Tomorrow.org



Welcome to Speak Up!

Thank you for registering for the Speak Up Research Project for Digital Learning! Speak Up is an annual research project conducted by Project Tomorrow, a national education nonprofit group that collects and reports on the views of K-12 students, teachers, administrators, and parents on education and technology. More than 5 million students, educators, parents, administrators, and community members have shared their views regarding the use of educational technology through the Speak Up surveys.

Speak Up 2017 will be open for participation October 16th through January 19, 2018 with results released in February 2018. To help you get started with Speak Up, we’ve put together a virtual welcome packet including general information about the project, instructions for your stakeholders, promotional materials to help you spread the word about the survey to school(s) and district(s), and more. If you are new to Speak Up, we hope this packet helps answer any questions you may have.

If you have questions about Speak Up or the contents of this packet, please contact the Speak Up team at Speakup@.

Table of contents

About Project Tomorrow and Speak Up………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1 Speak Up team contact information and important links………………………………………………………………….……………. 2 General FAQ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…….. 3

Speak Up 2017 timeline…………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………..………… 4

Testimonials……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….5

Speak Up Promotion Check List ………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………….……….6

Promotional materials

Sample emails/newsletter content… ……………………………………………………………………………………...……… 7-10

Sample tweets…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………….11 Flyers………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….… 12-13

(Visit speakup for additional Promotional Flyers)

About Project Tomorrow

Project Tomorrow is a national education nonprofit organization, certified by the IRS and the State of California as a 501.c.3 nonprofit organization, with a 20-year history of impacting

education. As a nonprofit organization, we are driven by an altruistic mission and vision for changing the lives of children through science, math and technology education.

The vision of Project Tomorrow is to ensure that today’s students are well prepared to be tomorrow’s innovators, leaders and engaged citizens of the world. We believe that by supporting the innovative uses of science, math and technology resources in our K-12 schools and communities, students will develop the critical thinking, problem solving and creativity skills needed to compete and thrive in the 21st century. We approach our mission through national research projects, the replication of model excellence projects in schools and communities, online tools and resources for students, teachers and parents, and national and regional advocacy efforts.

To learn more about Project Tomorrow and its programs, visit .

About Speak Up

Speak Up is an initiative of Project Tomorrow®, the leading global education nonprofit organization dedicated to the empowerment of student voices in education. Each year, the Speak Up Research Project polls K-12 students, parents, and educators about the role of technology for learning in and out of school. This survey represents the largest collection of authentic, unfiltered stakeholder voices on digital learning. Since fall 2003, more than 5 million K-12 students, parents, teachers, librarians, principals, technology leaders, district administrators, and members of the community have shared their views and ideas through Speak Up. K-12 educators, higher education faculty, business, and policy leaders report that they regularly use the Speak Up data to inform federal, state, and local education programs.

In general, Speak Up has three primary objectives:

1. To provide a means for local schools and districts to easily and effectively listen to and act upon the ideas of their stakeholders.

2. To provide a conduit for the voices of education stakeholders, most notably students, to inform national and/or state/provincial policies and programs.

3. To stimulate new local discussions around the use of technology within education. To learn more about Speak Up, visit .

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Julie Evans

Chief Executive Officer Phone: 949-609-4660, Ext. 15

jevans@ Twitter

Jenny Hostert

Speak Up Operations Manager Phone: 949 609-4660, Ext. 17

jhostert@

Contact Us

Amber Taylor

Director of Communications & Collaborations

Phone: 703-201-4893

ataylor@

Important Links

Project Tomorrow homepage:

Speak Up homepage:

Survey link: speakup.

Administrator login:

Promotional materials:

FAQs:

Past Speak Up data findings:

Speak Up Twitter:

Speak Up Facebook:

Project Tomorrow blog:

Project Tomorrow newsletter:

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Frequently Asked Questions

When is Speak Up 2017 open?

This year’s surveys are open for participation from October 16, 2017 – January 19, 2018.

What types of surveys do you offer?

There are Speak Up surveys for students (grade level appropriate K-12), teachers, librarians, technology leaders, principals, district administrators, communication officers, parents, and community members. Surveys for parents are available in English and Spanish.

Who is eligible to participate in Speak Up?

Speak Up is open to any school, district, and organization that serves K-12 students in the United States and internationally.

Is there a cost to participate?

No. Speak Up is a free service to all schools and districts.

How long does it take to complete the survey?

