Much Ado about Digital Content

Much Ado about Digital Content:
But what do students really want?

FETC 2012: Julie Evans, Project Tomorrow CEO

© Project Tomorrow 2011

Today’s Discussion: The Big Questions

• What are the expectations of K-12 students for
leveraging digital content for learning?

• How are teachers, librarians and administrators
addressing this student vision for digital content?

• What are the barriers and the opportunities?

• What does the e-textbook discussion tell us about
the future of teaching and learning?


Discussion Agenda:

About the Speak Up Project
Introduction to the Student Vision
Speak Up Highlights: Digital Content
Trends to Watch
Discussion

Speak Up 2010 & 2011 National Findings
Views of K-12 Students, Teachers,
Parents and Administrators


Speak Up National Research Project

Annual national research project
Online surveys + focus groups
Open for all K-12 schools and schools of education
Institutions receive free report with their own data

Collect ideas ↔ Stimulate conversations
K-12 Students, Teachers, Parents, Administrators
Pre-Service Teachers in Schools of Education

Inform policies & programs
Analysis and reporting of findings and trends
Consulting services to help transform teaching and learning

+ 2.6 million surveys since 2003

Speak Up survey question themes
Learning & Teaching with Technology
21st Century Skills: Digital Citizenship
Science and Math Instruction
Career Interests in STEM and Teaching
Professional Development / Teacher Preparation
Internet Safety
Administrators’ Challenges
Emerging Technologies in the Classroom
Mobile Devices, Online Learning, Digital Content, E-textbooks
Educational Games, Web 2.0 tools and applications
Designing the 21st Century School


What can the Speak Up
findings tell us about the
future of learning?


Speak Up National Research Project
Key Findings: Speak Up 2003 – 2012

Students function as a “Digital Advance Team”

Students regularly adopt and adapt emerging technologies
for learning

Students’ frustrations focus on the unsophisticated use of
technologies within education

Persistent digital disconnect between students and adults

Exacerbation of lack of relevancy in current education


Warm Up
Interactive Exercise


A
STUDENT’S
LIFE


In my life, I ……..
Play games on handheld devices (57%)
Take tests online for school (40%)
Have a cell phone or smartphone (40%)
Read books on my mobile device (53%)
Want more internet access at school (50%)
and want to take an online class (40%)


Who is . . . . . ?

1. 1st Grade Boy
2. 3rd Grade Girl
3. 6th Grade Boy
4. 9th Grade Girl
5. 12th Grade Boy


Who is a 3rd
Grade Girl?
(from a rural
community)


Emerging from the Speak Up research:

A new uniquely “student vision” for
leveraging emerging technologies to
drive achievement and educational
productivity


Emerging from the Speak Up research:

A new uniquely “student vision” for
leveraging emerging technologies to
drive achievement and educational
productivity

This student vision for “technology
enabled learning” mirrors how
students want to learn in general


The Student Vision for Learning

Social–based learning
Un–tethered learning
Digitally–rich learning

Speak Up 2010 National Findings
Two national releases in Washington DC
April 1 and May 11, 2011

The New 3 E’s of Education:
Enabled, Engaged, Empowered
Report #1: How today’s students are leveraging
emerging technologies for learning

Report #2: How today’s educators are advancing a
new vision for teaching and learning


Key Trends to Watch:

Mobile Learning

Online and Blended Learning

E-Textbooks and Digital Content



Key Trends: E-Textbooks & Digital Content


Inside today’s classroom

How Students are Using Digital Content for Schoolwork

Create presentations and
media

Play educational games

Conduct virtual
experiments/simulations

Use e-textbooks
Gr 9-12
Access realtime
data/databases Gr 6-8
Gr 3-5
Listen to podcasts

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%


Inside today’s classroom

How Students are Using Digital Content for Schoolwork

Create presentations and
media

Play educational games

Conduct virtual
experiments/simulations

Use e-textbooks
Gr 9-12
Access realtime
data/databases Gr 6-8
Gr 3-5
Listen to podcasts

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Gr 6-8: Increase of 41% in use of
e-textbooks from 2010 to 2011

Students face obstacles using technology at
school

Top responses from students:

1. School filters and firewalls block websites I need
(59%)
2. I cannot use my mobile device (55%)
3. I cannot access my social networking sites (51%)
4. Too many rules about using technology! (48%)
5. Teachers limit our technology use (42%)


How schools could make it easier to use
technology

Students say:

1. Allow greater access to websites I need (72%)
2. Let me use my own mobile device (59%)
3. Give me unlimited Internet access on campus (48%)
4. Allow access to social networking sites (43%)
5. Provide classwork and resources online (41%)
6. Let me recharge my devices (36%)


Best use of technology – in what class?

High school students say:

1. English / Language Arts
2. Science
3. Math
4. Social Studies / History


What if ….

We asked students to design the ultimate
digital or e-textbook?

What features and functionality would
they desire?


Students’ desires for the features and
functionality of digital or e-textbooks

Three themes emerge from the data:

Students want interactivity and relevancy

They want tools to facilitate collaboration

They want ways to personalize learning


Students’ desires for the features and
functionality of digital or e-textbooks

Three themes emerge from the data:

Students want interactivity and relevancy

They want tools to facilitate collaboration

They want ways to personalize learning

E-textbook as proxy for the student vision
for a new learning paradigm:
social, un-tethered and digitally rich


Designing the Ultimate E-Textbook

Socially-based Learning Enabled by the E-Textbook

Communications tools

Collaboration tools

Online tutors

Chat rooms with video

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Gr 6-8 Girl Gr 6-8 Boy Middle School Parents



Engaging Un-tethered Learning with the E-Textbook

Online classes

Self assessments

Mobile apps Middle School Parents
Gr 6-8 Boy
Download to phone Gr 6-8 Girl

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%



Empowering Digitally-rich Content through the E-Textbook

Virtual labs
Video clips
Links to real time data
Games
Animations and simulations
Access to 3D content

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Gr 6-8 Girl Gr 6-8 Boy Middle School Parents


A
STUDENT’S
ONLINE LIFE


#1 way to get students
more interested and
engaged in science …
according to students


What is . . . . ?

