The E-rate program, formally called The universal service Schools and Libraries Program, helps eligible U.S. schools to obtain affordable telecommunications and internet access. This year the need for such access is greater than ever, with the spike in remote learning due to Covid-19. But the requirements and paperwork may be daunting for overworked school administrators. Funds For Learning provides consulting services to guide school administrators in every aspect of e-rate compliance. 

In an effort to understand how E-rate funding can best serve modern needs of applicants and deliver feedback to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Funds For Learning has opened its 10th annual survey of E-rate applicants. The survey arrives as Congress assesses the need for additional funds to support remote learning.  

E-rate applicants are invited to submit anonymous responses from now until July 3, 2020. Survey response data inform key policymakers and administrative members in maintaining the value of the E-rate program, and adapting funding to meet stakeholder needs.  

“Keeping individuals connected to the internet has never been more important, as recent events have so poignantly demonstrated,” said John Harrington, CEO at Funds For Learning. “It’s essential that leaders and decision makers in Washington D.C. hear from applicants, and our survey is an opportunity to submit feedback easily and confidentially.”  

Over the course of the survey’s 10-year history, the E-rate program has seen an increase in demand and efficiency. This year, the first wave of funding committed following the close of the 2020 filing window was the highest amount ever awarded to applicants.   

Survey results will be shared in the E-rate Trends Report, which is submitted into the official docket for review by FCC staff, circulated to Congress and the media, and shared with the general public.  

Participation in last year’s survey and report was a record high, with 1,763 applicants from every state and territory completing the survey, representing about eight percent of all school and library E-rate applicants nationwide.  

The 2020 E-rate Applicant Survey can be found here. 

The rapid shift to remote learning and the uncertainty of the upcoming fall 2020 K-12 semester leave many school finance questions unanswered. How will widespread unemployment and reduced tax revenues affect school budgets? Will budget priorities shift to support elearning tools? And when will school leaders make critical decisions about spending?

To answer these and other key education spending questions, Interactive Educational Systems Designs, Inc. (IESD), in partnership with MCH Strategic Data, has released a national education market study to share insight into priorities, timing of decision-making and challenges currently driving buying decisions in our country’s schools.  The report, K-12 Education and the Coronavirus Pandemic, includes input from 1,465 education leaders across the U.S., including more than 600 district administrators and more than 800 school principals.  

The study provides statistically significant quantitative data to support immediate and back-to-school planning and decisions for education businesses. The survey report includes recommendations based on IESD’s extensive experience in the education market. 

The study was designed to provide education businesses with reliable data and insights for developing product, marketing, and sales plans for the upcoming school year and beyond. 

Selected Key Findings

• With the vast majority of respondents (94.8%) indicating that their districts/schools switched to online teaching and learning to complete the 2019-2020 school year, respondents were asked about their 2020-2021 plans for 13 budget items. The most frequent response for each budget item was that they will spend about the same—ranging from 43.4% to 68.1%, depending on the budget item.
• When asked how they were spending the remainder of their 2019-2020 budget due to the coronavirus pandemic, almost half of the respondents (45.0%) said they are spending the remainder, but shifting spending to changing priorities.
• As for their timeframe for considering purchases for 2020-2021, a majority (57.0%) reported that they have already begun the decision process or will do so by the end of June. The remainder stated they are looking to make decisions over the summer or later in the fall. 

Additional Survey Topics Include:

• Use of video conferencing systems
• Use of free and fee-based supplemental programs and resources
• Who provides professional development and support for distance learning: in-house staff and education resource providers
• Challenges in switching to distance learning
• What customers want most from curriculum and education resource providers
• Instructional planning for 2020-2021

To order the K-12 Education and the Coronavirus Pandemic survey report, as well as data files with cross-tabs for organizations who want to do additional analysis, go to https://payhip.com/b/6MAr.   The cost is $199. Media may request highlights from the survey by emailing kati@kehcomm.com.

Microsoft has cast a look into the future of education as it looks to prepare the classrooms of tomorrow with the technology they need to thrive.

The computing giant has revealed new research at BETT 2020 today that examines just what the teachers of 2030 will require in terms of technological needs.

With millennials and Generation Z set to make up a significant proportion of the teaching workforce by 2030, the needs of students and teachers alike are set to change, and Microsoft wants to be in pole position.

Advanced

Microsoft’s study surveyed over a thousand new and early-career teachers around the world in an attempt to work out their needs, but also looked to drill into just what technology can do for the educators of tomorrow.

The company found that technology is set to play an increasingly vital role in the classroom of the future, both in terms of enabling learning but also enriching the student and teacher experiences.

The study found that the largest benefits of education technology were seen as allowing more engaging learning experiences (chosen by 36 percent of the participants), enabling self-directed learning (31 percent) and preparing students for the tech-centric job market (30 percent).

However there were also some concerns surrounding the use of technology in the classroom, with 36 percent of respondents saying they feared it could lead to a loss of traditional skills and knowledge, such as handwriting. 34 percent were worried that students already spent too much time on devices already, and 28 percent said that the technology could be too distracting.

A lack of proper tools was named as the top barrier to achieving positive education outcomes through technology, with inadequate training for teachers on the technology they would be using, and inadequate technical support also ranking highly.

cross posted on www.techradar.com

Mike Moore is News & Features Editor across both TechRadar Pro and ITProPortal. He has worked as a technology journalist for more than five years, including at one of the UK's leading national newspapers. He is interested in hearing about all the latest B2B and B2C news, analysis and opinions, including how companies are using new technology to help forward their work and make their customer's lives easier.

January 15 is the deadline to participate in the CoSN K-12 IT Leadership Survey (in partnership with Forecast5 Analytics). All participants will be entered into a drawing for a $500 Amazon.com Gift Card. 

This survey gathers data on the changing responsibilities of K-12 IT Leaders and other educational technology challenges. The results of this survey provide critical information to K-12 leaders, as well as key policymakers on the state of K-12 technology infrastructure and leadership.

Tomorrow, Forecast5 will be sending a unique survey link to every district’s point of contact. district leaders who have not received a link may contact Matt Anderson at Forecast5 survey@forecast5analytics.com.

The recent Gallup report “Education Technology Use in Schools” shows what all of us reading Tech & Learning already knew—everyone wants edtech. NewSchools Venture Fund and Gallup collaborated to survey a sample of 3,210 public school teachers (Pre-K–12) in the US; 1,163 public school principals; 1,219 district-level administrators; and 2,696 public school students (in grades 3–12). 

Key findings include:

Digital learning tools are integral to teaching and learning in and out of school. 

About two-thirds of teachers (65%) say they use digital learning tools to teach every day; 22 percent use them a few days a week, and 13 percent use them once or less per week. More than half of teachers (53%) report that their students use digital learning tools every day to learn. About seven in 10 students report using digital learning tools outside of school for schoolwork at least a few days a week. 

Many teachers would like to use digital learning tools more often to teach. 

About half of all teachers surveyed (53%) say they would like to use digital learning tools to teach more often; 44 percent would like to use them about as often as they use them now. About six in 10 teachers who use digital learning tools a few days per week or less say they would like to use them more often to teach. 

About four in 10 students would like to use digital learning tools to learn more often. 

More teachers (64%), principals (73%), and administrators (66%) than students themselves (42%) say students would like to use digital learning tools more often to learn. 

Educators select digital learning tools that support student learning and meet learning standards. 

Among 15 possible selection criteria, teachers say the following are the most important factors for selecting digital learning tools for use in their classroom: provides immediate and actionable data on students’ progress (35%); allows for personalized instruction based on students’ skill levels (35%); engages students with school and learning (30%); and is easy to use (30%). 

The majority of teachers, principals, and administrators say digital learning tools support content that aligns with state standards or district initiatives. 

