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Monday, November 12, 2012

Speak Up Survey Report



I chose to read and respond to the SpeakUp report “Mapping a Personalized Learning Journey – K-12 Students and Parents Connect the Dots with Digital Learning” because I was interested in the ways I could help the parents of my students become better informed about their children’s education. 

The report focused on students’ personalization of their own learning, the ways parents are supporting them, and the resources available to them at school.  On a positive note, the report stated that 64% of parents would support their child’s learning by purchasing a mobile device for academic use and that parents’ general goal was that their children learn the right skills to be successful in life.  However, the majority of schools polled did not offer the courses that students were interested in learning.   

I was surprised that such a large percentage of parents would be willing to purchase a mobile device to help their children academically and I’m quite skeptical that 64% of parents would actually make the purchase and pay the required monthly service fees.  It’s one thing to idealistic in a survey, it’s another thing to spend $500 + monthly fee for an electronic device for each of your children.  It seems the risk with such surveys is that they lead to parents wanting schools to use iPads or tablets in the classroom and then demanding that the school districts be the ones who pay the cost.  With the cuts and budget deficits in education as they currently are, I don’t see how public schools could possibly afford to provide students with devices that may or may not end up being used appropriately in the classroom.  In my own classroom I would love to implement the use of electronic devices, but not at the expense of other school resources.  If students have access to the internet at home or at a public library, I would love to start a class website that they can access for all their assignments and additional resources that would be helpful; for this they wouldn’t need an expensive mobile device.


"Mapping a Personalized Learning Journey K-12 Students and Parents Connect the Dots with Digital Learning." Speak Up Reports. Project Tomorrow, 1 Apr. 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. <http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/2012_PersonalizedLearning.html>.

2 comments:

  1. Hey Julian,

    I have to agree with you on all counts. I found it hard to believe that i we on't get students working with an ipad than we are missing out on giving them an education. With the cost of technology being so hi and the fact that not all the students can afford one, it becomes a real equality issue. I'm curious where all the money will come from, we seem pretty tight stringed already. As for having the ability to have a school sight, we have one, with all the resources, lecture materials, graphic organizers, practice moodle tests and more. What I have seen is that there is very little proactive work ethic coming from many of our students and I do not think that getting mobile devices is the answer. I will have to preface that by saying I have not used one and would love the opportunity to see what it can really do.

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  2. You bring up an important point, I think that new technology at school is necessary but not at the expense of other resources of the school. The survey may have been right about parents willing to spend money on a mobile device for their child but I doubt they survey considered the cost of it. I think that as educators we face a difficult battle between technology and the lack of funds. I think there are benefits to technology but the sad reality is that money is a huge factor in allowing us to use it to it's potential.

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