Generation YES Blog

Wow, it’s been a busy summer!

Two weeks ago, Dennis Harper and Emily McCartan participated in two, week-long summer camps for middle school students in New York. The students learned about technology, but more than that, they learned how to be leaders and mentors. Starting this fall, they will become the first group of New York State Student Technology Leaders (NYSSTL) in their schools in 25 districts in New York.

HFM BOCES News: Leadership and Achievement through Technology Initiative - Camp prepares students to become technology mentors

NYSSTL students will mentor other students in technology literacy using the TechYES project-based approach, and will use the GenYES 2.0 tools to assist teachers to support technology integration in every classroom.

From the HFM BOCES article:

“The one-week camp was part of HFM BOCES’ Enhancing Education through Technology program, designed to create technology mentors among teachers and students in participating schools. These digitally-savvy students hope to tutor fellow students in technology-related projects, while assisting their teachers in learning and using new technology as a teaching tool. The program helps meet the federal goal that all students will demonstrate technology literacy by the end of eighth grade.”

The HFM and WSWHE BOCES already have a strong support system for technology integration, and we know that these NYSSTL students will be a welcome addition to the team of technology advocates and mentors at each school site!

Videos coming soon!

Sylvia

The National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) will be in San Antonio, Texas in less than two weeks, June 28 - July 3, 2008. Sponsored by ISTE, this is the “big” national conference of the year for technology in education.

Every year, we plan our booth with a fun theme (fun = cheap!) and this year our theme is “Go Green.” We ran a contest for our schools to share student-made videos about their school’s green efforts, we have a new booth that’s lighter (takes less energy to ship,) and we’ll be doing what we can to reuse and recycle!

Generation YES will be in booth 7148 in the exhibit hall, with GenYES teachers and students from Texas and Kansas on hand. We will also be participating in several events and panels. Be sure to stop by and say “HOWDY!”

FREE STUFF! We will be handing out samples of our new TechYES Science Student Guide. (I talked a bit about this new product and our STEM initiatives in a previous post.) TechYES Science guides students to a technology literacy certification through science projects. Come by and get one!

Events (link to NECC schedule)
Bridging the Digital Divide in Texas
Dennis Harper, with Trina Davis, Susanna Garza and Martha Peet
Monday, 6/30/2008, 12:30pm-1:30pm

Student-Centered Laptop Integration into the Classroom
Ron Canuel, Eastern Townships School Board (Canada) with Susan Einhorn, Sylvia Martinez, Scott Parker and Gary Stager
Monday, 6/30/2008, 2:00pm-3:00pm

Assessing Student Technology Literacy
Agnes Zaorski, Eatontown Public Schools with Cathy Higgins, Ashanti Jefferson and Sylvia Martinez
Tuesday, 7/1/2008, 3:30pm-4:30pm

Transforming Technology Projects from Good to Great
Melinda Kolk, Tech4Learning, Inc. with Sylvia Martinez, Peter Reynolds, Adam Smith and Gary Stager
Wednesday, 7/2/2008, 12:00pm-1:00pm

Constructivist Celebration - Sunday, June 28. Join colleagues in a day-long celebration of creativity, computing & constructivist learning. Sponsored by the Constructivist Consortium. (Sorry, this event is sold out!)

I’ll also be at the EdubloggerCon pre-NECC event on Saturday. This should be a fun, informal event and a perfect (free!) way to meet virtual friends and like-minded educators. It’s not just for bloggers, by the way, it’s for all tech-loving educators interested in new applications, online projects, collaboration, and Web 2.0. Hope to see Twitter-friends and Classroom 2.0′rs there!

Sylvia

Well, here’s part of what’s been keeping us so busy these past few months!

TechYES Science is the newest addition to the TechYES Student Technology Literacy Certification program family. TechYES Science is a kit of resources, materials, and an online portal that helps middle schools implement technology literacy through science projects.

from the TechYES Science Student Guide

We’ve collaborated with science teachers, technology experts, and students to come up with great student materials, terrific sample projects, and teacher-friendly guides to getting started. Science teachers don’t have to add new things to the curriculum, or become technology experts.

Like all Generation YES programs, empowered students are at the heart of the model. TechYES Science succeeds by preparing a small group of student peer mentors to assist all science students and help science teachers use technology in their classrooms.

The need for STEM education
The need for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education has never been greater. According to a March 2007 report from the Education Commission of the States, the increasingly globalized economy means that these STEM subjects are areas key to success in a high-tech world. In 2007, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine published Rising Above the Gathering Storm, calling for “vast improvements” in K-12 science education incorporating technology.  Almost thirty percent of students in their first year of college are forced to take remedial science and math classes because they are not prepared for college-level courses. To make matters worse, middle school teachers often don’t have time to squeeze technology lessons into the school day. Students are not being taught to use the technology they will need to succeed in high school science classes and in future STEM careers.

Why combine technology literacy and science?
The idea for TechYES Science is that students in grades 6-9 complete science projects that also meet the ISTE NETS technology standards for students. It’s a two-for-one solution — meet the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) technology literacy requirement for all eighth graders AND help integrate technology into science curriculum.

