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2019 Congressional Briefing
National Release of Speak Up 2018-19 data findings
We must continue to support and invest in our students as they work to gain the skills needed to be competitive in this 21st century economy. As a Math major myself, I’m encouraged to see more and more young people pursuing STEM education. I applaud the work that Project Tomorrow does nationwide to ensure our students have what they need to be successful in the future and are prepared to compete and contribute in a global economy.
– Tammy Baldwin, United States Senator for Wisconsin
On October 23, 2019 Project Tomorrow released the briefing paper “Digital Learning: Peril or Promise for Our K-12 Students” at a Congressional Briefing held in Washington, DC and online in a special live stream of the event. Dr. Julie A. Evans, Project Tomorrow CEO, discussed selected national findings from the Speak Up 2018-19 brief and moderated a panel discussion with students about their views on the impact of technology on their lives.
To share the Speak Up 2018-19 national findings, Project Tomorrow plans to create a series of briefing papers and infographics to address key topics in the effective use of technology to enable new learning experiences and empower educational effectiveness.
In this year’s national briefing paper, we examine the important topic of the peril vs. promise value proposition for digital learning through a three-part analysis of the authentic feedback collected from over 343,500 K-12 students, parents, teachers and administrators during the 2018-19 school year. While the Speak Up findings cover a broad set of issues relative to the challenges and benefits associated with innovative learning environments, we have identified key findings associated with these three leading questions to inform this discussion:
- Beyond educator assumptions or aspirations, and isolated examples of innovation, how are digital tools, resources and content actually being used by the average student today to support learning, both in school and out of school?
- How do the majority of educators, parents and students define the value or impact of those digital learning experiences?
- Given how the digital tools are being used, and the values ascribed to those technology-supported experiences, what are the real-world concerns of today’s educators and parents that should be addressed to better understand the peril vs. promise dichotomy in our schools and communities?
Over 100 people attended the Congressional Briefing including congressional staff members, student and staff representatives from some of our Speak up schools, and staff from many of our sponsors, champion outreach partners and non-profit partners.
Students and Educators from Fairfax County Public Schools (VA), and Prince William County Schools (VA) shared their insights regarding their daily digital learning experiences.
View Presentation:
