GENERATION YES

Generation YES Program Comparison

This web page will help you think through which Generation YES program is right for your school. Our three programs have very different goals and outcomes for schools. In general, all of them seek to improve the use of technology in schools by creating authentic project-based learning opportunities for students.

Our programs are different from all other approaches to these issues in that students are the primary agents of change in the solution.

Program	School-wide Goal	Student Grade Level	Number of Students Involved in the Program (per term)
GenYES	Improve teacher use of technology in the classroom and improve tech support	4-12	Typical: 8-25
TechYES	Certify student technology literacy Meet No Child Left Behind mandate for 8th grade tech literacy	6-9	one class, one grade level, or the whole school
TechYES Science	Certify student technology literacy Meet No Child Left Behind mandate for 8th grade tech literacy Support STEM initiatives	6-9	one class, one grade level, or the whole school

GenYES

GenYES students learn technology and people skills in the GenYES class using a comprehensive set of online tools and resources. As the class progresses, each GenYES student partners with a teacher in their school. Together they build a standards-aligned, technology-infused project that these partner-teachers can use as a continuing part of their curriculum. The partner-teacher learns technology and the students in that teacher's class benefit from the increased use of technology in the classroom.

In this way, a class of 25 GenYES students can improve technology use in 25 classrooms school-wide. However, although the impact of GenYES is school-wide, GenYES is not a program that targets every student in the school for participation.

As time goes on, the number of GenYES graduates in your school will rise, and they will continue to support teachers throughout their school career. In most schools, GenYES is something that the students can participate in for years, like band or 4H, building their skills and gaining respect and recognition for their important role. GenYES is often used as a pre-requisite for other technology projects and activities for students, such as joining a school television production team, running the school website, or being a computer lab aide.

Link down for questions and considerations for GenYES, or read on for TechYES.

TechYES - Student Technology Literacy Certification

TechYES aims at reaching every student in a middle school, junior high, or upper grades in a K-8 school. It allows students to participate in a high-quality technology experience that results in a certificate. The material is appropriate for grades 6-9, although ages or grades are never mentioned in the student materials. You will need to consider the reading ability and maturity level of your students if you want to use TechYES outside of these grades.

TechYES can be run as an after-school program, yet still meet the need for a tech literacy course for every student. There are after-school clubs and community organizations running TechYES. Some schools are using TechYES as supplemental material in an established tech elective to support student project work.

To tie into school or district goals, some schools require the TechYES projects be focused on a specific subject or goal, such as creating math games (to support a district math/science focus) or they ask students to produce projects to teach their parents something about technology to support parental involvement initiatives.

To reach all students, TechYES uses a scaled approach that builds a group of peer mentors to provide technical assistance and project evaluation for other students. For example, your 6th grade students can become tech literate and get their TechYES certificate, and then a group of these TechYES graduates can come back next year as peer mentors to help a larger group of 6th grade students complete the program. Building a cadre of peer mentors means that TechYES can accommodate more students with only one advisor. These peer mentors will also allow you to expand the depth and variety of technology use by new students, since they can get individual help from trained peer mentors instead of depending on one advisor.

Link down for questions and considerations about TechYES, or read on for TechYES Science.

TechYES Science

TechYES Science is based on the successful TechYES program. The difference is that it was designed to be run in science classes. In this way, every student can become tech literate through their science classes, even if a school does not have a required technology class.

TechYES Science fits in any middle school science curriculum, and meet two needs at once. The completed TechYES Science projects are assessed both for science content and technology use. TechYES is correlated to the ISTE NETs standards for students and meets the NCLB 8th grade technology literacy mandate.

By recruiting a group of students to act as Peer Mentors, TechYES Science can expand the opportunities for all students and help all science teachers bring more technology into their lessons. With TechYES Science, science teachers can focus on their science lessons, and do not have to teach or assess technology.

Answers to Common Questions

Generation YES is here to help you plan the program that meets your needs best. This section of this web page has some answers to typical questions that schools think about as they choose between Generation YES programs. Please contact us for more information. We are happy to talk to you about your school or district.

If you are a middle school wondering whether to choose GenYES or TechYES.

If you want to accomplish all these goals at once.

I only want GenYES for student tech support (or) I only want GenYES for helping teachers.

If you are thinking that GenYES will be too difficult to implement in your school.

What happened to Generation TECH?

