| Type | Non-profit |
|---|---|
| Industry | Education |
| Founded | Olympia, Washington (1995) |
| Headquarters | Tumwater, Washington |
| Key people | Dennis Harper, Founder & CEO. Sylvia Martinez, President |
| Products | See program listing. |
| Website | www.genyes.org |
Generation YES (Youth and Educators Succeeding), is a U.S. technology education non-profit organization that works with schools around the world. Dennis Harper is the founder and CEO. Their programs focus on student centered, project-based learning "experiences that impact student's lives and increase student involvement in school and community through technology. In addition, all Generation YES programs improve the use of technology in the school as a whole."
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Generation YES was founded by Dennis Harper in 1995 when he was a technology director for the Olympia, Washington school district. He wrote a government grant proposal to the federal government Technology Innovation Challenge Grant program, to develop an initiative to involve children in the acceptance of technology in curriculum.[1] The grant was approved in 1996 for five years, concluding in 2001.[2]
Currently, the organization is a non-profit funded by revenue from licensing the curriculum to schools and partnerships with other organizations to develop student technology programs.[2][3] Sylvia Martinez serves as president.
Today, the company provides K-12 schools across the U.S. with technology programs. GenYES (originally known as Generation www.Y and Generation WHY) has students assist teachers as they integrate technology in classrooms. This program provides curriculum to elementary and secondary teachers, who in turn teach technology skills to students. These students are then partnered with a different teacher to support their efforts to integrate technology in their classrooms.[4][5]
TechYES focuses on students earning a certification by completing project-based learning activities demonstrating their technology literacy. In this program schools purchase access to a website with links and discussion forums for students. In the classroom students mentor other students, who are in turn illustrating their technology literacy through hands-on learning projects. Their student mentors help guide these projects.[6]
According to Generation YES, more than 1,000 schools are currently using their programs.[7]
In 2000, GenYES was awarded one of two "Exemplary" designations by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) Educational Technology Expert Panel.[8] The ED then wrote a publication about Generation YES and its status, reporting that,
In 2003 Generation YES was named "Rookie of the Year" at the EdNET Industry Awards. Founder Dennis Harper has also received numerous accolades due to his work related to Generation YES.
The company and its programs have been featured in numerous important education publications, technology industry magazines, and academic journals. Edutopia, a respected progressive education magazine published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, has interviewed a www.Y program support specialist in 2001,[10] and subsequently featured Generation YES twice.[11][12] Other publications, including Educational Leadership[13] and T.H.E. Journal,[14] Curriculum Review[15] have highlighted GenYES as well.
In 2005 the Encyclopedia of Distance Learning wrote that,