Ten Things Everyone Should Know about Today’s Students and Digital Learning

Julie Evans
@JulieEvans_PT
CEO, Project Tomorrow
March 22, 2015
TenThings
Everyone
Should
Know about
Today’s
Students
and Digital
Learning

(c) Project Tomorrow 2015
Today’s Discussion:
 Introduction to Project Tomorrow and
the Speak Up Research Project
 Countdown of “Ten Things” about
students & digital learning
 Fact vs. Fiction quiz
 Your ideas/comments/questions
Copy of presentation?
Sign up on sheets or email: jevans@tomorrow.org

ProjectTomorrow, a national
education nonprofit organization
Programs:
• Research & evaluation studies
• STEM education programs
• Advocacy for digital learning
Mission: To ensure that today’s
students are prepared to become
tomorrow’s leaders, innovators and
engaged citizens of the world.

Annual national research project
 Using online surveys + focus groups
 Surveys for: K-12 Students,Teachers, Parents,
Administrators, Community Members
 Special: Pre-ServiceTeachers in Schools of Education
 Open for all K-12 schools and schools of education
 Schools, districts & colleges receive free report with
their own data
Inform policies, plans & programs
 Local: your stakeholder data
 State: state level data
 Federal: national findings
Speak Up National Research Project
4 million
surveys since
2003

 Learning & Teaching with Technology
 College and career ready skills
 Students’ Career Interests in STEM
 Professional Development / Teacher Preparation
 Internet Safety / Data Privacy Issues
 Administrators’ Challenges / Bandwidth Capacity
 Emerging Technologies both in & out of the Classroom
 Mobile Devices, Online Learning, Digital Content, E-texts
 Educational Games, Social Media tools and applications
 Flipped Classroom, Print to Digital, Online Assessments
 Designing the Ultimate School/Classroom
Speak Up survey question themes

K-12 Students 431,231
Teachers & Librarians 44,289
Parents (in English & Spanish) 35,337
School/District Administrators/Tech Leaders 4,324
Community Members 6,656
About the participating schools & districts
o 8,216 schools and 2,676 districts
o 30% urban / 40% rural / 30% suburban
o All 50 states + DC + Guam + DODEA schools
Speak Up 2014 national participation: 521,846

Why do schools and districts participate in
Speak Up?
.
 Power of local data
 Use data as input for planning
 To justify budget and purchasing decisions
 Inform new initiatives – as an evaluation tool
 As a tool to engage parents
 Use for grant writing and fund development
 Content for professional development
 As a competitive tool
 To counteract myths or wrong assumptions

Commonly heard education mythology
“New teachers don’t need any training in how to use
technology within teaching”
“Kids only want to use mobiles so that they can
text & play games in class”
“Parents won’t accept online textbooks”
“Online learning undercuts the role of the teacher.”
“There is so much great content online for teachers to use in the
classroom – so, what is the problem?”
“Just put technology XYZ in the classroom and magically students
will learn more!”

“Knowing it and seeing
it are two different
things.”
Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay

“Without data, you
are just another
person with an
opinion …

“Without data, you are just another
person with an opinion …
Introducing the Speak Up
data about students & digital
learning to inform your district
plans and opportunities

 Students function as a “Digital Advance Team”
 Students regularly adopt and adapt emerging
technologies for learning
 Students’ frustrations focus on the unsophisticated use
of technologies within education
 Persistent digital disconnect between students and
adults
 Exacerbation of lack of relevancy in current education
 Students want a more personalized learning
environment
What have we learned over the past 11 years?