The surveys should take about 20 minutes to complete. The surveys consist of a series of multiple-choice questions plus open-ended question(s) (depending on the survey). In addition, on the parent and educator surveys, we ask demographic questions that are optional; we use these responses during our data analysis to provide additional context to our national data findings.

What is your privacy policy?

All responses are 100% confidential. We do not collect any identifying information from participants.

Click here to view our privacy policy.

When will Speak Up data results be available?

Starting in November, registered contacts will be able to access their preliminary data online. Finalized survey results will be available to participants online and free of charge in February 2018. National findings will be released in Spring 2018 through a variety of venues, including a Congressional Briefing in Washington, D.C., national and regional conferences, and through our website.

How do I retrieve my Speak Up password?

You can retrieve your password by clicking the “I forgot my password” button on the administrator login page. If you are not a primary contact, please contact the Speak Up team at Speakup@ so we can connect you to the appropriate contact. For confidentiality reasons, we provide passwords to the Speak Up contact of record only.

A participant at one of our schools did not finish the survey. Can we retrieve it?

Unfortunately, once you exit the survey you will not be able to log back in to your original survey session. If you would like to complete the survey, you can (1) start a new survey and click on the “next” button until you reach the question that you left off on, or (2) request that we delete the survey so that you can resubmit it. If you would like your survey deleted, please email us your survey number (found on the top left corner of the screen in red) and the name of your school, district, and state.

If your question is not on this list, please contact the Speak Up team with your question(s) at Speakup@.

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Speak Up 2017 Timeline

To help spread the word about Speak Up, following is a suggested communications timeline for our partners.

June-September 2017

❑ Download Speak Up promotional materials and share with your members, colleagues, partner organizations, elected and administrative officials, researchers, local schools, etc.

❑ Continue to share and use recent Speak Up research and data. We have released findings on teacher capacity, mobile learning, first-year teachers, open education resources and more!

❑ Contact us to schedule a webinar or conference call for your constituents/members. We are happy to talk about technology and learning data, trends and benefits of participation in Speak Up!

❑ Follow the Speak Up blog and sign up for our Speak Up newsletter to keep up to date with Speak Up News.

October-November 2017

Speak Up launches on October 16.

❑ Utilize our sample Speak Up tweets, create your own, retweet our @SpeakUpEd & @ProjectTomorrow tweets.

❑ Look out for our e-newsletter with updates and new messages.

❑ Publish a blog post promoting Speak Up (there is plenty of time for schools to register and participate even if they don’t get started until the survey period has opened!).

❑ Provide a link to Speak Up on your website. (Use one of our banner images!)

❑ Contact Amber Taylor if you would like any sort of special messaging or social media images.

December 2017

❑ Speak Up America Week will run December 4-8. Surveys submitted during this window will increase the chance for schools/districts to win prizes from several of our partners. (If you are interested in contributing an offer for participating schools/districts, please contact Amber Taylor.)

❑ Keep an eye out for data sneak peeks! We will share some preliminary Speak Up 2017 data during Speak Up America Week.

January 2018

❑ Speak Up Appreciation Week will run January 8-12. We’ll be thanking partners, sponsors and rock star districts for their support of Speak Up. We’ll also offer some additional chances for districts to win prizes!

❑ Last chance to boost participation! Speak Up closes on January 19, 2018.

February-March 2018

❑ We’ll share data will all registered districts in February. Our Champion Outreach Partners will begin receiving national data in March. (If you want to be sure you are on that list, please contact Amber Taylor in the fall.)

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Testimonials

Need help convincing school leaders of the value of Speak Up participation? Here are some thoughts from past Speak Up participants – to read all testimonials, visit our Speak Up in Action page at .

"Rather than spending time preparing a survey and compiling the data, we make use of the survey because it is already prepared, the data is compiled, assistance is available to help us interpret it, AND the data is compared and as a nation overall dissected for current trends in the data.” – Texas School District

"Speak Up is a well-crafted survey that gives our district valuable information to help strategic planning.” – Wisconsin School District

"The data collected from the broad range of respondents is timely and targeted specifically to technology use in education. Therefore, it's a great tool for decision-makers to use for instructional, professional development and budget planning.” – California School District

"A low-cost, high-reward way to approach gathering feedback for tech decision making.” – Massachusetts School District

“We have shared the [Speak Up survey] data with our leadership teams, higher education partners, school based staff, and Board of Education. Every presentation for the past year has included our data and references to Speak Up and the national data.” – Maryland School District

