GENERATION YES

GenYES - A Proven Model for School-wide Technology Integration

Introduction

GenYES began as a federal Technology Innovation Challenge Grant in the Olympia school district in Washington State in 1996. The vision was to include students in the effort to infuse technology into curriculum in every K-12 classroom. The program is not only still going strong in Olympia, but has spread to hundreds of schools throughout the country and around the world.

The Model

The heart of the program is a GenYES class or club. In GenYES, students not only learn technology skills, but also crucial 21st century skills, such as planning and collaboration. They learn how to help teachers integrate technology into their lessons, how to use school technology, and how to provide tech support. GenYES students team with teachers throughout the school and plan a lesson or learning resource that can be enriched by technology. The projects that the GenYES student and their partner-teacher create are used in the partner-teacher's classroom. As the project comes together, the partner-teacher gets technology support they need when and where they need it - in their classroom.

The result is an authentic project-based learning experience for the students and sustainable technology professional development for the teachers. This powerful model has been refined and proven in real classrooms around the world.

Only GenYES Offers:

• Proven Results - The GenYES model has been implemented over 1,000 schools over 12 years in 47 states and around the world--and continues to expand.
• Exemplary Model - The U.S. Department of Education's Expert Panel on Educational Technology has rated only one model of professional development as exemplary - GenYES
• Supported by Scientific Research - GenYES is one of the most well-researched educational technology programs in history. The Northwest Regional Education Laboratory (NWREL) has provided eleven years of external evaluation.
• Rigorous Technology Skills - GenYES students in grades 4 to 12 learn technology skills aligned both to the ISTE NETS for Students and Texas TEKS standards.
• Online tools - Innovative tools for student projects and tech support support every GenYES school.
• Curriculum for the 21st Century - Students learn the latest technology used in schools, including blogs, web technology, podcasts, handhelds and more.
• Standards Alignment - Student-teacher teams participating in GenYES produce technology infused lessons aligned to local and state standards.
• Student Empowerment - The GenYES model is the only model of professional development that involves students as equal partners in their own learning.

Flexible

GenYES has been delivered in almost any conceivable school setting. From Native American villages in Alaska, to all secondary schools in the Virgin Islands, to remote towns in Wyoming, and to schools in urban empowerment zones in Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and Washington DC. Generation YES staff members can work with your unique school situation to help you successfully implement the GenYES model.

• Grades 4-12
• Works with your existing hardware, network, and software
• Class or club
• Extensive resources meet your unique needs

Cost Effective

More for your money - Online courses, teacher workshops, and college courses can be expensive and the results of such training have never produced the desired level of technology use among teaching staff. GenYES is a "train the trainer" model that trains students to provide onsite, immediate and in-classroom training to teachers. As part of the training students receive, they collaborate with teachers to produce REAL lessons that are assessed and improved upon for future use. As GenYES graduates multiply in your school and district they become a powerful force for change.

Return on Investment (ROI) - Implementing a GenYES program in your school will build a community of technology users at the school site level. This can save the district technology budget for more important training and support needs.

Permanent site license - Generation YES provides all the pieces of the program for one low price. GenYES provides authentic learning for students and sustainable professional development for teachers now and in the future.

• Consultation with your school to tailor the program to your unique situation
• GenYES teacher training
• All student and teacher materials
• Access to the online reporting and project management tools - unlimited class and student accounts
• Online student-run help desk for entire school
• Unlimited toll-free phone and online access to GenYES mentors
• Pre and post-evaluation summary reports validated by NWREL

Perfect Match to No Child Left Behind Title II D (EETT) Funding

• Emphasis on Proven Projects - No other model of technology infusion and professional development has been show to be more effective than GenYES.
• Emphasis on Professional Development - 25% of allocated funds must be used for professional development activities. GenYES is primarily a professional development model.
• Aligned to Standards - GenYES students learn technology skills aligned to the ISTE NETS for Students and GenYES projects are all aligned to state and local academic standards.

Why Involve Students?

Students represent more than 90% of the K-12 education population, and they likely possess 95% of the technology expertise in the school. Unquestionably, they are 100% of the reason that schools exist. However, they are often left out of the equation when we plan, discuss and implement educational reforms. There is no question that the technology innovations of the last several decades have not been integrated into most schools in a way that satisfies anyone. Why is this so? We believe that it is because the largest group of stakeholders in the process has been ignored - the students.

The question is how to harness the students' technology expertise and at the same time, expand their learning opportunities. This scaffolding method, of taking what a student already knows, and building on it, is one of the basic tenets of education, and has been proven time and again in research and in practice. How to take this theory and make a real working model out of it is the secret of GenYES.

Having students help out with technology is not a new idea... but that's why GenYES works. It's not some alien process, it's something that teachers do everyday in an informal way. But GenYES takes that to the next level. It makes that help measurable, replicable, and sustainable. It is about building a powerful force of students who believe that they are improving education. GenYES student projects are authentic, meaningful improvements to the school technology goals - because the students understand the school technology plan, and are taught how to use technology to improve learning. These projects empower the student to participate in their own learning, and impact the learning of other students. Students are part of the school-wide goals of infusing technology into the school, and therefore become full stakeholders in the process.

Generation YES - A Unique Company

Generation YES is not a subsidiary of a large company. We care about students, teachers, and learning - not our stock price. Generation YES exists to provide services to schools to tap into the power of their own students to provide solutions to problems facing them as they infuse technology to improve student learning.

Generation YES is led by Dr. Dennis Harper. Dr. Harper has been an international leader in the educational technology field for more than 35 years. He wrote the first college text on computer education, RUN: Computer Education while a faculty member at the University of California. Dr. Harper taught in universities around the world and has been instrumental in bringing the first computers into schools in numerous countries. Working with teachers and students around the world led Dr. Harper to develop the GenYES model.

YES: Youth and Educators Succeeding - We believe in this. The Generation YES staff is made up of students and teachers who have years of experience with real schools and classrooms. We collaborate with you to find the path to success that works for you.

<More on the history and philosophy of Generation YES>

Want to Know More?

Click on the links on the left menu (scroll up) to read about GenYES research, curriculum, and more. If you have questions about GenYES, please use our web contact form or give us a call.

Back to Top