But it’s more than just efficiency! We believe that students learn best when working on authentic projects. Too often, technology literacy is taught out of context and assessed with multiple choice tests that don’t reflect the richness of true technology use by students. But we realize that not every teacher wants to be a tech guru, and worse, that many schools are being forced to cut technology electives as budgets tighten. So how can schools implement technology literacy that challenges students and is integrated into other subjects? We designed TechYES Science to help answer that question.

We understand that schools that serve grades 6-9 are the most varied of all schools, with different schedules, rotations, blocks, and courses. Any program that works across these variations has to be flexible, or even work as an after-school program or enrichment course. We also know that project-based learning and teaching is not easy. All our materials help teachers learn new project-based strategies and ways to incorporate students as peer mentors, leaders, and teachers who will share the load of the project-based classroom.

Moreover, by infusing science, technology, and problem-solving abilities into a single, authentic teaching strategy, TechYES Science equips teachers to instill in their students not only the skills, but also the passion and self-confidence to pursue advanced careers in high-tech STEM fields.

We are happy and proud to add this new product to the TechYES lineup of student technology literacy certification.

You can read more about TechYES Science on the main Generation YES site.

Congratulations to Hill City Elementary School/Longfellow Middle School for winning the Kansas in the World Award for Excellence in International Education 2008!

Longfellow Middle School and teacher Scott Parker have been part of the GenYES program for ten years, starting when GenYES was a federal Technology Innovation Challenge grant. At Longfellow, GenYES students help teachers throughout the school integrate technology in their classrooms, and in TechYES, 7th and 8th grade students do projects to gain a technology literacy certification. Students worked on Rural Symposium projects and tied them into international studies through the International Education and Resource Network (iEARN). See the student projects here.

Longfellow GenYES students have also been at the forefront of working with Liberian students who are part of the new Liberia Renaissance School of which GenYES founder, Dr. Dennis Harper is a board member. Their Liberia projects are on the LREC/LMS website here.

In addition, many of the TechYES/GenYES students are involved in the “Schools Fantasy League” program based on England’s Premier League soccer. This project is designed for schools to take part in an exciting, engaging activity that promotes collaboration, learning and cross-curricular connections. Longfellow Middle School is recognized as a “Champion School” as the first USA school to be involved in the program.

Congratulations to the Longfellow students and Scott Parker! This is a well-deserved award indeed.

Sylvia

I’m heading off to Palm Springs to attend California CUE (Computer Using Educators) starting Thursday.
CUE is always a great event, a chance to meet GenYES and TechYES teachers from all over California. California has several districts participating in the GenYES and TechYES programs, some for 3 years now, many funded by EETT (Title 2d). The funding is about to be released for 08/09 (Round 7), so hopefully we will see more California schools join this very successful program. Round 7 continues to emphasize student achievement and technology literacy in grades four through eight with expanded access to technology, electronic resources, professional development, and enhanced communications — exactly what GenYES and TechYES do.

CA EETT Round 7 - how GenYES and TechYES meet EETT goals.

There has been a lot of bad budget news in California recently, so this new competitive EETT funding is a small ray of sunshine in the Golden State.

My CUE Sessions

• Social Networking in Education - Friday, 3:00 - 4:00 pm in the Open Source Pavilion
• Classroom 2.0 - A Real-time Conversation - Saturday, 9:30 - 10:30 am
  Moderator: Steve Hargadon, Panelists: Mike Lawrence, Mark Wagner,
  Kyle Bumbaugh, Karen Greenwood-Henke, Adam Frey, Rushton Hurley, Sylvia
  Martinez
  Explore the potential of Classroom 2.0 using real-time audience-driven
  questions and interactive tools. Bring your brains, your laptops, and be a
  part of inventing the future!
  Room & Location: Mojave Learning Center / Wyndham Hotel

Wednesday is EdubloggerCon West 2008 - the growing trend of “unconference” where the grass-roots efforts of the community determine the program and day’s events. I’m really looking forward to meeting California educators who are embracing new tools and technology to inspire students.I’ll be around CUE until Saturday - hope to see you there!

• EdubloggerCon West 2008
• Twitter me!
• Booth 213

Sylvia

Megan Evander and Emily McCartan were interviewed by Wes Fryer (Moving at the Speed of Creativity Blog) at the NCCE 2008 conference last week in Seattle.

Megan is the Generation YES customer service lead, and Emily is our development coordinator (and ex-GenYES student.) The podcast, recorded on the exhibit hall floor at NCCE, is about the leadership and teamwork skills students develop in the GenYES program as they team with teachers to integrate technology at their own schools.

Link to the podcast. - Compelling Reasons to Involve Students in Technical and Instructional Technology Support with GenYES and TechYES

We’re all excited to be going to NCCE 2008 February 25-29. NCCE is the educational computing conference for the Northwest United States. If you are going, be sure to say hello!

We are in booth 906 in the exhibit hall.

Dennis Harper will be speaking about TechYES. TechYES is a model of performance-based student technology literacy certification. Students can meet ISTE NETs standards for technology litearcy with projects for any subject area.

