Generation Y Shows Success In Technology Integration Across the Nation
In the September 2004 issue of Access Learning (from Cable in the Classroom), several Gen Y classes were profiled in an article titled, Teacher's Helpers, by Ed Hazell. Several Generation Y collaboration projects were prominently featured, showing the power of students to improve education through technology.

Another Year of Exemplary Gen Y Projects
Every year, Generation Y students around the world create ever more powerful projects that integrate technology in the classroom. This year was no exception!

To celebrate another successful year of great Generation Y projects we have created a CD of exemplary student projects from across the country. You can receive the 2002-2003 CD for free, right here. The 2003-2004 CD is still in production and will be given to every new Generation Y student. Three projects from the CD are listed below:

Alexae at St. Joe Ogden High School in Illinois partnered with a Biology teacher to create a web quest. When the students went through the web quest, they used forms on a web page to submit their answers to guiding questions. At the completion of the project, Alexae remarked that, "Another good memory I had in Gen Y would be getting to know Mrs. Kietzman. She is such a nice teacher and always is caring about others".

Kamie at Center Point Middle School in Texas partnered with a Health teacher. They created a movie to help explain healthy eating and exercising habits. Kamie then went on to create an interactive PowerPoint activity the students could use to identify healthy foods and exercises. Like many Gen Y students, Kamie gained confidence in herself and her abilities. She sums it up best when commenting that "The best memory I had in Gen Y was meeting my partner teachers and talking to them about what we wanted to do. I was so nervous when I first went to talk to them, but now it feels nice to be around them".

Shannon at High Point Elementary in Maryland created digital flash cards and an interactive PowerPoint presentation to help her partner teacher teach students how to count. Shannon even tracked the student's progress with a spreadsheet as they spent two weeks using her project. Shannon may have created a great project, but she ran into some problems along the way. "My worst Gen Y memory was when Sami and I were printing. The printer was stubborn and it only printed the same page over and over".

NECC 2004 - TechYES is Launched!
Everyone is back in the office after a very exciting week in New Orleans at the National Educational Computers Conference (NECC). It was a "hot" conference, with over 17,000 attendees basking in 93 degree, 93% humidity weather! But we think the hottest thing about the conference was the excitement and enthusiasm of everyone who was there.

Thanks to everyone who came by the booth to say hello - we love seeing everyone from Gen Y schools, hearing the great stories about students and meeting new people. We hosted 4 Gen Y students from Hudson Falls, New York and one from Olympia, Washington who participated in the NECC Student Showcase.

Last but not least, our new product, TechYES - Student Technology Literacy Certification, was given a rousing introduction at the conference and we handed out over 1,000 sample Student Guides. We hope that the enthusiasm we heard about the colorful student guides and the comprehensive implementation guide will continue! Click here for more details on TechYES.

If you missed NECC this year, we hope you can come and see us as we do trainings and conferences in the upcoming months. Check the calendar here.

Students Connect from Maryland to Taiwan
Delmar Elementary School in Delmar, Maryland spent the last school year exchanging emails, videos, and small presents with a school in Da Yaun, Taiwan. This partnership was supported through a fifth grade Generation Y student's project with her partner teacher. The Mandarin Daily News in Taiwan found out about the exchange and ran a story on it.

Patti Weeg, the Generation Y teacher, is an example for us all. This is only her second year teaching Generation Y, but she continuously inspires her students to create exemplary projects. We expect to see even more great things from Patti in the future.

You can see a larger image of the newspaper here.

School Merges the Past With the Present
La Pointe Elementary School's Generation Y class delved into their local farming history and recorded their findings through technology. The third to fifth grade students created a movie documentary that interviews local residents, a PowerPoint presentation, and a web site. The efforts of the Gen Y class was noticed and reported by a local newspaper, the County Journal. You can read the article here.

Apple Learning Interchange Features Gen Y Project
Sean Connolly, a Generation Y student, created a project that was not only selected for the Generation Y Student Projects CD (a copy is given to every Generation Y student), but was even featured on the Apple Learning Interchange, an online showcase of technology integrated lessons.

Sean Connolly is a tenth grade student at Hudson Falls High School in Hudson Falls, NY and has participated in a Generation Y class taught by Ms. Layden. He partnered with history teacher Mr. Matthew Rozell to create a project: WWII Living History: Using Digital Video to Appreciate Veterans. You can see his project on the Apple Learning Interchange here.

Wisconsin�s CESA 7 Finds Gen Y Helps get Teachers Working with Technology
The regional service center near Green Bay, Wisconsin (CESA 7) writes in its newsletter that Generation Y lets them integrate technology to improve student learning in ways that work for teachers, students, and tech leaders. Check out the newsletter article CESA 7 sent to all their schools.