Personalizing the Classroom Experience – Teachers, Librarians and Administrators Connects the Dots with Digital Learning is the second in a two part series to document the key national findings from Speak Up 2011. This report focuses on how today’s educators are personalizing the learning process for students. The ways that educators are personalizing learning centers around their own experiences with online learning, socially-based media and digital content - much like the students in their own classrooms are already doing! The key questions being addressed in this report include:

• What are educators’ experiences with online learning?
• How does it inform their perspectives on student learning?
• What policies and practices are administrators considering around the “Bring Your Own Technology” movement?
• How do we transform the classroom from a “one size fits all” model to a truly individualized learning experience for students?

Key Findings from this year’s report include:

• 20% of district administrators regularly use Twitter to communicate with others
  
  
• Teachers, librarians and administrators are turning to online classes to support their professional development. More than half of the teachers and principals (52 percent) said they have taken an online class for training purposes and almost two-thirds of district level administrators (65 percent) as well. This represents a significant shift in the past five years especially for teachers; in 2007 only 21 percent of teachers had taken an online PD course at that time.
  
  
• Much like their students, educators are going online to meet their professional development needs- 40% of teachers, and 50% of Principals use online professional learning communities.
  
  
• Administrators see technology as a solution to decreased district budgets. Over a quarter of district administrators (27 percent) identified the option “students use their own mobile device in class” as a technology solution they are exploring to mitigate the impact of decreased budget funds for education technology
  
  
• Educators increasingly recognize the value of incorporating digital content into their schools and classrooms, with 74% of administrators reporting that digital content increases student engagement and 50% reporting that it helps to personalize instruction.
  

Click here to download the PDF of the report.

Click here to view the report in HTML.

To download a copy of the first report on Student and Parent data please click here.

If you think this data is interesting and would like to gain a better understanding about your stakeholders’ perspectives about the use of technology for learning, participate in Speak Up 2012. The online surveys will be open from early October to mid December 2012 with survey results available to participating schools and districts in February 2013.

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