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Generation YES Express
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Back to School 2007 | |
Hello friends!
It has been a few tough years for constructivist pedagogy in U.S. K-12 schools. As we begin a new school year there are a few welcome signs of change:
1. Momentum is growing in Congress to include "21st-century-skills" such as project creation, collaboration, and critical thinking into the next version of NCLB.
2. The new ISTE NETS for students has a new standard #1: "Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology."
3. The newly formed Constructivist Consortium had its first event prior to the National Educational Computer Conference (NECC) in Atlanta and hundreds of educators applied to attend.
4. Easy-to-use Web 2.0 tools have opened the world of technology to many educators for the first time. These tools encourage student (and teacher) voice, collaboration, and construction--all key elements of constructivist pedagogy.
I remain optimistic that constructivist philosophy can be a guiding light for 21st century educators, especially those using technology to empower students. We at Generation YES are committed to providing resources and research to make these visions a reality.
Forward...Dennis Harper
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NEW - Free White Paper
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 Sharing Student Voice: Students Presenting at Conferences
Generation YES President Sylvia Martinez has written a new white paper entitled Sharing Student Voice: Students Presenting at Conferences. This white paper combines all the wisdom gathered through more than a decade of Generation YES students presenting at countless conferences. Includes:
- Research on student voice and student empowerment, reflecting on
21st century skill development and inclusion of Web 2.0 technology
- How to plan and submit sessions with student presenters
- Planning, creating, and practicing the presentation while creating student ownership
- Treating the presentation as part of the reflective process that builds student voice
- Balancing the needs of the audience with the needs of students while retaining authentic student voice
- Top Ten Tips for Student Presenters
- The role of the teacher in the presentation, providing context and being the audience surrogate
We hope to see many more student presenters at education technology conferences! You can download this 10-page PDF here.
This paper is one of the many free resources that can be found on the Generation YES website.
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New GenYES Research - 11 Years of Professional Development Improvement
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GenYES 2006-07 Evaluation Results are Available The Northwest Regional Education Laboratory (NWREL) has been the primary external evaluator for the GenYES program since its inception in 1996. The results of the nationwide survey of 2006-07 schools along with a longitudinal look at 11 years of results can be found on the Generation YES website. These results conclusively show that GenYES is an effective professional development solution for K-12 schools. Teachers who work with GenYES students report that they use technology more, and see more value in technology use in the classroom -- and directly attribute this change to working with a GenYES student. Download a GenYES research summary - 4 major studies in one document showing impact on student achievement and teacher technology use. ( 12-page PDF)
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Sneak Preview - Constructivist Celebration - Coming to New York State this Fall
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Ideas and Resources for Student Projects
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The Generation YES blog is a continuing source of ideas and resources for student projects. Here's a sample of them from over the summer.
K-12 Student Digital Photo Contest - Hurry, deadline is October 19, 2007!Check out this great student run blog on wellness and healthy eating!
You can subscribe to the Generation YES blog and get great resources like this every day!
it's easy to subscribe! Click here and choose your favorite blog reader.
If blogs are blocked at your school, you can even subscribe by email!
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Welcome to the Generation YES Family!
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A big "welcome!" to all the new and returning GenYES, TechYES, and Generation TECH students and teachers.
There are so many schools, we can't list them all, but as the year goes by, we hope to profile many of them in our blog and newsletter.
Arizona District Expands GenYES to 19 Schools
After successfully delivering GenYES (students supporting teachers) to five schools in 2006-07, the Paradise Valley School District has expanded the GenYES professional development model to 19 schools. Students will be partnering with teachers in elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the district to improve technology use school-wide.
Two Australian Schools!
The Armidale School and the New England Girls School, both in New South Wales, Australia, will begin implementing the TechYES program for student-centered, project-based technology literacy certification. Martin Levins, of The Armidale School, was a featured speaker at Educomm 2007, speaking about his school's 1:1 innovative laptop program. His article, One to One Laptops is Hard, Right? is featured on the GenYES blog.
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New York City TechYES Purchasing Made Easy!
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| TechYES Now Available Through FAMIS
If you're a New York City educator, you know what this means! TechYES - Student Technology Literacy Certification is now available through FAMIS, the New York City Department of Education purchasing portal.
Tech4Learning, our Constructivist Consortium partner, is making TechYES available in New York City. Check the website here for purchasing information. |
Student Technology Literacy Project Resources
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 TechYES Portal Update
The TechYES Portal has freely available resources for middle school
students doing technology projects, in addition to resources for TechYES teachers and peer mentors. The TechYES Portal is organized into thematic sections, and includes tutorials and great ideas for student projects using technology across the curriculum. The portal is open and accessible for anyone to use or upload their own project ideas. |
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That's All For This Issue of the Generation YES Express!
We hope you've enjoyed this email newsletter. If you have stories to
share or news clips about technology in education, student empowerment,
or funding for technology, please send them our way and you might see
them in the next issue (or on the blog)!
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