If you are a middle school wondering whether to choose GenYES or TechYES.

Consider your main goal	Is it teacher support? (GenYES) Or student technology literacy? (TechYES)
Consider how many students will have access to the experience	Are you are looking for an enrichment activity or elective class for a smaller group of students? (GenYES) Or an activity that can scale up to accommodate every student in a grade level? (TechYES)
Consider doing both	Starting with a GenYES program gives you a built-in cadre of TechYES peer mentors.

If you want to accomplish all these goals at once.
Consider starting with a GenYES program. GenYES will teach a group of students technology and people skills. GenYES models a culture of respect and sharing between students and teachers that is a good building block for other programs. Your GenYES students will become the basis for other technology related initiatives. GenYES students can become your TechYES peer mentors, continue to help teachers, do community service projects, or learn to do more tech support.

---

I only want GenYES for student tech support (or) I only want GenYES for helping teachers.
GenYES can seem like it has too many goals to know where to start. However, the resources are customizable by the teacher to simplify implementation. The GenYES Implementation Guide offers "roadmaps" to get you started, and suggestions for emphasizing student tech support, or students helping teachers, or community service projects. You do not have to do them all at once. In fact, most GenYES programs mature into having the students provide the support most needed by the school. With GenYES, you do not have to do it all at once, you can create the program that best suits your students and your school.

---

What happened to Generation TECH?
The Generation TECH student tech support program was merged into the GenYES 2.0 update in 2008. GenYES 2.0 now teaches students how to support technology integration through tech support and how to collaborate with teachers on technology-infused curriculum projects.

---

If you are thinking that GenYES will be difficult to implement in your school.

If your concern is partner-teacher participation.	the principal is a key factor. If the principal is on board, the teachers will come around. Sometimes it takes time, but a few successful partner-teachers will change the way other teachers view the program. for middle schools, consider TechYES. TechYES is sometimes easier to start since it doesn't require the participation of other teachers.
If your concern is the ability level of your students.	in elementary schools, the students need to be reading and writing at approximately a 4th grade level. If your students are not at this level, start with a small number of selected students. This does not necessarily mean gifted or straight-A students. (There are more details about selecting GenYES students in the GenYES section of this website.) in middle schools, consider TechYES. TechYES is sometimes easier to implement and can be scaled slowly if necessary. in high schools, make sure that the course is offered for credit, and that the students are carefully chosen for the initial classes. You are not necessarily looking for academic super-stars, but be sure the class doesn't become a dumping ground for students who have no interest.
If your concern is finding the right GenYES teacher.	You DO need to find willing and able GenYES teachers. This is one of the most important success factors for the GenYES program. The GenYES teacher should: be at least at a "medium" level of technology competence. Many GenYES teachers are not tech gurus, but they are at least able to find someone who knows the answer, look things up, or know enough to start to ask the right questions. attend the GenYES Teacher training. Make up training is always available. have some experience with other teachers in the school. Other teachers in the school will agree to be partner-teachers if they trust and like the GenYES teacher. Often, a library-media specialist makes an excellent GenYES teacher. Their knowledge of the whole school and existing relationships with teachers throughout the school puts them in a good position to be a good judge of potential partnerships between students and teachers. have experience with project-based learning. The GenYES teacher will be juggling a group of students who are all working on independent projects. They will need to be able to "let go" and let the GenYES students work independently and find answers themselves. The GenYES curriculum is not "delivered" out of the book, it is a process of guided exploration. Having experience with project-based learning in any content area will help. be willing to learn along with the students. One of the most exciting parts of GenYES is that each project is new and different, and the students will come up with amazing ideas. The GenYES teacher can facilitate this process, even if they don't know exactly how to do all the technology ahead of time. Being willing to say, "I don't know, let's find out!" is a key success factor for the GenYES teacher. You DO need to provide conditions for success for the teacher. A GenYES teacher needs access to equipment and software, time set aside for the class without constant interruptions, support from the principal and district office, and recognition for their efforts. Read more on this topic on the GenYES section of this website.

We are here to help!

Generation YES is here to help you plan the program that best meets your needs. We can make recommendations and provide contact information for nearby Generation YES schools. This web page has some answers to typical questions schools ask as they choose between Generation YES programs, but don't hesitate to contact us for more information. We are happy to talk to you about your school or district.

Top