GENERATION YES

Welcome to the Second Edition of the Generation YES Express
Our inaugural edition spurred many of you to email us and let us know what you are up to. It was really good to hear from old and new friends. These are certainly exciting times as we hear from more and more educators concluding that students can be a strong force for education reform. The mission of Generation YES is to provide schools and districts with our unique programs and expertise on how to prepare and involve students to take charge of improving education through technology.

I'm looking forward to seeing many of you at NECC in June here in Washington - Generation YES will have a booth with many exciting events planned. Be sure to come by and say hi!
Forward,
Dennis Harper

What's New at Generation YES
Generation YES at NECC , June 30-July 2. Seattle, Washington
With Generation YES based in Washington State, you can be certain that there will be many youth oriented activities at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC). Besides the Gen YES booth, there is an all day Gen Y Teacher Certification Workshop (Sunday, June 29), Birds-of-a-Feather meeting (Monday, June 30), and numerous Gen Y and Gen SCI sessions. The booth will be very special. Gen Y workstations will be set up at the booth to provide a mini-Gen Y experience to select NECC attendees. Dozens of Gen Y students will participate by guiding attendees through the creation of a technology-infused lesson plan using the Generation YES online tools. If you would like to experience one of these mini-Gen Y sessions, you will be able sign up for a half hour time slot on the Gen YES website starting May 1. Your guide can be an elementary, middle, or high school student and we guarantee it won't be the usual exhibit hall experience!
https://genyes.org/news/events

The NECC Generation Y teacher certification workshop is a first-time ever event. This is an incredible opportunity for an in-depth, day long experience with Dr. Harper as your workshop leader. If you've been waiting for a chance for an in-depth look or to get on board with Gen Y, this is it! You can register for this event with your NECC registration; sign up for workshop SUF224. All participants in the teacher workshop will be eligible for a special discount off the Generation Y class license price. You can register here as well:
https://center.uoregon.edu/NECC/NECC2003/attendees/registration/

New Generation Y Schools Planning For Fall 2003
Many new schools have already committed to train students to provide support and professional development to their teachers via the Generation Y model. No Child Left Behind funding, through the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) grants, has been very helpful in providing schools with the fiscal means to get their Generation YES programs off the ground.

• Kansas is planning an additional 15 Gen Y schools. Gen YES CEO Dr. Dennis Harper went to Abilene, Kansas on April 25 to train the new Gen Y teachers. This brings the total number of Kansas schools that have implemented Gen Y to 86!
• Texas is funding Gen Y in 18 districts around San Antonio as part of their EETT efforts, known in Texas as the Target grant. Preparations are now taking place for an August start.
• Utah is funding Gen SCI (Students Caring for Infrastructure) in 31 schools to work with their existing CyberCorp program. Gen SCI guru Scott LeDuc will lead a July training of district coordinators from these districts in Cedar City.
• Illinois will implement 30 new Gen Y schools and increase that number up to 90 over a period of three years. The EETT funded project will include some new research and evaluation that we will be sharing with all of you as it becomes available.
• New York announced their Learning Technology Grant (LTG) recipients earlier this month. Sixteen Gen Y schools were funded in 4 districts, including 6 schools in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn schools have already started Gen Y, with the remainder beginning in September.
• Wisconsin's CESA 7 (Green Bay area) will begin 22 new Gen Y schools starting in September. This brings the total number of Gen Y schools in Wisconsin to 47.

Free Generation Y DVD
The first ever Generation Y DVD is now available. Created by Gen Y graduate (a Gen Did) Jeff Conor, the high quality digital video contains a powerful documentary about this exemplary model. Send an email to our own Vici Wicklund ([email protected]) with your snail mail address and we will send you a FREE copy.

Student Showcase
Pease Magnet School Invited to Texas Capital School House Conference
Pease Magnet School was one of only four elementary schools invited to participate in the Texas Capital School House. The Texas Capital School House is a conference at the Texas state capitol showcasing best practices in school technology use to state legislators and the general public. The event focused on using wireless technology, laptops, and digital technology to help students learn. In spite of a raging ice storm, four students from Kellie Wilks' Generation Y class at Pease Magnet attended and brilliantly demonstrated their projects to attendees. You can see pictures of them in action here:
https://www.genyes.org/news/

Maryland School Posts Gen Y Site
Delmar Elementary school is one of 55 Maryland schools implementing Gen Y. Gen Y teacher Patti Weeg has a large Gen Y class working with teachers to improve learning with technology. See some great pictures of her Gen Y kids working with teachers at
https://www.globalclassroom.org/2003/genyes/delmar_genyes.html

Send in your stories and web sites - you might see yourself here next month. Also, we collect newspaper articles about Generation YES classes from around the world, so send them in to us. If you are ever in Olympia, Washington, stop by and see the scrapbook!

Tech Tips Plus
Featured Book
In Schools We Trust: Creating Communities of Learning in an Era of Testing and Standardization, by Deborah Meier, is a well-written, well-researched and passionate call for smaller schools and stronger communities within the school. From her own experience, Meier writes that students should work more closely with adults on meaningful, authentic tasks, and that schools' primary job should be to foster trusting relationships between all stakeholders in the educational process - educators, students, and parents.
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0807031429/102-9696485-5044107

What's that you say, you need more email?
But really, you'll like this newsletter. Learn how to avoid the pitfalls of the Web, master search engines, debunk urban legends, and more. Net gurus Bob Rankin and Patrick Crispen explain Internet technology in plain English with a dash of humor, in a FREE twice weekly email newsletter. Patrick is an old friend of Gen Y and many of the tips in the newsletter are "school-friendly".
https://www.tourbus.com/

News You Can Use
Toshiba Grant for Math & Science Projects
The Toshiba America Foundation contributes to the quality of science and mathematics education in U.S. communities by investing in projects designed to improve science and mathematics education for students in grades K thru 12. Applications are accepted year-round.
https://www.toshiba.com/taf/index.html

Gen Y National Student Representative Listserve
Join the discussion - the Gen Y national student listserve allows Gen Y students to carry on conversations about a variety of youth involvement and other education related issues. One or two students from each Gen Y school are designated as their school's National Student Representative and they contribute to a lively listserv, and carry the conversation back to the Gen Y class. Gen Y graduate and high school senior Emily McCartan moderates the list.