2011 Congressional Briefing

“The development of a personal value proposition with the technology is propelling educators to think creatively about how to leverage these same tools in the classroom. They see how technology helps them stay organized and connected, be more productive and gain access to teaching and learning resources that were unthinkable just a few years ago.”
-- Julie Evans CEO of Project Tomorrow

The New 3 E’s of Education: Enabled, Engaged and Empowered How Today’s Educators are Advancing a New Vision for Teaching and Learning

On May 11, 2011 Project Tomorrow released the report “The New 3 E’s of Education: Enabled, Engaged and Empowered – How Today’s Educators are Advancing a New Vision for Teaching and Learning” at a Congressional Briefing held in Washington, DC.

Julie Evans, Project Tomorrow CEO, discussed selected national findings from the Speak Up 2010 Educators report and moderated a panel discussion with teachers, librarians and administrators who shared their insights and experiences on emerging technologies.

Key findings:

• Twice as many educators now have a personal smart phone than did in 2008, more of them use Facebook and two-thirds of teachers use school portals and upload class information to keep students and parents informed about grades, homework and class activities.
• 77 percent of teachers and 84 percent of administrators agree that mobile devices will increase student engagement in learning.
• Students, and increasingly, parents are demanding a different kind of learning experience and that is forcing even the most reluctant teachers and administrators to re-evaluate their perspectives about the value of technology within learning.
• 64 percent of teachers believe that mobile devices can be used to facilitated improved communications between teachers, parents and students. Additionally, 64 percent of teachers agree that mobile devices can be used to access online textbooks anytime, anywhere.
• Increasingly administrators are seeing the value of mobile devices for learning. Since 2007, twice as many administrators believe that mobile learning provides opportunities to personalize learning.
• The Speak Up survey suggests that lack of teacher skill and confidence in incorporating these tools into their lessons, as well as the fear that students will be distracted are a barrier to implementing mobile devices in the classroom.
• Principals and administrators agree that the top challenges for acquiring, implementing and maintaining a technology infrastructure include; staff professional development (48 percent), technology support (30 percent), digital equity issues (30 percent) and student safety online (19 percent).
  

Over 70 people attended the Congressional Briefing including congressional staff members, as well as staff from some of the Speak up schools, sponsors, champion outreach partners and non-profit partners.

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Teacher Flyer

Project Tomorrow was pleased to welcome all of the participants in attendance for their continued support. The participants represented a wide array of agencies, organizations and companies, including: American Association for the Advancement of Science, Alliance for Excellent Education, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, American Association of School Administrators, American Youth Policy Forum, Association of American Publishers, Aventa Learning, Blackboard, CDW-G, The Center for Excellence in Education, Common Sense Media, Coro Center for Civil Leadership, Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), Discovery, Dutko Worldwide, EDC, Education Free Agent, ETS, Institute of Museum and Library Services, iNACOL, Intel Corporation, ISTE, K12, Lightbeam Group, LRP Publications, MD Department of Education, Microsoft, NASA, National Art Education Association, National Association of College Store, National Association of School Psychologists, National Association of State Boards of Education, National Board of Professional Teaching Standards, National Cable & Telecommunications Association, National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, National Council of Teachers of English, National School Boards Association, National Science Foundation, Natural Museum of American History, O’Keeffe & Company, One Economy, Oracle, P21, Qorvis Communications, Seoul Foreign, Sesame, Software & Information Industry Association, SMART Technologies, Techvision21, The Pearson Foundation, Tiger Woods Foundation, U.S. Department of Education, We the People and Wireless Generation.

Educators from Arlington Public Schools (VA), Baltimore City Public School District (MD) and Fairfax County Public Schools (VA) shared their insights regarding mobile learning, online learning and the use of digital content.