Unleashing the Future: Educators "Speak Up" about the Use of Emerging Technologies for Learning. Speak Up 2009 National Findings: Teachers, Aspiring Teachers & Administrators
Author: Project Tomorrow
Date: 2010-05-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Educational Technology,Teaching Methods,Internet,Learning Experience,Elementary Secondary Education,Librarians,Computer Uses in Education,Social Networks,Technology Integration,Teacher Attitudes,Administrator Attitudes,Student Teacher Attitudes,Handheld Devices,Web Based Instruction,Telecommunications,Teacher Collaboration

Technology has enabled students to have greater access to vast array of resources, classes and experts; empowering students to become "Free Agent Learners" who are creating meaningful personalized learning experiences 24/7 outside of the traditional classroom and school structure. In the report "Creating our Future: Students Speak Up about their Vision for 21st Century Learning," Project Tomorrow (2010) outlined compelling evidence that students are using technology to take responsibility for their own learning, often times bypassing traditional educational settings. As "Free Agent Learners," students use technology to personalize their learning experience to meet their individual learning styles and interests. Students, however, are also interested in incorporating these types of learning experiences in their classroom. The students shared a vision for 21st century learning that includes these three essential elements: (1) Social-based learning; (2) Un-tethered learning; and (3) Digitally-rich learning. With the Speak Up Project in 2009, the researchers endeavored to better understand how educators are responding to students' interest in a new paradigm for learning and how they may already be leveraging technology to facilitate digitally-rich learning environments where students have opportunities to learn collaboratively, with classmates or experts, anytime or anywhere. This report explores the views of teachers, principals and future teachers collected during Speak Up 2009 and highlights how they use, and aspire to use, emerging technologies for teaching and learning. Speak Up 2009 reveals that the effective integration of technology within instruction is important to both district administrators and principals. Overwhelmingly, over 90 percent agree that the effective implementation of instructional technology is important/extremely important to their mission. In fact, over one-half of district administrators report that the use of technology within instruction is one of their most significant challenges; the type that is most likely "to wake them up in the middle of the night." In response to this priority, district administrators are beginning to build an infrastructure that will enable teachers (and students) to create socially-based, un-tethered,digitally rich learning environments. Supporting this vision, the top technology tools that administrators believe have the greatest potential to enhance student achievement include: collaboration and communications tools, mobile computers (such as laptops and netbooks) for every student, online classes, campus wide Internet access, digital media tools and interactive whiteboards. (Contains 3 tables and 4 figures.)