Among rated criteria, teachers (53%), principals (51%), and administrators (51%) are most positive about the extent to which digital learning tools support content that aligns with state standards or district initiatives. 

To access the full report, go to: https://tinyurl.com/y3uunxjs

More than 80 percent of teachers and administrators agree education technology accelerates student learning according to Promethean's® 2019 "U.S. State of Technology" survey and report analyzing education technology trends and usage.   

The 1,000-person survey results demonstrate both opportunities and challenges in the field of edtech. While almost all respondents understand edtech's benefits, the data indicate legacy infrastructure, organizational inertia, and competing priorities continue to act as barriers to adoption.

A few data points and trends identified by the survey include: 

• Teachers are ready to use edtech in the classroom, with more than 70 percent indicating they know more about technology than their students.
• More than half of those surveyed believe online content and resources will see the greatest classroom growth in the next five years.
• Most administrators surveyed indicate they evaluate edtech success by level of student engagement, teacher feedback, and overall results.
• Reducing the student achievement gap is a top priority for administrators and teachers alike (57 percent versus 54 percent).

To explore the survey's full results, click here.

Research shows that when students are unable to read proficiently by the end of third grade, they usually struggle throughout their academic career. So the fact that the majority of fourth graders eligible for free or reduced lunches only scored at or below the Basic level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress’ 2017 reading assessment is a matter of serious concern. To identify the instruction most effective at advancing literacy skills for students from low socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds, Lexia Learning, a Rosetta Stone® (NYSE: RST) company, conducted a three-year longitudinal study with students in early elementary grades. The study and its results have been published in the academic peer-reviewed journal Computers in the Schools: Interdisciplinary Journal of Practice, Theory, and Applied Research.

CoSN today released the organization’s long-standing K-12 IT Leadership Survey Report.

According to this year’s findings, cybersecurity is the number one priority for school system technology administrators, and the top challenges facing IT leaders are lack of budget resources, the need for more professional development and removing department silos within their districts. There is also overwhelming consensus among technology leaders that closing the “Homework Gap” is a concern. 

The report was conducted through the support of the Ed-Fi Alliance and in partnership with Forecast5 Analytics and MDR. CoSN issued the new findings at the start of the organization’s 2019 Annual Conference, April 1-4 in Portland, OR. 

The top 10 key findings from the report follow:

1. Cybersecurity is the top priority for IT leaders today.
2. The top three challenges faced by IT leaders for the past three years have remained the same: Budget, Professional Development and Breaking Down Department Silos.
3. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategies are declining in popularity. They are used by only 16 percent of school districts — likely as a result of lower cost devices being introduced to the market.
4. Virtually all IT leaders (95 percent) agree that addressing the Homework Gap is a concern for their district. This is a significant change. Last year, 30 percent of leaders indicated digital equity was not an important issue for their district.
5. Print is not dead. Past predictions have been overly optimistic. For 67 percent of districts, print still comprises at least half of their instructional materials.
6. There is some progress on all areas of interoperability, but only Single Sign-On (SSO) has been fully implemented in more than a quarter of school systems.
7. This survey identifies a number of ways in which IT leaders are looking to be more relevant to teachers and learning, with 75 percent of IT leaders saying it is important to be more responsive to educator IT needs in the classroom.
8. The largest percentage of IT leaders continue to have education backgrounds (40 percent), followed by those with technical backgrounds (35 percent), a growing number from business/management backgrounds (20 percent) and other fields accounting for 3 percent of respondents. 
9. Lack of ethnic and racial diversity in school district IT leadership remains a serious problem in most school systems with no progress since last year. 
10. The percentage of women in school district IT leadership roles has declined in recent years, with 28 percent in leadership roles this year compared to 36 percent in 2016. 

Catapult X, founder of STEMREPORTS.COM, along with MCH Strategic Data, set out to determine where product and market opportunities are in STEAM education through the latest national survey, “National Survey on STEAM Education: Emerging Technology Edition.”

The media version of this report is available for free download at www.stemreports.com while a business and industry edition of the report is available for purchase from Catapult X.

