agree: xx% of middle school students xx% of high school students

Social Media Ten Things Everyone Should Know about Today’s Students and Digital Learning

Social media: tools to connect, collaborate, create Instagram: xx% of HS students xx% of MS students Twitter: xx% of students in Gr 9-12 Creating/watching videos: xx% of students in Gr 6-8

Massively multi-player online games (MMOG) xx% of students in Gr 6-8 Facebook xx% of students in Gr 9-12 xx% say rarely/never use Social media: tools to connect, collaborate, create Snapchat xx% of high school students

Digital Footprint Actions Gr 9-12 Nat’l students 2013 Gr 9-12 students 2015 I am careful about what I post about myself or others online 64%xx% I have advised my friends not to post certain things online 39%xx% I have stopped interacting with someone based upon what they posted online 32%xx% I think it is important to have a positive online profile 43%xx% I don’t regularly post about myself online34%xx% Digital footprints – change in behaviors

Video-based Learning Ten Things Everyone Should Know about Today’s Students and Digital Learning

2012(Nat’l)2015 K-2 students36%xx% Gr 3-5 students20%xx% Gr 6-8 students28%xx% Gr 9-12 students32%xx% Who is watching online videos for learning?

Student question: In what class are you watching videos for learning? What do middle school students say?

In what class are you watching videos for learning? Middle school students say: 1.Science (xx%) 2.Math (xx%) 3.Social Studies/History (xx%) 4.English/Language Arts (xx%)

What do students say are the benefits of watching online videos to support schoolwork?. Benefits of videosK-2Gr 3-5Gr 6-8 Gr 9-12 I can watch videos to self-remediate xx% Easy to find a variety of videosxx% Makes it easier to understand difficult concepts xx% Teaches me in a different way than my teacher does xx% 42%xx%

Mobile devices Ten Things Everyone Should Know about Today’s Students and Digital Learning

Students’ personal access to mobile devices

Student access to technology in the classroom I most often use …Grade 6-8Grade 9-12 My own mobile devicexx% A school provided laptopxx% A school provided tabletxx% A school provided Chromebookxx% School computers in a lab, library, media center xx% Do not regularly usexx%

Students’ use of mobile devices to support learning xx% of high school students say they use their own mobile device to support learning while at school  xx% text classmates about schoolwork questions  xx% take photos of assignments or text book pages  xx% use mobile apps for learning  xx% take notes on a mobile device  xx% text their teachers with questions also!

It is important for every student to be able to use a laptop, tablet or Chromebook during the school day to support learning Agree: xx% of middle school students xx% of high school students

Different tasks = different mobile devices Ten Things Everyone Should Know about Today’s Students and Digital Learning

Read a book or articles Take notes in class Use social media Communicate w/peers & teacher Create/watch videos Create presentations Take online tests Write reports What device I use depends upon the task to do

Internet Connectivity Ten Things Everyone Should Know about Today’s Students and Digital Learning

Home internet access Type of accessSchoolDistrictStateNational Fast, broadband access xx% Access through Wifixx% No or slow accessxx% Students in grades 6-8:

Do we have a “homework gap?” Homework gap is about more than at home Internet access: o xx of students say that they often have a problem doing digital or Internet-dependent homework when outside of school o xx% regularly go to school early or stay late to use school Internet o Parents are making decisions about who has priority for limited home digital resources o xx% of teachers say they don’t assign digital projects or homework due to concerns re: homework gap

It is important for students to have consistent, safe Internet access outside of school time to be successful in school. Agree: xx% of middle school students xx% of high school students

Value of Digital Classroom Experiences Ten Things Everyone Should Know about Today’s Students and Digital Learning

What model best represents the majority of your classes? Classroom ModelGrade 6-8Grade 9-12 Traditionalxx% Blendedxx% Flippedxx% Virtualxx% Otherxx%

In their own words … how students value digital learning As a result of using technology for learning, I am … Developing new skills Creativity Critical thinking and problem solving Changing my learning behavior More likely to complete homework Collaborating more with my classmates Communicating with my teacher more often Participating more in class discussions Enhancing my self-efficacy as a learner Learning at my own pace Learning in a way that fits my learning style In control over my learning

Career Exploration Ten Things Everyone Should Know about Today’s Students and Digital Learning

[School/District name] Students: Are you interested in a career in a STEM field?

[School/district name] students: Are you interested in a career in teaching?

Grade 6-8 students: different ways to explore careers What would be most helpful in exploring a career? Gr 6-8 Students Traditional Approaches: o Get real life experience – PT job, internship, volunteering xx% o Take field trips to see career in action xx% o Shadow a career professional for the day xx% New Digital Approaches: o Watch videos about different jobs xx% o Play a digital or online game about a career xx% o Learn about careers through social media xx%

Student interest in learning how to code Sweet spot for nurturing interest is Grades 3-5 Yes, I am interested in learning how to code or program a computer School or district State or national Grades 3-5xx% Grades 6-8xx% Grades 9-12xx%

I am learning things that are important for my future on my own outside of school Agree: xx% of middle school students xx% of high school students

Designing the Ultimate School for Today’s Learners Ten Things Everyone Should Know about Today’s Students and Digital Learning

“Imagine you are designing the ultimate school for today’s students, what technologies would have the greatest impact on learning?” Favorite Speak Up Question: Superintendents & School Boards

Do we have a shared vision around digital learning solutions?

Context for why digital “Customer” knowledge Input for plans, programs & PD Community buy-in Myth busting

National Speak Up reports and infographics Targeted and thematic reports Digital learning trends Mobile learning & social media Games in the classroom Blended learning outcomes Presentations, podcasts and webinars Services: consulting, workshops, evaluation and efficacy studies More Speak Up? New national report to be released in May 2016

Online surveys for: o K-12 students – individual + group o Parents – English and Spanish o Teachers o Librarians/Media Specialists o School Site & District Administrators o Technology Leaders o Community Members All schools are invited to participate Surveys open October 2016 Participate in Speak Up! Sign up to receive information at:

Your thoughts, ideas, questions

Thank you for this discussion today! For additional information about Speak Up please contact: Julie Evans x15 Twitter: JulieEvans_PT and SpeakUpEd Copyright Project Tomorrow 2016 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.