Project Tomorrow has released a report with the results from its annual Speak Up survey which asks K-12 students, parents, teachers, and administrators their opinions on education, technology, 21st-century skills, schools of the future, and math and science instruction. According to the report, this year’s data continues to show that there is a significant digital disconnect between students and teachers/administrators and as a result “K-12 students are increasingly taking responsibility for their own learning, defining their own education path through alternative sources, and feeling not just a right but a responsibility for creating personalized learning experiences.” Outside of the classroom students are actively taking online classes to learn more about a subject, accessing podcasts and videos for additional learning opportunities, seeking help from other students via Facebook, and taking online assessments to evaluate their knowledge on a particular topic.
One interesting section of the report focuses on online textbooks and how students responded when asked to design the ultimate online textbook. The student responses showed that they want textbooks that are similar to the online tools and applications that they use outside of school. The responses focused on three themes including: students want their online textbooks to be interactive and up-to-date, the textbooks should have tools that facilitate collaboration, and students want to use the textbooks to personalize learning.
This report is the first in a series of reports that will be created with the 2009 Speak Up data.