The report highlights findings from almost 3,000 educators and administrators who answered questions about their projected needs for science and STEM education. Educators were able to draw on their knowledge of content, standards, and pedagogy to report which emerging technologies have the most promise and opportunity for them.

Notably, the majority of respondents (61%) noted that STEAM in elementary classrooms is growing – they are either currently implementing or plan to grow its implementation during the next school year.

Another key finding was that a majority of science and STEM educators (74.9%) reported they collaborate with business or industry partners. Most had guest speakers present on science and STEAM careers in their schools, and many work on grants, donations, and sponsorships based on their collaborations with their business or industry partners.

When asked about future innovations, respondents named virtual reality/augmented reality (28%), coding (23%), and biotechnology (16%) as areas where they saw the most promise for student instruction. The following best represents educators’ current implementation of STEAM in the core curriculum: computer science courses (75.9%), project-based learning (75.2%), intro to technology (72.3%), robotics (70.7%), and career and technical education (69.4%).

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) today announced the results of its fourth annual Educator Confidence Report, a survey of more than 1,200 K-12 teachers and school and district administrators, which investigates key issues impacting today’s educators. The survey, created in collaboration with market research and data analytics firm YouGov, explores educator sentiment toward the teaching profession, covering a broad range of topical and emotional drivers such as use of educational technology in the classroom, equity, school safety, funding and more.

Educators reported an upward trend in overall sentiment (53 percent of educators are optimistic about the profession, up 25 percent since our inaugural survey in 2015), citing positive feelings about the following bright spots in their practice: teacher collaboration around student learning (55 percent), a shift in standards toward critical thinking (46 percent) and using data to inform teaching and differentiation (45 percent).

Additional key findings from the fourth annual Educator Confidence Report include:

• 96 percent of educators report they have seen the benefits of using ed tech in the classroom, citing improved student engagement as the number one benefit (63 percent). 
• A solid majority of educators (69 percent) said teacher salaries are a main concern, followed by lack of funding at 60 percent. 
• Ninety-four percent of educators believe that a meaningful connection between teacher and student is the most important aspect of learning. Fifty-three percent, however, worry that today’s growing emphasis on using technology for learning may be coming at the expense of that critical personal relationship. 
• If potential time-savings from ed tech were fully realized, 76 percent of teachers would use that extra time to work more closely with students who need intervention. Fifty-seven percent of teachers would work individually with students, and 52 percent would provide enrichment opportunities. 
• Eighty percent of teachers believe that technology has empowered them to strengthen their teaching practice.  
• Despite having less access to technology overall, teachers in high-poverty schools are more likely to report experiencing improved student achievement from ed tech (41 percent vs. 22 percent of teachers in low-poverty schools). 

To download and read the full report,  visit: https://www.hmhco.com/educator-confidence-report 

A new survey tool is designed to give school leaders better insight into how their school’s use of time aligns with school-wide priorities. The School Time Assessment from UnlockingTime.org (an initiative of scheduling software developer Abl and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which launched this summer) has been piloted in a number of schools and districts, and is launching for free tomorrow to help schools better leverage their class schedules to support student outcomes.

[What’s New]

Riley Johnson, Principal of New Technology High School (a public school in California with a wall-to-wall Project-Based Learning model), has piloted the tool with his entire staff--including teachers, office staff, and classified instructional staff. The insights generated by the survey have enabled him to identify areas in the schedule where teacher professional development and student learning may be in conflict, and to explore alternate scheduling approaches to resolve those conflicts.

Front Row Education’s recent survey of over 3,500 K–8 teachers found that most teachers have students at many different grade levels: 80% of teachers have students at least one grade level behind, 70% have students two grade levels behind, and over a third of teachers have students who are three grade levels behind.

Over 50% of teachers spend between three and five hours planning each week, and 21% spend more than four hours.

