Generation YES

New York State Student Technology Leaders (NYSSTL)

The New York State Student Technology Leaders (NYSSTL) prepares New York students to become technology leaders and mentors in their own schools. NYSSTL is a project of the HFM BOCES, WSWHE BOCES, and Generation YES, funded by a federal grant from the New York State Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program.

NYSSTL provides a proven, cost-effective model to:

Ensure all 8th grade students are technology literate
Provide quality onsite support for teachers integrating 21st century technologies into their lessons
Empower students to become future leaders

These goals are met by leveraging the talent and enthusiasm of students to become partners and leaders in a 21st century learning revolution.

Students in NYSSTL schools show their technology literacy through projects assisted by specially trained peer mentors in their own schools. These Student Technology Leaders (STLs) work with peers and teachers to improve the use of technology in every classroom and subject area in their schools. NYSSTL schools use both the TechYES and GenYES programs from Generation YES to support the student teams and on-site teachers.

NYSSTL History
The Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery (HFM) BOCES and the Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex (WSWHE) BOCES in New York were awarded a two-year EETT grant in 2007 to establish a pilot for a statewide New York State Student Technology Leaders (NYSSTL) program for all New York elementary and secondary schools. HFM and WSWHE BOCES partnered with the Generation YES to complete the project with all middle schools in 25 districts covering eight New York counties. In 2009, NYSSTL was awarded an expansion grant to extend the model to additional New York districts. Now in its fourth year, NYSSTL serves 52 districts, 72 schools, and more than 40,000 students throughout New York schools in rural, suburban and urban settings.

The NYSSTL Model
NYSSTL began in middle schools and is currently expanding to high schools with elementary schools thereafter. To begin the NYSSTL program, selected students attended a week-long summer tech camp to learn technology, mentoring and leadership skills.

Back in school, these NYSSTL Student Technology Leaders (STLs) lead technology literacy mentoring sessions and workshops for their peers. STLs collaborate with an on-site technology teacher to work with an entire grade level of students - usually 6th or 7th grade. STLs assist these students as they work to complete technology-infused projects and achieve the TechYES student technology literacy certification.

As time goes on and more Student Technology Leaders are recruited, their role expands from peer mentoring to providing technology support for teachers. Students who join their school's STL team can choose to contribute by:

Providing tech support
Creating technology infused projects for teachers
Mentoring peers in technology

By providing this wide range of support for school technology, STLs greatly increase quality technology integration at a school site in all classrooms and subjects.

Technology Literacy
In NYSSTL middle schools, Student Technology Leaders help their classmates prove that they are technology literate. To meet the No Child Left Behind requirement that all students are technology literate by the end of middle school, all 6th or 7th graders in NYSSTL schools create two original, creative technology projects that demonstrate technology skills. Each student receives a TechYES Student Guide, which takes them through the nationally recognized TechYES process of building real-world projects that meet national standards for technology literacy. Online tools and curriculum support this process and assist with project evaluation and scoring. Proficiency scores for each project can be tracked for individual students or districts, with customizable reports easily available directly from the NYSSTL portal.

At the end of the year, each student who has successfully completed two projects receives a TechYES Certificate as proof of their technology literacy skills -- critical building blocks for success in school and life in the 21st century.

Teacher Support
NYSSTL schools also take part in GenYES, the federally rated "exemplary" technology integration program that trains students to take the lead in bringing technology into the nation’s classrooms. In GenYES, teachers request student help with Technology Assistance Projects (TAPs) using the provided online help desk tools and management system. The Student Technology Leaders learn technology skills, plus collaboration and communication skills for working with teachers. The STLs come up with fun, educational ways to help teachers teach using technology.

NYSSTL student leaders have built classroom websites for teachers, presented to a board of education about technology, and created multimedia lesson resources for teachers, to name just a few. Teachers in NYSSTL schools get one-on-one technology lessons and support from student leaders when and where they need it - in the classroom. By helping teachers, STLs learn about education and are empowered to continue to make valuable contributions to their own learning community. Most importantly, all the students in these schools are more engaged by the technology-infused lessons created by their peers.

Visit the NYSSTL website for more NYSSTL news and project samples.

NYSSTL Advisor Leanne Granjean talks about the impact of Student Tech Leaders in her school (Granville, NY)

Download the NYSSTL Fact Sheet for more information about joining NYSSTL (PDF)

Authentic Assessment and Reports
TechYES projects show what students know and can do in real life, not on a standardized test that disrupts learning. Online assessment tools allow teachers to assess technology proficiency aligned to national technology standards (ISTE NETS-S).
Easy-to-read reports show student, school, district and state scores plus links to projects. Customized reporting tools give schools and district maximum flexibility to meet reporting requirements while promoting authentic learning with technology.

Evaluation
Independent evaluation of NYSSTL has documented thousands of students meeting technology standards and hundreds of teachers learning technology skills and collaborating with students to produce valuable resources for their classes.

A January 2010 evaluation report conducted by Research by Design (2010) showed that student technology leaders assisted their peers to ensure they were technology literate. The research compared academic achievement scores on New York State standardized tests in STL schools.

The research concluded, "Most participating schools improved with more students achieving level 3 and level 4 (passing) from 2007 to 2009. In addition, when statistically comparing 2009 certified students’ math test scores with 2008 certified students’ math test scores, significant differences were noted. This finding suggests that the certification process has created an environment of vigorous learning and that the NYSSTL initiative evokes an enthusiasm in learning that becomes cumulative over time."

For more information on NYSSTL or to find out how to join NYSSTL