Meeting the NCLB Technology Literacy Mandate – Keeping it Real, Research-based, and Relevant - Thursday, February 28, 2008, 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm.

Sylvia

The Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery (HFM) BOCES in New York has been awarded a $650,000, two-year Enhancing Education Through Technology grant that in part will give middle school students the chance to teach their teachers about technology.

Area teachers and students from 30 public and private middle schools in the HFM BOCES and Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex (WSWHE) BOCES region will collaborate to use technology as a tool to improve student performance in English language arts, mathematics and science. The state is offering this grant to help meet the federal goal that all students will demonstrate technology literacy by the end of eighth grade.

Generation YES is partnering with the HFM and WSWHE BOCES and 30 participating districts to develop and sponsor active New York State Student Technology Leader clubs. This summer, selected middle-school students will attend a week-long camp where they will learn leadership strategies to assist their peers in demonstrating their technology literacy. The students will also gain skills to assist their teachers on how to infuse technology into classroom lessons with the goals of sustaining student interest and improving student achievement.

See the full press release on HFM BOCES website.

We are proud and excited about this opportunity to bring so many of our models together in one integrated effort. More as this unfolds!

Sylvia

ASCD’s always excellent magazine Educational Leadership, hits another home run with this month’s issue (Feb 2008). The overarching theme, Teaching Students to Think is supported by a dozen articles from a wide range of perspectives - teaching, classroom practice, assessment, content areas, and more.

One article of particular interest to tech-loving educators is Jane David’s What Research Says About Project-Based Learning. Educators often find that technology supports project-based learning, and vice versa. So finding research that supports project-based learning and outlines successful practice is one more tool in the toolkit of technology-using educators.

This article is a terrific, easy-to-read introduction to project-based learning and clear, quick summaries of relevant research. Many people believe that project-based learning is “good”, but something akin to magic. Articles like this can dispel some of these myths and help define what project-based learning might look like in real life. Some conclusions:

• Some studies measure project-based learning impact on student achievement. Not surprisingly, it’s not as simple as test scores. Some studies found simple test score increases across the board or in different populations, but some didn’t. But improvements were seen in more complex assessments - attitudes towards learning, problem-solving, and planning ability. (Do you hear 21st century skills here?)
• The wide variety of project-based learning experiences make a single research conclusion hard to find. However, this same variety meant that project-based learning is adaptable to many classrooms.
• Some studies focus on the challenges of project-based learning–outlining the obstacles created by short class periods, mandated curriculum, lack of teacher planning time, and narrow focus on multiple choice tests. There are some terrific nuggets of information here about what commitments a school needs to make to create a serious project-based learning environment. It’s not something you just do every other Tuesday.

David concludes:

These studies suggest that project-based learning, when fully realized, can improve student learning. However, the research also underscores how difficult it is to implement project-based learning well. Together these findings suggest caution in embracing this practice unless the conditions for success are in place, including strong school support, access to well-developed projects, and a collaborative culture for teachers and students.

Yet, teachers can use the key ideas underlying project-based learning in some measure in any classroom. Using real-life problems to motivate students, challenging them to think deeply about meaningful content, and enabling them to work collaboratively are practices that yield benefits for all students.

I’d like to add that students themselves can be part of the solution that makes project-based learning possible in schools. Students can learn to be mentors in their own classrooms, leveraging the teacher’s ability to assist more students and overcome logistical obstacles. Student ownership of the project and encouraging a collaborative environment increases the likelihood of success. By including students in the planning and implementation of project-based learning, you gain student perspective and an opportunity to teach students valuable skills. They learn how to advocate for their ideas, plan, troubleshoot, and work in a group. When technology is involved, students can become experts in the technology too, and help mentor fellow students which further supports the collaborative process.

Our TechYES model of student technology literacy certification is built on this kind of research and practical experience. Student peer mentors can make project-based learning possible in situations where the obstacles might otherwise be too high. We believe that technology literacy and project-based learning are inseparable from 21st century skills. It’s too important to write project-based learning off as a “nice to have.”

Hopefully this article finds its way into administrator inboxes world-wide.

Computers4Kids is a non-profit after-school technology mentoring program for disadvantaged youth. The program uses computers as a catalyst for youth to challenge themselves, become engaged in their own learning, and realize greater possibilities academically, professionally, and for their community.

Alice Shipman, TechYES advisor at the Charlottesville, VA Compter4Kids location has helped implement TechYES to ensure these students are learning the technology skills they will need to compete in the working world.

The TechYES certification process has challenged students to achieve difficult goals such as web design, gaming and animation design.

Alice is working with her second group of TechYES students and they currently are finishing up their first project before the break. Here are some of the cool projects her students did.

Websites galore!

Tic-Tac-Toe - One student built this game using freeware that they’d found online

Favorite Soccer Player Website

Tanzania Website

Games! (made with GameMaker):

Help a dog find its home

Race a car!

Animation!

One student went to town with Blender, and created blog with advice and videos for others.

We are so happy to see that these students have found success with the TechYES program. Thank you for sharing Alice.

Megan E