“Speak Up data has helped garner support for 1 to 1 initiatives, increased professional development and changes in instructional best practices and expectations.” – Virginia School District

“We shared with all of our schools their data - we selected several questions that we wanted them to target and to be sure to address when they were working on their school technology plans for this year.” – Alabama School District

“Through the years, I have used Speak Up data to help prepare the District’s strategic plan, to plan professional development, and to help shape a shared vision of how technology and core curriculum should be delivered. Survey results have been referenced when planning the district's budget and prioritizing technology infrastructure and instructional technology investments. Speak Up data has been used to help craft and secure competitive grants and it has led to the consideration and creation of new courses.” – Pennsylvania School District

Feel free to share your thoughts and plans for your Speak Up data by filling out the form at the bottom of our Speak Up in Action page or by emailing the Speak Up Team at Speakup@.

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Speak Up Promotion Checklist

Promote participation in Speak Up

❑ Encourage your stakeholders to participate in Speak Up through email blasts, newsletters, your blog or other online social media tools.

❑ Highlight the Speak Up survey on your website using the Speak Up banners (with a link to the Speak Up landing page).

❑ Distribute Speak Up Info flyers during your presentations at conferences or from your booth on the exhibit floor.

❑ Host a Speak Up webinar to encourage participation in Speak Up.

❑ Use social media networks to get the word out about Speak Up to your stakeholders.

Spotlight students’ views in the dialogue about K-12 education

❑ Include Speak Up data in your articles, promotional materials or presentations.

❑ Share how the Speak Up results are important to your organization’s mission and work.

❑ Use the Speak Up results to identify your stakeholders’ needs, secure funding or demonstrate the success of your initiatives.

❑ Schedule Julie Evans, Project Tomorrow’s CEO, to present the Speak Up findings to your team, at a conference or through a webinar.

❑ Add a Speak Up session to any of your regional or state summits, meetings or conferences.

Strengthen the Speak Up network

❑ Blog about how you are using Speak Up data to inform your decisions about curriculum or technology, programming, legislation, or services. (We are happy to share guest blogs as well.)

❑ Share promising practices with staff from partnering organizations, schools and districts who are involved with Speak Up.

❑ Contact Amber Taylor if you have additional ideas!

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Sample Emails/Newsletter Content

Share these emails to quickly get the word out about Speak Up. We have several draft email messages for you to use – just fill out your information under the highlighted text. Feel free to change the text as needed. You can also use this text for sample e-newsletter content.

Subject: Gather Valuable Information from Your Students, Staff, Parents & Community

Dear: District or School/Name,

Speak Up is the research tool districts use to learn what students, educators, parents and the community have to say about education issues.

The Speak Up Research Project for Digital Learning, a national initiative of Project Tomorrow, is both a national research project and a free service to schools and districts everywhere. Since fall 2003, Speak Up has helped education leaders include the voices of their stakeholders in annual and long-term planning. More than 5 million participants have made Speak Up the largest collection of authentic, unfiltered stakeholder input on education, technology, schools of the future, science and math instruction, professional development and career exploration. National-level reports inform policymakers at all levels.

Educators from more than 30,000 schools have used Speak Up data to create and implement their vision for the next generation of learning. You can too! Learn more about how to register as the primary contact at today. Contact registration is open!

Speak Up will be open for stakeholder participation from October 16, 2017 through January 19, 2018. Data will be delivered to registered schools and districts in February 2018.

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Subject: Top 5 Reasons Why You and Your School(s) Should Participate in Speak Up

Dear: District or School/Name,

The Speak Up Research Project for Digital Learning collects and reports on the authentic, unfiltered views and opinions of K-12 students, parents and educators on critical technology and learning issues. Since 2003, millions of K-12 education stakeholders have participated in the annual project. Data findings are shared each year with federal, state and local policymakers to inform education programs, policies and funding. Speak Up is facilitated by Project Tomorrow® (), a national education nonprofit organization.

Top 5 Reasons Why You and Your School Should Participate in Speak Up:

1. Gain a better understanding of what your school’s technology needs are and make more informed funding decisions.

2. Learn about the aspirations for your teachers for using technology more effectively – and what is holding them back.

3. Find ways to improve school-to-home communications using new technology tools.

4. Ensure that your students and parents have a voice in national, state and local decisions about education.

5. It’s free!

Speak Up 2017 will be open for input from October 16, 2017 through January 19, 2018.

