Generation YES

Frequently Asked Questions About GenYES - FAQs

Our tech support costs are skyrocketing and we can't get more technology programs until we can figure out how to support all of it. How can GenYES help with this?

Can I speak to a teacher who has done GenYES?

Is GenYES the same as Gen WHY, Generation www.Y, Generation Y, and Gen Y?

Yes. The original name of the model was Generation WHY, but was changed to Generation www.Y. In early 2002, the name was changed to Generation Y because you can't say "www.Y", and most people called it "Generation Y" anyway. In 2005 "Generation Y" was changed to GenYES because the students the program targets were no longer members of Generation Y.

The model has grown and improved since the early days of Generation WHY, however, the vision of the program remains the same.

For more information on the history and philosophy of GenYES, click here.

We already have a program where students help fix and troubleshoot computers - what is different about GenYES?

Students helping out in school is not a new idea. What GenYES provides is an easy to use, proven program that improves student achievement and provides professional development for teachers infusing technology. The GenYES curriculum, combined with our online tools and services, provide a student-led support system for every teacher who wants to use more technology in their classrooms. This reaches far beyond just fixing stuff. GenYES addresses the core reason why teachers don't use technology in their classroom by providing more than just tech support, GenYES students help teachers see technology working in their own classrooms, with their existing technology, with their real students.

Can't I just do this on my own?

Yes. Of course. People do it all the time. We certainly don't claim to own the idea of students helping out in schools! Many schools have successful student tech teams.

However, there are two main reasons to license the complete program from Generation YES:

1. You benefit from the proven model and existing resources. In most schools with a student tech team, the club advisor has to create the curriculum by themselves and figure out how to run the student team with no help. By joining the family of GenYES schools, that teacher receives the support of a community of educators using an exemplary model, one that has been proven by research to improve school-wide technology integration.

2. It will cost less. We have the online tools, the experience, and the know how to get your program off to a fast, successful start. Trying to duplicate our support system will cost you more money and burden your support personnel. Why reinvent the wheel?

Can I modify GenYES for my own situation?

Yes, absolutely. The online tools are flexible and the curriculum is designed to be customizable for every kind of school. Generation YES consultants can help you with these decisions, and have experience from years of holding of GenYES classes held in every imaginable situation. We can also speak from hard-won experience about what works and what doesn't to make your GenYES implementation go smoothly.

For a free consultation, click here.

For more information on different classroom profiles and logistics, click here.

What is reverse mentoring?

Reverse mentoring is a term that is sometimes used to describe the GenYES method. It is when the usual mentoring relationship is turned around, as when a student mentors a teacher. The term gained popularity after Jack Welsh of GE found that he and other top executives were out of touch with current technology. He instituted a program that paired hundreds of his top executives with younger employees. The younger employees meet informally with the executives to show them how to use email and search the Internet.

Reverse mentoring is a growing trend in businesses who wish to use the knowledge and skill of younger, techno-savvy employees and save the cost of formal training programs.

Reverse Mentoring Articles

Out of the Minds of Babes:
In school and the workplace, the young are guiding their older colleagues through the technical landscape.
Los Angeles Times

Kids These Days
Senior staff hopelessly out of date? Younger mentors can help them keep up.
Entrepreneur magazine

When do the students and partner-teachers have time to meet and work on their projects?

Students and partner-teachers meet at mutually agreeable times. This can be a regular weekly appointment or as needed. GenYES teachers often facilitate initial meetings, but typically the teachers and students plan their own schedule. Partner Teachers spend an average of 3 hours per semester working with their GenYES Students on curriculum related projects, while tech support happens on a much more informal basis. Meetings with teachers can happen during a teacher's planning period, lunch, before or after school, or even through e-mail. Students work on the projects during the scheduled GenYES class period. For tech support, some GenYES schools implement a tech TA program or have a rotating list of students who can respond to requests during the day.

Part of the GenYES support will be to consult with you as you plan your GenYES program to figure out a plan that works in your school.

Are the web site tools secure?

Yes. Only licensed GenYES classes can access the GenYES online tools, blogs, and forums. A multi-tiered account system ensures users only see what they need. The message boards are moderated and all blogs are private and not open to the public Internet. All project data is secure and backed up daily.

I don't think teachers in my school will want to partner with students - how can I help them understand this model?

Generation YES provides resources and support to help get your GenYES program established with all stakeholders at your school and district. The first time is the hardest as most teachers have never been exposed to our unique, yet proven model. We provide materials, handouts, and videos to help administrators, tech staff, teachers, and parents understand what the students will be doing. This helps clear up misunderstandings and misconceptions. Typically, once GenYES gets started, you will find teachers lining up to be helped by a GenYES student. The original partner teachers often want to continue, and reluctant teachers will see the benefits and want to participate. Most schools have a high rate of teacher acceptance after their first year of GenYES.