An earlier Front Row survey indicates teachers often turn to software to help level this playing field. This 2017 survey asked 2,500 teachers what factors they use when choosing software. The top factors for these decisions were: that the software advances student learning; that it provides information on student progress; that it was easy to use; and that it aligns to Common Core.

For more go to www.techlearning.com/june17

CoSN’s 2016 Annual Infrastructure Survey found that, while schools are making progress increasing broadband connectivity in classrooms, significant hurdles remain. These include:

Affordability
✻ 57 percent said ongoing recurring expenses are the biggest barrier to robust connectivity (up from 46% in 2015).

Lack of Competition
✻ 54 percent of rural district leaders reported that only one provider sells Internet to their district.
✻ 40 percent of rural respondents reported receiving one or fewer qualified proposals for broadband services in 2016. This marks no progress from last year.

Digital Equity
✻ 42 percent ranked lack of broadband access outside of school as a “very high priority.”
✻ Nearly two-thirds, however, said they have no strategies for providing off-campus connectivity to students.

Security
✻ Nearly half spend less than 4 percent of their entire technology budget on security.

Cloud Migration
✻ Approximately 40 percent are considering migrating their server infrastructure to the cloud.
✻ Nearly 60 percent said that learning management systems make up the largest cloud deployment, followed by student information systems.

T&L READER SURVEY DOES YOUR SCHOOL PLAN TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GO OPEN INITIATIVE FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION?

Front Row Education, Inc. recently asked 1,000 K–8 teachers how they’re using social media personally, professionally, and as a communication tool with parents and students. Here are some of their key findings:

■ One in five use social media at least monthly to communicate with students or parents. Google+ is the most widely used platform.

■ 71% use Facebook daily for personal use, 33% use Google+, 32% use Pinterest, 27% use Instagram, and 18% use Twitter.

■ 69% use Pinterest weekly for personal use, and 67% use it weekly for professional purposes.

■ 44% use Facebook weekly for professional purposes (vs. 82% for personal use).

■ 17% of teachers in the West use Google+ daily for professional use (vs. 28% in other regions).

■ Daily Pinterest use for professional purposes is highest in the South (34%) and lowest in the Northeast (20%).

FOR MORE GO TO: HTTP://WWW.TECHLEARNING.COM/SEPTEMBER16

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s second annual Educator Confidence Report examines educator sentiment on a range of issues, including technology use in classrooms, professional learning opportunities, and overall comfort and familiarity with digital learning tools.

Key takeaways from the report include:

● 58% reported a desire for more parent and family engagement

● 84% spend their own money on professional development

● Facebook is the most popular social media tool educators use to communicate with families (although district administrators have a slight preference for Twitter)

● Educators expressed less concern about teacher accountability requirements (50%) compared to last year (63%)

● Concern about meeting the requirements of Common Core/state standards assessments dropped 11 percentage points (from 58% to 47%)

● 39% are administering end-of-year state assessments in a digital format

● Newer teachers (10 or fewer years of experience) use social media to engage with students more often than more experienced educators

● More experienced teachers (11+ years) use tools such as digital whiteboards and online assessments with greater frequency than newer teachers.

FOR MORE GO TO: HTTP://WWW.TECHLEARNING.COM/SEP16

While only two percent of teachers have used VR in the classroom, over 60 percent are interested in making it part of the learning experience, according to research released at ISTE 2016 by Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and GfK.

The survey of more than 1,000 K–12 teachers in the U.S. also found that:

● 86% say that, even with existing technology, it’s a challenge to keep students engaged.

● 93% say their students would be excited to use VR.

● 83% say VR might help improve learning outcomes, including better understanding of concepts (77%), greater collaboration (71%), and motivation (84%).

● Respondents indicated that science (82%), social studies (81%), and history (81%) are the subjects that would most benefit from VR.

The majority of teachers say they could use VR in variety of ways:

● To help students better understand concepts (e.g., watching a video trailer for a book or viewing a chemical reaction) (68%).

● To simulate experiences, such as flying with the Wright Brothers or trading on the floor of a stock exchange (72%).