Register as the primary contact of your school or district to manage your information and assign a student survey password to ensure confidentiality -- all students will need to enter in the “secret word” to take the survey.

You’ll find multiple choice and open-ended questions. All information is 100% confidential. All local data is ONLY shared with the registered primary contact. To register, please visit: .

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Subject: Include stakeholders in your strategic planning & budgeting (for free)

Dear: District or School/Name,

Gain insights into your students’ aspirations for using technology to learn, your teacher’s aspirations for teaching with technology and your parents’ and community’s thoughts on the issues. The Speak Up Research Project for Digital Learning, a national initiative of Project Tomorrow, is both a national research project and a free service to schools and districts everywhere. Since fall 2003, Speak Up has helped education leaders include the voices of their stakeholders in annual and long-term planning. More than 5 million participants have made Speak Up the largest collection of authentic, unfiltered stakeholder input on education, technology, schools of the future, science and math instruction, professional development and career exploration.

Speak Up is available to any school or district. It is free and all information is 100% confidential. Speak Up 2017 will be open for participation from October 16, 2017 through January 19, 2018. District and school registration remains open throughout the survey period.

Why participate? Get the pulse of what’s happening in your school (or district) and benchmark it with national results. As a participant, you will receive free online access to your results in February 2018. Ensure that the perspective of you and your students are included in the local, state and national education dialogue when Project Tomorrow shares the national findings with policymakers, educators, university faculty and staff from education and youth serving organizations.

To learn more about Speak Up or to register as the primary contact of your institution, please visit speakup or contact the Speak Up team at SpeakUp@.

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Subject: Speak Up is open! Register your school or district to participate today!

Dear: District or School/Name,

Join educators from across the country using the Speak Up Research Project to identify how their students, teachers, administrators and parents want to use technology for learning, communications and collaboration. Get a jump start on Speak Up participation by registering as the primary contact for your school or district today!

As the primary contact for your district, school or organization, you will be in charge of the promotion of the survey at your selected organizational level. In return, you will receive free, online access to your aggregated results with state and national comparisons in February 2018.

Speak Up includes the option to survey: K-12 students, teachers, librarian media specialists, parents, school and district administrators, technology leaders, communications officers and/or community members. The survey topics include: learning and teaching with technology, mobile learning, classroom models, device preferences, internet access and speed, professional development, online learning, digital literacy, open education resources, social media, digital content and more.

There is no fee to participate, or limit on the number of respondents. All information is 100% confidential. The surveys take less than 20 minutes to complete Each participating institution receives a free online report in February 2018, aggregating all local data with national data to use for comparative benchmarking and local advocacy.

"Rather than spending time preparing a survey and compiling the data, we make use of the survey because it is already prepared, the data is compiled, assistance is available to help us interpret it, AND the data is compared and as a nation overall dissected for current trends in the data.” – Participating Texas School District

Check out the Speak Up website for additional information and updated Promotional Materials for Speak Up 2017. To learn more about Speak Up and Project Tomorrow, please visit .

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Sample Tweets

This sample tweet list is meant to serve as a head start to promoting Speak Up via Twitter, Facebook, or other social media. We will share additional social media updates throughout the survey period, so be sure to follow @SpeakUpEd and @ProjectTomorrow. Also check the Social Media section of the Speak Up Promotional Materials for more sample posts and social images.

Before October 16th

• Register your school or district to be a part of a nationwide conversation about #edtech! Get started today!

• Learn all about @SpeakUpEd before it opens on 10/16:

October 16th-January 19th

• Speak Up surveys are available 10/16 through 1/19! Make your voice heard about education and technology! speakup.

• Join 5 million students, parents, teachers, & admins who have participated in Speak Up since ’03. Add your voice! speakup.

• 90% of students say mobile devices are important. What do our students think? Get involved with the

#SpeakUpsurvey at speakup.

• Take the @SpeakUpEd survey to ensure your voice is heard! speakup.

• Be part of the conversation! Parents: share your thoughts on tech & learning speakup.

Last minute tweets

• Only a few more days to share your views on tech & learning! Speak Up before 1/19 to make sure your voice is heard! speakup.

• Need a last min activity before winter break? Dedicate 15 min to @SpeakUpEd! speakup.

• Speak Up about issues regarding the use of mobile devices and tablets in schools: speakup.

• Don't forget to submit your Speak Up surveys before winter break begins! Visit speakup. to share your thoughts.

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