Connecting the Dots for Digital Learning: Listening to the Ideas and Views of Students, Educators and Parents

Connecting the Dots for
Digital Learning:
Listening to the Ideas and Views of
Students, Educators and Parents
New Research Findings
Blackboard Innovative Teaching Series
March 20, 2017
Dr. Julie Evans
CEO, Project Tomorrow

@Project Tomorrow 2017
Many thanks to:

Today’s Discussion
 New demands on education systems – from parents and communities
 Defining workplace skills that students need to develop
 Role of technology within learning and workplace skill development
 Examination of digital learning trends in K-12 schools
 Project Tomorrow resources to support your work
 Your questions, comments, thoughts

Tweet with us!
@JulieEvans_PT @SpeakUpEd @BlackboardK12

About Project Tomorrow
 Nonprofit education organization supporting K-12 education since
1999
 Mission is to ensure today’s students are well prepared for the future
 Programs and research focus on role of digital tools within the
education ecosystem
o Speak Up Research Project on Digital Learning:
collecting & reporting on the authentic feedback of K-12
stakeholders to inform federal, state & local programs and policies

About the Speak Up Project
 Annual research project since 2003
 Uses online surveys + focus groups
 Facilitated through schools and districts
with support from state DOE
 Online surveys for: K-12 Students,
Teachers, Parents, Administrators, and
Community Members
 All K-12 schools are eligible to
participate

 Participating schools and districts get
access to all locally collected data + state
and national data for benchmarks
 National data is reported via white
papers and infographics – and used
regularly by edu orgs & policymakers
 100% free service for schools/districts
Since 2003,
5 million
Speak Up
surveys
submitted

Topics covered include:
 Use of technology within learning – in school and out of school
 School climate for innovation
 Parental satisfaction and aspirations for their child’s education
 Leadership challenges
 Teachers’ needs
 Valuations of different stakeholders on digital learning
 Home access to technology
 Emerging trends with digital tools, content and resources
 Designing the ultimate school

Something new in the air in our schools today . . .

Key trends from our research …
• Greater emphasis on students’ global skill preparation
• Value of personalized learning on the rise
• Acceptance of new learning models
• Increasing criticality for connectivity – at school and at
home
• Learning as a 24/7 enterprise for students
• New expectations from parents – increasingly, digital
• Heightened importance of effective communications

Examine the Speak Up
data from K-12
stakeholders to inform
your plans, programs
and policies

National participation in Speak Up 2016: 514,085
Survey Audience # of Surveys Submitted
K-12 Students 435,510
Teachers & Librarians 38,512
Parents 29,670
Administrators 4,592
Community Members 5,801
About schools and districts: 7,123 schools, 2,445 districts
26% urban, 36% rural, 38% suburban, 57% title 1 eligible

 New demands on
education systems – from
parents and communities
 Defining workplace skills
that students need to
develop

Connecting the Dots for Digital Learning: Speak Up 2016 Research Findings
What concerns you about the future for your child or children in your community?
Concerns Parents Community
members
1. Not learning the right skills in school that
they need for future success
56% 65%
2. Will need more than a college degree to
get a job
45% 43%
3. Having to compete with better educated
workers around the globe for jobs
36% 48%

What are the “right skills?” Which college/career skills are most important?
Workplace skills District
Admin
Parents Community
members
Critical thinking 94% 85% 85%
Working with diverse people 91% 75% 81%
Teamwork/collaboration 87% 74% 74%
Creativity 78% 75% 71%
Technology usage 78% 70% 64%
Communications 77% 66% 63%

What is the best way for students to develop these workplace skills?
District administrators, parents and community members are in agreement:
1. Gain work experience though a job, internship or volunteering
2. Participate in leadership or team activities at school
3. Use technology effectively within classes at school

To improve college and career readiness, district administrators see these 3 district
initiatives as critical to that goal:
Enhancing
teacher
effectiveness
through PD
Integrating
college and
career ready
skills into
curriculum
Leveraging
digital tools,
products &
solutions more
effectively

 Role of technology
within education and
workplace skill
development
 Examination of digital
learning trends in K-12
schools

Parents’ #1 concern about technology use at school
What do you think parents say?
 Student safety online
 Too much time preparing for online tests
 Tech use varies from teacher to teacher
 Students use technology inappropriately
 Teachers don’t know how to use technology for learning

Parents’ #1 concern about technology use at school
What do you think parents say?
 Student safety online
 Too much time preparing for online tests
 Tech use varies from teacher to teacher - 51%
 Students use technology inappropriately
 Teachers don’t know how to use technology for learning

What are the top digital learning initiatives or trends in districts?
Digital learning initiatives Positive impact
already
Anticipated
high growth
Using student data to inform instruction 69% 24%
Cloud based communications or collaboration tools 55% 17%
Students assigned mobile devices for school use 42% 40%
Online classes for students 42% 34%
Online professional development for teachers 33% 48%
Digital content use – videos, animations, games 30% 41%
Blended learning classrooms 28% 52%

Digital learning initiatives Positive impact
already
Anticipated
high growth
Using student data to inform instruction 69% 24%
Cloud based communications or collaboration tools 55% 17%
Students assigned mobile devices for school use 42% 40%
Online classes for students 42% 34%
Online professional development for teachers 33% 48%
Digital content use – videos, animations, games 30% 41%
Blended learning classrooms 28% 52%
What are the top digital learning initiatives or trends in districts?