These strategies are thoroughly covered during the GenYES training session and in the Implementation Guide.

Our technology is so old, should we wait until we can afford new technology to do GenYES?

There are no special hardware or software requirements to start a GenYES program. In fact, you expect your teachers to work with the technology they have, so the GenYES students can do so as well. The benefit you might not expect is that once you have GenYES students showing that your technology can be used to enhance classroom lessons, people will start to see the benefit. Many GenYES schools report that once parents, school board members, and others start seeing the GenYES students and the work they do, there is more support for technology funding. The goal of GenYES is help any school work with existing technology, and make the results so exemplary that everyone can see that technology is a "must have" component of a 21st century education.

Our school is only doing things that are tied to standards. Does GenYES correlate to standards?

GenYES supports standards in several ways. GenYES has been correlated to ISTE NETS standards for students, and exceeds them in many areas. Also, when students work with teachers on major projects such as integrating technology into a lesson, GenYES online tools guide the process of correlating the lesson to local or state standards. For example, if a student and partner-teacher are working on upgrading a seventh grade math lesson with technology, part of of the project planning will be to correlate the lesson to seventh grade math standards.

Teaching the students about standards, outcomes and assessments allows them to better own their own learning and take this into account when helping teachers integrate technology. This often gives GenYES students a new understanding of teachers and the whole education process.

What prerequisite skills are necessary for GenYES students?

The GenYES curriculum does not assume any previous technology knowledge or skills on the part of the students. Students need only be willing to tackle a challenging, hands-on, project based course. Typically, students bring a fairly wide range of knowledge and expertise to the course, presenting opportunities to establish and practice a collaborative approach to learning within the class itself.

We have a technology course already. Why do I need another one?

GenYES can be an alternative or addition to an existing technology course. Many existing technology courses offer a pre-set curriculum of word processing, spreadsheets and database skills that seem disconnected from real life. You may be finding that students come into this class with a wide variety of previous experience, and this curriculum does not serve all students.

GenYES classes offer a methodology that is very friendly to non-technical oriented students. Since the focus is on helping and problem-solving, not technology, students can excel in the GenYES class even if they do not find technology fascinating on its own. Schools usually discover that the enrollment in GenYES classes is unusually gender balanced compared to other technology offerings.

GenYES classes have a component that no traditional technology class has - relevance. By training students to help teachers integrate technology, the GenYES class has an impact throughout the whole school. By solving real problems and providing needed help in their own school, technology lessons take on real meaning and create personal ownership. These are the skills needed by 21st century learners.

Employers in my area tell us that our students still don't have skills necessary for the new knowledge jobs. Does GenYES help with this?

Yes. In this knowledge based economy, employers are looking for more than just skill training. They need employees who can think ahead, plan projects, and learn on the job. GenYES focuses on these 21st century skills - collaboration and project planning, and gives students the support system to succeed.

Our technology plan this year is to buy active whiteboards, does GenYES work with this technology?

GenYES is an excellent partner for schools implementing new hardware programs. GenYES students can partner with teachers who are working with new hardware to help them set it up, learn how to use it, and help teachers create new lessons that fit into the curriculum. GenYES student projects can be lessons on how to use the new equipment or actually creating the lesson for the teacher to use in the classroom.

One of the biggest issues with new technology purchases is that even with training workshops, teachers don't have the time to modify their lessons to use the new equipment, or they need more help once the workshop is over and they are back in their classroom. GenYES students can help with both these roadblocks.

"The science department had recently purchased motion sensor software and hardware for science labs and did not have the time or knowledge to implement the unit into their curriculum. Two GenYES students researched the product, loaded the software, learned how to use the motion sensors, and taught the science teachers. Two weeks later, students were using the equipment in experiments."
GenYES Teacher
Sammamish, WA

Our school is going buying laptops and going 1:1 next year - can GenYES help us?

Many current GenYES schools are laptop schools. These schools find that the student-centered, student-led philosophy of GenYES aligns well with their hopes for their 1:1 program. GenYES provides a much needed cadre of students who are familiar with technology and willing to share their expertise. With the large amount of new equipment in such classrooms, it can be very helpful to have trained students available to help out and relieve the strain on expensive tech support personnel.

Laptop schools believe that putting the power of technology into student hands will create the kind of 21st century learning environment that enhances student engagement and achievement. GenYES has the same philosophy.

Isn't it insulting for teachers to learn from students?