Social–based learning
Un–tethered learning
Digitally–rich learning
Students & Digital Learning
Personalized
Learning
Student Vision for Digital Learning

1. Not learning the
right skills in school to
be successful
2. Needing more than a
college degree to get a
good job
3. Competing with better
educated workers
around the globe
4. Not doing as well
financially as us

o Gaining work experience 80%
o Using technology in classes 74%
o Participating in leadership activities 63%
o Participating in sports/academic teams 62%
o Learning a second language 58%
o Taking advanced math/science classes 58%

o I wish my classes were more interesting 70%
o I often get bored in class 52%

I like learning when I control when/how I learn (62%)

I would learn more if more tech was used (44%)

I would learn more if more tech was used (44%)
Teachers are important to my learning (71%)

TopTenThings Everyone Should Know about
Today’s Students and Digital Learning
Views of 430,000 K-12 Students

Afternoon Quiz:

What do you know about
students’ digital learning?
 Majority of students are Facebook regulars
 Students’ #1 frustration with school technology is
the school filters and firewalls
 Students say that the tablet is the perfect mobile
device to do most academic tasks
 Elementary age girls are not interested in
learning computer programming
Are these statements fact or fiction?

Mobile Devices

42%
46%
68%
82%
49%
51%
46%
51%
56%
60%
56%
38%
30%
29%
26%
17%
Gr K-2
Gr 3-5
Gr 6-8
Gr 9-12
Digital Reader Tablet Laptop Smartphone
Students’ personal access to mobile devices

Students’ use of mobile devices to support learning
58% of high school students say the use their
smartphone to support learning while at school
 49% use mobile apps for learning
 47% take photos of assignments or text book
pages
 52% text classmates about schoolwork questions
 17% text their teachers with questions also!

Importance of mobile device access
How important is it for every student to be
able to use a mobile device in school to
support schoolwork?
Gr 6-8 students 75%
Gr 9-12 students 74%
MS/HS principals 86%
District administrators 84%

Internet

Home internet access
Type of access Urban Suburban Rural Title 1
Fast, broadband
access
50% 51% 45% 45%
Access through
mobile device plan
43% 46% 44% 43%
No or slow access 14% 15% 17% 18%
Students in grades 6-8 nationwide:

Concerns about Internet usage
Students in grades 6-8 nationwide:
Plagiarism or cheating 45%
Too much time online 44%
Sharing too much personal info 34%
Cyber-bullying 31%
Student personal school data shared 25%

Social Media

 Majority of students are Facebook
regulars
Is this fact or fiction?

Social media:
tools to connect, collaborate, create
Instagram:
55% of HS students
50% of MS students
Twitter:
35% of students in Gr 6-12
Creating/watching videos:

Massively multi-player
online games (MMOG)
30% of boys in Gr 6-8
Facebook
decrease of +41% since
2007 nationally
Social media:
tools to connect, collaborate, create

Students and social media: tools to connect,
collaborate, create
“All the time” “Never”
16% 28%
22% 44%
33% 26%
40% 4%

Games

.
2007 2013
K-2 students 60% 73%***
Gr 3-5 students 47% 72%***
Gr 6-8 students 40% 55%***
Gr 9-12 students 23% 43%
*** no gender differentiation in frequency of game playing
Who is playing games for learning?

What do students say are the benefits of
playing educational games?
.
Benefits of Games K-2 Gr 3-5 Gr 6-8 Gr 9-12
Helps me
understand
difficult learning
concepts
59% 54% 63% 60%
School would be
more fun
55% 45% 59% 53%
More interested
in the learning
53% 51% 63% 62%
Learn more about
a subject
55% 50% 51% 44%

Use of digital tools for
learning

Current uses of technology
Four types of technology usage by students:
 In school:
o teacher directed
o student self – initiated
 Out of school time:
o supporting schoolwork
o supporting personal learning

Digital Activity
Elementary
School
Grades 3-5
Middle
School
Grades 6-8
High
School
Grades
9-12
Access class information
through online portal 27% 54% 71%
Use Internet services
(Dropbox, Google docs) na 58% 68%
Take tests online 63% 61% 58%
Use online textbooks 16% 39% 42%
Watch teacher created
videos 21% 28% 28%
Students’ Use of Teacher-Facilitated Technology
in the Classroom

Students’ use of digital tools and resources to
self-direct learning, outside of the classroom
Such as:
Watching an online video to learn how to do
something
Playing online games to learn about things that
interest them
Using online writing tools to improve writing
skills
Using social media to learn what others think

