For the fourth year, the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) has been monitoring the results in its national survey: Vision K-20. The 2011 survey, which closes Thursday, June 30, asks participants to help benchmark their institution’s use of technology in meeting their educational goals. We’ll be very curious to see if there’s been any real progress in this past school year.
As the Association of companies who provide technology tools and content to education, SIIA members felt a responsibility to promote a “vision” of the best technology uses to help educations and K-20 students achieve an inclusive 21st century education. The Vision initiative includes a website (www.siia.net/visionK20/), booklet, and an online survey. The survey helps educators benchmark the use of appropriate tools, providing access, closing the achievement gap, use of assessment tools and enabling the enterprise – through the use of technology.
Of the benchmarking questions, the highest ranking was in access to high-speed broadband (both for instructional, administrative and collaborative learning) and security tools (to protect student data and privacy). The greatest room for improvement still lies in increasing technology-based assessments, access to online courses, and personal ePortfolios for individual students.
In past years, the average increase in overall scores was less than 1 percent year-over-year. That means educational institutions are making VERY SLOW progress in achieving SIIA Vision K-20 benchmarks. Will it be different this year?
Help us build on this baseline data and find out how much progress is being made. We invite all interested educators to participate in this year’s survey here. Monitor the your progress in using education technology for 2011, to be part of this year’s survey, we need your input by Thursday, June 30!
