From the SJUSD website:

“The core of GenYes is the establishment of collaborative partnerships between students and teachers, with the express purpose of facilitating the integration of modern digital technologies in the practices of teaching.  GenYes is well suited to meeting the needs of middle school students because it provides them with the opportunity to engage in their own learning.  Expectations in the GenYes classroom are high and students and teachers come to see each other as capable partners.  GenYes students also learn sets of skills relevant to project planning and implementation, as well as communication, that form the core of complex thinking skills which are critical in both today’s learning and workforce environment.

The GenYes experience involves a wide range of technical, academic, cognitive and social skills.  Students are expected to become proficient and critical consumers and producers of education technology as well as use these skills to help teachers improve their personal and classroom use of educational technology. This requires a strong understanding of technology tools and then the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with someone who may have a different point of view. When building collaborative projects, students must understand the needs of the partner-teacher, frame problems productively, seek out appropriate tools and information, then plan and manage their time and work in order to accomplish a discrete project within a specified timeline. Additionally, GenYes students, through working with their partner-teachers, develop an appreciation of sound pedagogical practice, including: the identification of learning objectives; the consideration of assessment strategies, and the alignment of projects with state academic content standards.”

The page explains how GenYES is part of their well-rounded approach to technology integration. Besides GenYES, San Juan provides a wide range of teacher professional development, from on-site coaching to ongoing workshops and summer institutes, plus hardware and software.

We are really proud of the teachers and students who make GenYES happen in San Juan schools, and the administrators who support and encourage technology use with such a holistic approach!
Sylvia

By the way, this money is in addition to the funding that will be in the regular budget, currently $269M. You can’t exactly add those two numbers up, as they cover different time periods, but any way you slice it, this is a lot of money coming — and really soon. (Anyone interested in following this at a federal level should subscribe to Hilary Goldmann’s blog at the ISTE Connects website.)

The hope is that by using existing EETT mechanisms and rules, this money will quickly make its way to states, and then out to districts and service centers, creating or saving jobs and expanding technology-enhanced learning opportunities for all.

Ready, Get Set…. GO!
The key word there is quickly – so the time to get ready is NOW. The next few weeks should see a flurry of information as state education departments decide exactly how to do this. If you’ve been saying… gee, if we only had the money… this is your chance. Dust off those grant proposals, call consortium partners, and watch your state ed tech department closely — because this will happen FAST.

Now comes the shameless promotion — GenYES and TechYES have been the basis of hundreds of successful EETT projects. If you are looking at the power of technology to empower students, support teachers, and create a culture of shared ownership of learning at your school, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel or design your own curriculum from scratch.

GenYES is a curriculum and online toolset for student technology teams, either in a class or after school. GenYES students in grades 4-12 learn technology skills, project and collaboration skills, so they can teach teachers, do tech support, and share their technology skills with their school and community. GenYES combines the passion of youth for technology, the benefits of service-learning, support for teachers in their own classrooms, and provides all the resources to get a program up and running quickly. GenYES includes an online help desk where teachers can request help from a GenYES student – whether that help is to hook up a projector or plan a technology infused lesson. The really good news is that the EETT can fully fund GenYES, permanently.

TechYES and TechYES Science are project-based student technology literacy certification programs. Printed and online materials guide students in grades 6-9 through the project-process, allowing students to show technology literacy with real world projects, either academic or personal. One of the NCLB goals is that all students achieve technology literacy by grade 8. TechYES offers a way to meet that goal using a project-based philosophy, because you can’t really show technology literacy through a multiple choice test. (TechYES in Action video)

But whatever approach you take to the EETT funding, I hope you consider putting the emphasis on classroom technology that enhances the student experience, allows students control and ownership of their own learning, and gives teachers professional development that transcends old “sit and get” models.

Sylvia

This time I’m headed for the New York State education technology conference NYSCATE in Rochester, NY November 23-25, 2008. I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones, most likely at Dinosaur BBQ.

If you are going to NYSCATE, be sure to check out these sessions:

NYSSTL –Technology Leadership for the 21st Century
Sunday, 1:45PM Stacy Ward
Learn how the HFM and WSWHE BOCES have created the New York State Student Technology Leaders (NYSSTL) Club in 30 middle schools. Students help their teachers learn to use technology and their classmates prove their tech literacy, creating a community of 21st century learning in our schools.

Where Teachers Learn, Where Teachers Teach
Monday, 10:45AM Sylvia Martinez
For many teachers, technology professional development happens outside the classroom and never crosses the doorstep into the classroom. This session will explore two models of professional development that cross that barrier: classroom embedded and student-led professional development.

Little Green Monsters: The XO and Its Implication For Education
Tuesday 10:30AM Brian C. Smith, Sylvia Martinez, Dr. Gary Stager
The XO low cost laptop was designed to revolutionize education in the developing world. The panel will discuss the lessons we can gain from this learning initiative and the implications for the future of education. We will also explore why such a simple idea has created such controversy.

By the way, I’m happy to have someone record, live blog, or ustream my sessions IF you can come and do it. It’s just too hard to do it AND present.

After that, it’s back to New York City for a family/friends Thanksgiving, and then some workshops in Brooklyn. More about that later!

Sylvia

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We are in booth 906 in the exhibit hall.

Dennis Harper will be speaking about TechYES. TechYES is a model of performance-based student technology literacy certification. Students can meet ISTE NETs standards for technology litearcy with projects for any subject area.

Meeting the NCLB Technology Literacy Mandate – Keeping it Real, Research-based, and Relevant - Thursday, February 28, 2008, 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm.

Sylvia