How are you using technology outside of
school to learn new things or skills?
“I use technology outside of school mostly for academic
activities. I play a game called total war which explains the
battles/events of a country thousands of years ago. This helps
me learn about history especially when were learning about
Rome, Egypt, and any other country/civilization back then. I
also use technology for websites like Aleks or Khan Academy
or to research things I need to know for school work.”
Middle school student, San Marcos, CA

Obstacles to tech use at
school

 Students’ #1 frustration with school
technology is the school filters and
firewalls

Obstacles to using technology at school?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Can't text
Can't use my own mobile
Can't access social media
Internet is too slow
Teachers limit tech use
Too many rules
Edu websites are blocked
Gr 9-12 Gr 6-8

Aspirations
Different tasks = different
mobile devices

 Students say that the tablet is the
perfect mobile device to do most
academic tasks

“What mobile device I use depends upon the task”
Read a book
or articles?
Take notes in class?
Use social media?
Communicate w/peers & teacher?
Create/watch videos?
Create presentations?
Take online tests?
Write reports?
Different tools for different tasks

Aspirations:
Online & blended learning

Blended learning
Definition:
• Part of the week in a tradition classroom
• Part of the week in online learning
• Student controls time, place, path, pace of learning
63% of students in grades 6-12 say
this would be a good way for them
to learn

Students’ preferences:
1.Math (44%)
2. Science (40%)
3. Computer programming (39%)
4. Video production / Social Studies (37%)
5. English / World Languages (34%)

Policy discussion
Is it important for students to take an online class as
a high school graduation requirement?
Stakeholder group YES
Students – grades 6-8 42%
Students – grades 9-12 30%
Parents 50%
Administrators 59%

Interest in STEM and
computer programming

 Elementary age girls are not
interested in learning computer
programming

Are you interested in a career in a STEM field?
29%
15%
37%
20%
19%
13%
36%
32%
Not interested
No opinion
Somewhat interested
Very interested
Boys Girls

Interest in taking a coding class?
Girls in various grades Yes, I am
interesting in
learning how to
code or program a
computer
Girls –
Grades 3-5
64%
Girls –
Grades 6-8
50%
Girls –
Grades 9-12
37%
Decreasing level of interest –
sweet spot is elementary grades

Aspirations:
My ultimate school
Engaging aspirations:

“Imagine you are designing the
ultimate school for today’s
students, what technologies would
have the greatest impact on
learning?”
Favorite Speak Up Question:
Superintendents & School Boards

.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Online classes
Tablets
E-textbooks
Games
Schoolwide Internet
Principals Teachers Parents Gr 6-8 students
Do we have a shared vision around
digital learning solutions?

Context for why digital
“Customer” knowledge
Input for plans, programs & PD
Community buy-in
Myth busting

Knowing it – and seeing it – can be two
different things … especially when it
comes to students and digital learning

National Speak Up reports and infographics
Targeted and thematic reports
Digital learning trends
Mobile learning & social media
Games in the classroom
Blended learning outcomes
New digital parent series
Presentations, podcasts and webinars
Services: consulting, workshops, evaluation and
efficacy studies
Speak Up 2014 national reports to be
released in April and May
More Speak Up? www.tomorrow.org

Online surveys for:
o K-12 students
o Parents – English and Spanish
o Teachers and Librarians/Media Specialists
o School Site & District Administrators
o Technology Leaders
o Community Members
Participate in Speak Up 2015!
All districts are
invited to
participate
Surveys open
Oct – Dec

Your questions, comments, ideas?

Thank you for this conversation!
Julie Evans
jevans@tomorrow.org
949-609-4660 x15
Twitter: JulieEvans_PT and SpeakUpEd
Copyright Project Tomorrow 2015
This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted
for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes,
provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced
materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the
author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written
permission from the author.

Ten Things Everyone Should Know about Today’s Students and Digital Learning

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