Generation YES

This article is about the U.S. non-profit organization. For the Irish youth movement, see Generation Yes.
Generation YES
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."

History

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.

Programs

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]

Awards and recognition

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,

Reviewers were impressed by the creativity of [GenYES in] creating a role reversal in which students help support the school's technology infrastructure and partner with teachers in curriculum development.[9]

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,

Generation YES... prove[s] that the nearly 50 million students in our schools are ready to become our nation's most plentiful and critical resources for educational reform and improvement... Students in GenYES have worked magic... they have made schools places that students want [original emphasis] to be...[16]

References

  1. ↑ "GenYES History and Philosophy". Generation YES. n.d. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Stefanie Olsen (April 26, 2006). "When digital kids rule the classroom". CNET News.com. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
  3. ↑ Gwen Solomon (June 16, 2003). "Great Expectations, Limited Resources: 12 Tips on Doing More with Less". TechLearning. Retrieved 2007-01-20.
  4. ↑ Karen Thomas (August 6, 2001). "Students tutor teachers in tech". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
  5. ↑ (nd) GenYES. Generation YES website. Retrieved 7/13/07.
  6. ↑ (nd) TechYES. Generation YES website. Retrieved 7/13/07.
  7. ↑ "About GenYES". Generation YES. n.d. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
  8. ↑ "Exemplary & promising educational technology programs (2000)". Learning Technologies Division, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. September 8, 2000. Retrieved 2006-01-18.
  9. ↑ "Generation www.Y: Exemplary and Promising Educational Technology Programs 2000". Learning Technologies Division, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. March 15, 2002. Retrieved 2006-01-18.
  10. ↑ James L. Smith (9/1/2001). "James Smith on Teacher Preparation". Edutopia. Archived from the original on June 22, 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-20. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ↑ John Blyler (June 2005). "Angels in the Network Architecture" (– Scholar search). Edutopia. ISSN 1552-9029. Retrieved 2006-01-18.
  12. ↑ Sara Armstrong (September 1, 2001). "Turning the Tables -- Students Teach Teachers" (– Scholar search). Edutopia. ISSN 1552-9029. Archived from the original on January 6, 2006. Retrieved 2006-01-18.
  13. ↑ "Students teaching teachers". Educational Leadership 54 (6). March 1997. ISSN 0013-1784.
  14. ↑ "Keeping Tech Support in Step with Technology" (– Scholar search). T.H.E. Journal. Technological Horizons in Education. November 2005. ISSN 0192-592X. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
  15. ↑ "Generation Yes enlists students in teacher tech training: an interview with Greg Partch". Curriculum Review 43 (6). October 1, 2003.
  16. ↑ Boettcher, J., Justice, L., Schenk. et al. (April 2005). Encyclopedia of Distance Learning. Idea Group Publishing. pp. 1914–1916. ISBN 1-59140-555-6.

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