● To travel to landmarks like Stonehenge or Machu Picchu (69%).

● To visit college campuses to encourage students to pursue higher education (42% of high-school teachers).

The survey also found that millennial teachers are more likely to say they’re “innovators” in the use of classroom technology (79%, compared to 67% of Gen Xers and 57% of Baby Boomers).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE AT SLIDESHARE.NET/SAMSUNGBUSINESSUSA/.

PowerSchool’s national teacher survey, an independent third-party survey of 800 U.S. teachers and administrators, explores educators’ pain points and needs as they relate to educational technology for the classroom.

An overwhelming majority of teachers and administrators agree that:

● Unifying classroom applications would allow them to spend more time teaching (97%)

● It’s important to have a single online interface that shows student performance (96%)

● Personalized learning models need improvement (89%)

BEST PRACTICES MOST IMPORTANT TO TEACHERS

Last spring, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt surveyed 1,000 classroom teachers and school and district administrators nationwide as part of its inaugural Educator Confidence Report. Highlights include:

● 97% of those surveyed use some form of digital content in classrooms.

● 60% said that technology use in the classroom improves student engagement.

● 55% said that technology use in the classroom improves ability for students to access instructional content anytime and anywhere.

● 48% said that technology use in the classroom enables teachers to better deliver differentiated / individualized instruction.

● 23% said students use a laptop / desktop daily to do classwork.

● 58% expressed concern about privacy risks associated with collection and use of student data.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT AT LEARN.HMHCO.COM/ECR2015.

What kind of impact is GAFE having on student learning and teacher instruction? To find out, high-school English teacher Adam Schoenbart designed and implemented a study at Ossining (NY) High School (OHS), surveying both teachers and students about their experiences using GAFE. His key findings include:

● Students are learning from GAFE at OHS, but through a range of different classroom experiences. Students report that only 37% of teachers use the tools regularly and 50% never use GAFE.

● The use of GAFE is growing significantly. Fifty-eight percent of students think teachers are using GAFE more this year and 52% think it’s more important to their learning.

● Some students, and even more teachers, are undecided about GAFE’s impact. Few disagree with the positive benefits, but among teachers there’s an especially large undecided population—an average of 41%.

● More students recognize the positive impact of GAFE when their teachers have received training to implement it in the classroom.

● Only 35% of teachers feel prepared to use GAFE effectively in their classrooms. Both teachers and students report the need for teacher training and opportunities to learn to implement GAFE effectively.

FOR MORE DETAILS, HELPFUL INFOGRAPHICS, AND A LINK TO THE FULL REPORT, GO TO WWW.TECHLEARNING.COM/MARCH16

Results of a recent survey, “Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens,” found that kids spend a lot of time each day with entertainment media (5:55 total hours (tweens)/8:56 total hours (teens)). Other findings included:

● Boys prefer games; girls prefer social media. Every day, teen boys play, on average, about an hour of video games; girls play 7 minutes. Teen girls spend 1:32 hours on social media; boys spend 52 minutes.

● Only 10% of teens say social media is their favorite media pastime, but 45% of them still use it every day.

● 53% of tweens have their own tablets; 67% of teens have smartphones.

● Only 3% of media use is about creating content.

● Only 32% of teens say their parents know what they do online or on social media; only 29% say parents know about the apps they use.

● 54% of teens in low-income homes have laptops; 92% of teens in high-income homes do.

● 51% of teens in low-income homes have smartphones; 78% in high-income homes do.

● Teens from lower-income homes spend 2:45 hours more a day with media than teens from higher-income homes.

New data commissioned by McGraw-Hill Education on parents’ views regarding digital learning in the classroom reveal resounding support among parents of students in K–12 and higher education for customized digital learning techniques over “old school” textbooks.

On the transition to digital software and technology in the classroom:

● 88% expect all K–12 classrooms will be plugged-in by 2025.
● 73% of K–12 parents and 78% of college parents believe textbooks cannot keep up with today’s fast-paced world.
● 87% of K–12 parents and 85% of college parents believe classroom lessons should be customized to meet each individual student’s needs.

