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Are you “Speaking Up” about digital learning this year? If not, you are missing a unique opportunity to provide your opinion and your voice in a conversation that is shaping learning today and education in America. Make sure that your perspective as well as the views of your peers, students, their parents and the local community members are included in the increasingly important U.S. national and state discussions on digital learning policies, programs, and funding. This year’s survey is currently open and will run through December 16th.  NOTE: The survey has been extended to January 13, 2017. 

As a Speak Up participant you can be a part of a growing movement that values and uses stakeholder opinions to inform K-12 educational decisions. There are many reasons to weigh in. Your participation helps leaders to collect unique data from their local district, assess needs and create a vision for 21st century learning. Local, state and national leaders use the data to inform technology goals or create strategic plans, communicate technology needs to the community and measure the success of their own technology initiatives.

I am are encouraging all school districts to get started in the Speak Up National Research Project. All teachers, students and parents have something to say and should speak up by participating in the annual Speak Up Survey. The project provides participating schools, districts and nonprofit organizations with a suite of online surveys and reports to collect authentic feedback from stakeholders on important education issues. Input from all stakeholders will help inform our leaders and communities. Survey results will be made available to educational leaders at the state and national level as well as participating school districts. This allows the local districts to use the date to inform decision making and planning. My school district has used the data for the past four years and is excited about increasing participation for SpeakUp 2016.

The Speak Up Survey provides an easy way for students, parents, educators and members of the community to participate in the school division’s decisions regarding technology as well as contribute to the national dialogue about educational technology. This is the fifth consecutive year that we have participated in the Speak Up Survey. The local results are used to help guide the development and refinement of our Educational Technology Plan as well as the implementation of projects such as our 1:1 device initiative.

To learn more about the survey, getting started or to view previous findings, http://www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2016

Rod Carnill is the supervisor of instructional technology for Frederick County Public Schools in Winchester, VA. Rod has participated in a Speak Up panel discussions at ISTE, provided student participants for Speak Up congressional briefings and logged into to many SpeakUp webinars and Twitter chats. He currently serves as a member of the VSTE Board of Directors and is a past-president of the Shenandoah Valley Technology Consortium. Rod has worked with Lord Fairfax Community College and VSTE to organize the regional GooglePalooza event in Middletown, VA for the past three years. Find him on twitter @rodcarnill or learn more about his work in Frederick County by visiting http://learningtoday.fcpsk12.net