Does Technology Keep You Up At Night?

By Kelly Medinger

05-04-2012

A look at the Speak Up 2011 national findings

A recent survey asked school administrators what keeps them up at night.  The top responses were "adequate funding" and "staff morale."  But the next response, above even "communication with parents," was "the use of technology in instruction."

Does technology keep you up at night?  Do you have the data you need to create and inform technology initiatives for 21st century learning that meet students' expectations and needs?  Enter Project Tomorrow and the Speak Up National Research Project. 

In fall 2011, over 416,000 K-12 students, parents, teachers, and administrators participated in the online Speak Up survey administered by Project Tomorrow, a national education nonprofit group.  The data from this survey is used to inform policy leaders at the national and state levels while also providing individual schools and school systems with a better understanding of issues important to students, parents, and educators about the role of technology for learning in and out of school. 

Of particular interest in the Speak Up 2011 National Findings:

• 1 in 10 students in grades 6-12 have sent out a Tweet about an academic topic that interests them. 
• 30% of middle school students and 46% of high school students have used Facebook as an impromptu collaboration tool for classroom projects.
• Almost two-thirds of parents (62%) say that if their child's school allowed the use of mobile devices for instructional purposes, it is likely that they would purchase such a device for their child to use at school.  This view was nearly identical in low-income (Title 1) and non-Title 1 schools.

Click here to read a full copy of the report.  And, if your school is interested in participating in the next Speak Up survey and receiving free access to the findings, please check the Speak Up website this fall when new survey data will again be collected.