Trend #1: Students using mobiles in school

Trend #1: 1:1 student assigned devices to use in school – laptops, tablets, Chromebooks
What do students say they have access to?
Gr 6-8: 33%
Gr 9-12: 40%
Gr 6-8: 20%
Gr 9-12: 9%
Gr 6-8: 44%
Gr 9-12: 32%

How are students using these assigned mobile devices to support learning?
Teacher-directed activities:
• Do Internet research (81%)
• Pay ed games (60%)
• Take online tests (50%)
• Read online articles (37%)
• Use online textbooks (32%)
• Watch teacher created video (29%)

How are students using these assigned mobile devices to support learning?
Teacher-directed activities:
• Do Internet research (81%)
• Pay ed games (60%)
• Take online tests (50%)
• Read online articles (37%)
• Use online textbooks (32%)
• Watch teacher created video (29%)
Student self-directed activities:
• Check grades (74%)
• Look up class info (54%)
• Email teacher (41%)
• Receive reminders (39%)
• Take notes (39%)
• Take photos of assignments (29%)

What are the benefits that educators are seeing from this trend?
Benefits of 1:1 student assigned devices for use at school:
1. Increases student engagement
2. Prepares students to use these devices in college or the workplace
3. Facilitates student collaborations and peer to peer learning
4. Increases student access to digital content
5. Personalizes the learning process

Trend #2: Online professional learning for teachers

What are teachers’ experiences with online or blended learning for professional
development?
Taken an online class for PD 37%
Taken an online class in preservice program 22%
Taken a blended learning class for PD 16%
Taken a blended learning class in preservice program 11%
Participated in a MOOC for PD 5%

What is appealing to teachers about online or blended learning for professional
development?
Top benefits:
1. Convenience for personal schedule
2. Ability to customize to meet individual needs
3. Can review materials as many times as needed
4. Saves time
5. Helps to develop stronger technology skills

Teachers’ PD Wish List: How does that compare to district priorities?
Teachers’ Top 5 PD Wish List:
1. Using tech to differentiate
instruction
2. Using ed games in class
3. Using mobiles in class
4. Using tech for formative
assessment
5. Implementing a blended
learning model

Teachers’ PD Wish List: How does that compare to district priorities?
Teachers’ Top 5 PD Wish List:
instruction
2. Using ed games in class
3. Using mobiles in class
assessment
learning model
Districts’ Top 5 PD Priorities:
instruction
2. Using student data
assessment
learning model
5. Integrating digital content

What challenges do districts face with teacher professional learning today?
Districts’ challenges:
1. Limited teacher time
2. Personalization vs. one size fits all
3. Costs
4. Moving from district directed to self-directed
5. Generational differences and perspectives on PD

Trend #3: Digital contnent use within instruction

What types of digital content are students using in class?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
AR/VR
Primary source docs
Animations/simulations
Teacher created videos
Online videos
Online textbooks
MS Office 365
Games
Google Apps
Students Gr 9-12 Students Gr 6-8

What are the benefits of digital content usage within instruction?
School site principals say:
1. Increases student engagement in learning
2. Extends learning beyond the school day
3. Personalizes learning
4. Improves teachers’ skills with using technology within instruction
5. Differentiates our school as innovative

But what challenges do you face implementing digital content usage within instruction?
School site principals identify these top challenges:
1. Lack of teacher training on how to use effectively
2. Providing enough computers/devices for student access
3. Balancing instructional time constraints
4. Evaluating the quality of digital content for classroom usage

Different perspectives on how to evaluate digital content quality
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Referred by a colleague
Teacher evaluation
Includes PD
Student achievement results
Modifiable by a teacher
Research-based
Currency of content
Aligned to curriculum
Principals Teachers

Trend #4: Blended learning environments

Parents’ interest in blended learning environments for their child
Which type of class would be best for your child?
o 50% of parents say they would prefer
a blended learning model *
* Parents were provided with the Christensen Institute definition

What are the benefits of implementing blended learning environments at your school?
School site principals say:
1. Extends learning beyond the school day
2. Personalizes learning
3. Increases student engagement in learning
4. Students develop more responsibility for their own learning
5. Enhances the relevancy of the curriculum

But what challenges do you face implementing blended learning at your school?
School site principals identify these top challenges:
1. Educating parents on their role in blended learning
2. Developing a culture of student responsibility for learning
3. Ensuring students have safe, consistent Internet access outside of school
4. Re-thinking instructional practices / identifying best practices for teachers
5. Determining how to best measure the impact of blended learning

Students are already self-directing, self-blending learning outside of school
Types of activities students are doing outside of school to
pursue academic interests
Students in Grades 6-8
who report regularity
with this activity
Researching online 77%
Watching an online video 75%
Playing an online game 53%
Reading an online news story or report 51%
Watching a TED Talk 40%
Using social media to learn about ideas 40%
Using online writing tools 38%

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 resources available at www.tomorrow.org

More resources available at www.tomorrow.org
Three new reports in June/July:
Digital learning trends (sneak peek today!)
New approaches to parental engagement
Views of district PR or communications officers
Each of these reports created in conjunction with

Support your district’s participation in Speak Up 2017
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 &
Communications Officers
Gain news insights in the
activities, attitudes and
aspirations of your
stakeholders
Surveys open Oct 2017 – Jan 2018
Learn more www.tomorrow.org/speakup

Your questions,
ideas and
comments

Thank you for inviting me to be part of this
discussion!
Julie Evans
jevans@tomorrow.org
949-609-4660 x15
Twitter: JulieEvans_PT and SpeakUpEd

Connecting the Dots for Digital Learning: Listening to the Ideas and Views of Students, Educators and Parents

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