1. Having a teacher that is excited about science
2. Creating multi-media presentations of findings
3. Doing real research using online databases
4. Using animations
5. Reading the science textbook


What is
doing real
research with
online
databases?


Students’ “speak up” about the ultimate math
class
Students say:
Collaborate with classmates on problem solving 52%

Ability to text my teacher with questions 42%
I have a connection with my teacher 42%
My teacher is excited about math 39%

Access to online tutors 35%
Access to online textbooks 32%
Ability to use mobile devices to video problems 31%
Access to online classes 24%


Inside today’s classroom: teachers’ view

Digital Content in the Classroom
Podcasts/Videos
E-Textbooks
Real-time Data
Educational Games
Animations
Virtual Field Trips
Simulations
Teachers: Usage
Virtual Labs

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%


Inside today’s classroom: teachers + librarians


Podcasts/Videos

E-Textbooks

Real-time Data

Educational Games
Animations

Virtual Field Trips

Simulations Librarians: Recommend
Teachers: Usage
Virtual Labs

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%


Inside today’s classroom: + administrators


Podcasts/Videos
E-Textbooks
Real-time Data
Administrators: Value
Educational Games
Librarians: Recommend
Animations Teachers: Usage
Virtual Field Trips
Simulations
Virtual Labs

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%


Teachers & professional development around
digital content use

Teachers’ top recommendations:

1. Access to collection of vetted resources
2. F2F professional development
3. Video clips of teachers’ using digital content
4. Professional learning community @school
5. Online course


Benefits of using digital content

Principals’ perspective:

1. Increases student engagement
2. Extends learning beyond the school day
3. Prepares students for world of work
4. Improves teachers’ skills with technology
5. Decreases dependence on publishers


Given the demand and the interest, what is
standing in the way of greater adoption?

Principals say the most significant barriers are:

1. Lack of technology infrastructure

2. Balancing instructional time constraints

3. Lack of teachers’ skill with using digital content

4. How to evaluate the quality of purchased digital content

5. Locating free, standards aligned digital content

Source: Speak Up 2010 © Project Tomorrow 2011

What is most important when evaluating quality of
digital content?

Administrators say:

1. Student achievement
(57%)
2. Teacher evaluation (49%)
3. Created by teachers (33%)
4. Certified by ed org (32%)
5. Source is content expert
(32%)
6. Conference demo (28%)


What is most important when evaluating quality of
digital content?
Administrators say: Teachers say:
1. Student achievement 1. Created by teachers (55%)
(57%) 2. Colleague referral (50%)
2. Teacher evaluation (49%) 3. Teacher evaluation (42%)
3. Created by teachers (33%) 4. Student achievement
4. Certified by ed org (32%) (38%)
5. Source is content expert 5. Certified by ed org (37%)
(32%) 6. Source is content expert
6. Conference demo (28%) (29%)


How do parents determine quality for digital resources they
bring into their home?

Quality Factors Parents

1. My child finds the tools engaging 64%
2. Aligned to my child’s curriculum 62%
3. My child’s teacher is using the same tools in the classroom 53%
4. Recommended by my child’s teacher, school librarian or other 48%
educator
5. My child is doing better in school after using similar tools 48%
6. Aligned to content standards (state or national) 41%
7. Our school purchased a license for the tools and allows home 38%
access
8. Developed by an organization with expertise in the field 38%
9. Student achievement results 36%
10. Developed by a classroom teacher 35%


Imagine you are designing the
ultimate school.

Which technology tools and services
would have the greatest positive impact
on learning?


Imagine you are designing the
ultimate school.

Which technology tools and services
would have the greatest positive impact
on learning?

Are we all on the same page?


Ultimate School: Are we on the same page?

Ultimate School: Enabling Social Based Learning

Online tutors

Digital media tools

Collaboration tools

In class chat rooms

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Gr 6-8 Students Gr 9-12 Students Parents Administrators



Ultimate School: Engaging Un-tethered Learning

Campus wide internet access

Tablets

Online classes

Smart phones

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%




Ultimate School: Empowering Digitally-rich Learning

Games

Online textbooks

Databases & videos

Virtual reality

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%



What is the bottom line?

Today’s students
want learning that is:

Enabled

Engaging

Empowered

Key trends we are watching:

• Continuing “digital disconnects”
• Spectrum of digital native-ness
• Multiple “computers” in the backpack
• Adaptation trumps adoption
• Anytime, anyplace, anywhere, any pace
learning
• Developing personal expert networks


Key trends we are watching:

• Self directed learning for student & teacher
• Everyone is a content developer
• Make it relevant to me!
• Blurring of informal & formal learning lines
• Beyond engagement: it’s really about
productivity!
• “Long tail” of training & education


More Speak Up? www.tomorrow.org

• National Speak Up Findings and reports
• Speak Up 2011 data: release to participating
districts on Feb 1
• Speak Up 2011 data: national release in April
• Presentations, podcasts and webinars
• Evaluation services & reports
• Speak Up 2012!


Thank you.
Let’s continue this conversation.

Julie Evans
Project Tomorrow
jevans@tomorrow.org
949-609-4660 x15
Twitter: JulieEvans_PT
Copyright Project Tomorrow 2011.
This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted
for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes,
provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced
materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the
author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written
permission from the author.


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