No. Teachers overwhelmingly report that they feel comfortable learning from and with students. Since it is a collaboration, the teachers provide the knowledge of content and pedagogy, and the students bring their technology expertise to the table. The learning takes place within this two-way relationship, not from one person with all the answers.

In fact, if the teacher does not want to learn the technology, they don't have to. They can let the student develop and produce the technology component of the lesson. However, many teachers find that as part of the interaction, they learn about the technology and this propels them into learning more. Having the student as a consistent resource allows the teacher to move into unknown areas at their own pace.

From the NWREL evaluation, "Over ninety percent of responding partner teachers reported that a successful technology integration project was developed for their class(es), and that the GenYES model, engaging students to collaborate with teachers, is a good method for providing support and assistance to teachers as they integrate technology. Over ninety percent also reported a desire to continue in the program and to continue rebuilding lesson plans to make more use of educational technology."

We already have professional development in our district - why do I need this?

GenYES is not a replacement for all professional development programs in a school or district. However, GenYES has been found to be very effective and efficient in helping teachers infuse technology. The GenYES students are trained to support teachers with technology implementation, thereby allowing the teachers to focus on the pedagogy and the big picture of how technology can improve student learning. Teachers report that when they have students who've completed the GenYES program in their classes they are more apt to use technology because they can rely on their students for assistance.

Our tech support people won't allow students to have special access to the computers. Can we still do GenYES?

Yes. GenYES students will need sufficient access to the computer system to be able to:

Access the Generation YES website
Save and retrieve files on the school network
E-mail accounts for students (if possible)

Collaboration with the technology director and the IT personnel is a key GenYES success factor. Often GenYES is misinterpreted as allowing "free reign" for students to access networks or tackle major tech support. This is not what we recommend. Most GenYES students do not have any special access. A good way to help the IT Staff understand the GenYES program is to include them in the training session for the GenYES teacher. All GenYES training sessions are open to other school personnel and students.

If you choose to have GenYES students do tech support, there are 6 units of the curriculum that guides this process with school safety and security in mind. Many GenYES schools find that they have fewer problems with student hacking as a result of the student-centered culture and responsibility learned in GenYES.

We don't have the money to do this.

Funding is always a concern in schools. The GenYES program will save you money in several ways.

1. Improve the effectiveness of professional development - For less than the cost of a typical workshop, a class of GenYES students can support teachers in their classrooms all year long. Long after the workshop is over and the trainer has left, GenYES students can help teachers make their technology professional development plans really happen in the classroom.

2. Allow your tech support staff to do their real jobs - The cost of a GenYES class is less than 2 weeks salary of a tech support person. If a 15 member GenYES class each answered only one teacher question a week, instead of that teacher going to a tech support person, you would double the return on your GenYES investment.

3. Continuing cadre of student support - GenYES students are encouraged to continue to help teachers throughout their school career. All this support comes at no additional cost to the district.

Many grants have been successfully written for GenYES classes and we have material that can help you be successful as well. Also see the page on finding funds in the News section of this website.

Does the GenYES teacher have to be a technology guru?

No. GenYES teachers are not necessarily technology teachers, many successful programs have been run by teachers with little or no technology expertise. In fact, it is important that you do not provide all the answers for the students. The most important ingredient for a GenYES teacher is the ability to step out of the lecture role into that of a facilitator. Collaborative learning is meant to empower the student to find their own answers - with help from a skilled teacher.

Our tech support costs are skyrocketing and we can't get more technology programs until we can figure out how to support all of it. How can GenYES help with this?

GenYES students are the answer to this dilemma. It is a simple fact that using traditional methods of tech support, the support budget will go up at the same rate as the whole technology budget. The only way to change this is to find support solutions that are more cost effective, or to reduce the demand on those support systems. GenYES does both. The students can answer simple questions to supplement your tech support personnel, leaving them free for more important duties.

How many GenYES classes have there been?

Since the beginning of the grant, over 2,500 GenYES classes have been held, in nearly every state in the United States, Washington D.C., and the Virgin Islands. GenYES has been successful in urban, rural and suburban schools, private and public, large and small.

Can I speak to a teacher who has done GenYES?

Yes. Contact the Generation YES office and we can put you in touch with a veteran GenYES teacher. (Click here). Also check the Events page on this web site for conferences or student showcases in your area.

Can I see GenYES in action?

Yes. Give us a call and we can arrange a visit with a GenYES class near you or a tour of the online tools.

GENERATION YES

Youth & Educators Succeeding

Frequently Asked Questions About GenYES - FAQs

Is GenYES the same as Gen WHY, Generation www.Y, Generation Y, and Gen Y?