Parents also believe technology can enhance the learning environment and experience for students:

● 91% of K–12 parents believe digital learning can enhance classroom-learning experiences.

● 80% of K–12 parents believe digital learning makes it easier for students to learn difficult concepts.

LEGO Education polled its network of LEAP (LEGO Education Advisory Panel) teachers and found some interesting results.

Tech in the classroom: 90% believe their school has been successful in integrating tech into the classroom over the past year.

Coding: 45% claim their school is behind the curve in terms of integrating opportunities for students to learn to code into curricula.

Standardized testing: 65% are concerned or very concerned about teaching specifically to prep for standardized testing. 85% believe school systems place too much emphasis on standardized testing.

Top challenges in the classroom: 40% rated lack of funding/outdated resources as their top concern.

This year’s Project Tomorrow Speak-Up results demonstrate the headway made in transforming schools to personalized, powered up, hyper-connected ecosystems. Below are the key report findings from 2012 and 2014. Compare and contrast the results for yourselves.

* With smartphone usage dramatically on the rise—65% of students in grades 6-8 and 80% of students in grades 9-12 are smartphone users—a main concern among today’s digital learners is how to leverage the unique features of different devices, from laptops to smartphones to tablets to digital readers, and use them for certain academic tasks.

* While only 21% of teachers in middle and high schools are assigning Internet homework on a weekly basis, 69% of high school seniors, 61% of high school freshman, and 47% of 6th graders are online at least weekly to find resources to support their homework.

* In just one year, the number of middle school students with a personally acquired digital reader more than doubled, from 17% in 2011 to 39% in 2012.

* In the fall of 2011, 26% of students in grades 6-8 said that they had a personal tablet computer. In one year’s time, the percentage of middle school students with tablets jumped to 52%, doubling the 2011 percentage.

* Despite this increase of mobile devices in the hands of students, schools are still reluctant to allow them in the classroom. Among high school students with smartphones, only half say they can use their device at school and only 9% of students say they can use their personal tablet at school. With 73% of high school seniors reporting that they have a laptop, only 18% of the class of 2013 said they are allowed to use their personal laptop at school.

Project Tomorrow’s new report for 2014, “Digital Learning 24/7: Understanding Technology—Enhanced Learning in the Lives of Today’s Students,” surveyed 431,231 K-12 students from over 8,000 schools and 2,600 districts in the US and around the world. They found that:

* Students who have access to school-provided technology use digital resources at a more sophisticated level, place a higher value on technology as part of their learning process, and connect that technology to developing college and career skills.

* 47% of K-12 students have regular access to mobile devices in their classrooms.

* Over 60% of students in grades 6-8 with mobile device access are using these devices for online testing, creating presentations, and using Internet-based services.

* Almost 75% of students, regardless of whether or not they have school technology access, believe that every student should be able to use a mobile device during the school day for learning.

* 63% of students in grades 6-12 think that a blended learning environment would be a good way for them to learn.

* The student vision for a 21st-century educational experience is for learning that is socially based and collaborative, untethered from the traditional constraints or limitations of education institutions, and digitally rich in context and relevancy.

T&L Reader Survey Do You Believe Your Instructional Department and Tech Department Work Together Efficiently?

For More Surveys, Visit http://www.techlearning.com/votepoll.aspx

An informal survey conducted recently by Performance Matters reveals a high degree of test anxiety among the many districts (79 percent) planning to develop their own assessments for subjects not tested by their state. Specifically, they’re concerned about:

● Quality of the assessments (65 percent)

● Costs for purchasing assessment content (38 percent)

● Lack of teacher involvement in the creation of assessments (37 percent)

● Lack of technology to support online assessments (35 percent)

Further concerns include the challenges of collaboration and inconsistent approaches across classrooms and schools, incompatible systems for sharing and tracking data, and test security.