Generation YES
Encyclopedia
Generation YES 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."
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. The grant was approved in 1996 for five years, concluding in 2001.
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. Sylvia Martinez serves as president.
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.
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.
According to Generation YES, more than 1,000 schools are currently using their programs.
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 journal
s. Edutopia
, a respected progressive education
magazine published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, has interviewed a www.Y program support specialist in 2001, and subsequently featured Generation YES twice. Other publications, including Educational Leadership and T.H.E. Journal, Curriculum Review have highlighted GenYES as well.
In 2005 the Encyclopedia of Distance Learning wrote that,
Technology education
Technology education is a study of technology, in which students "learn about the processes and knowledge related to technology". As a study, it covers the human ability to shape and change the physical world to meet needs, by manipulating materials and tools with techniques.-External links:...
non-profit organization that works with schools around the world. Dennis Harper
Dennis Harper
Dennis Harper, PhD, is founder and CEO of Generation YES, and an internationally-recognized expert in the field of technology education. He was also instrumental in the development of the Liberian Renaissance Education Complex. -Past positions:...
is the founder and CEO. Their programs focus on student centered, project-based learning
Project-based learning
Project-based learning, or PBL, is the use of in-depth and rigorous classroom projects to facilitate learning and assess student competence . Students use technology and inquiry to respond to a complex issue, problem or challenge...
"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, WashingtonOlympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
school district. He wrote a government grant
Federal grant
In the United States, federal grants are economic aid issued by the United States government out of the general federal revenue. A federal grant is an award of financial assistance from a federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of...
proposal to the federal government Technology Innovation Challenge Grant program, to develop an initiative to involve children in the acceptance of technology in curriculum. The grant was approved in 1996 for five years, concluding in 2001.
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. Sylvia Martinez serves as president.
Programs
Today, the company provides K-12K-12
K–12 is a designation for the sum of primary and secondary education. It is used in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand where P–12 is also commonly used...
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
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
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.
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.
According to Generation YES, more than 1,000 schools are currently using their programs.
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. 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 reversalRole reversalIn psychodrama, role reversal is a technique where the protagonist is asked, by the psychodrama director, to exchange roles with another person on the psychodrama stage. The former assumes as many of the roles of the other as possible and vice versa...
in which students help support the school's technology infrastructure and partner with teachers in curriculum development.
In 2003 Generation YES was named "Rookie of the Year" at the EdNET Industry Awards. Founder Dennis Harper
Dennis Harper
Dennis Harper, PhD, is founder and CEO of Generation YES, and an internationally-recognized expert in the field of technology education. He was also instrumental in the development of the Liberian Renaissance Education Complex. -Past positions:...
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 journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
s. Edutopia
Edutopia
Edutopia is a Web site published by The George Lucas Educational Foundation . Founded in 1991 by filmmaker George Lucas and venture capitalist Steve Arnold, the Foundation celebrates and encourages innovation in K-12 schools ....
, a respected progressive education
Educational progressivism
Progressive education is a pedagogical movement that began in the late nineteenth century and has persisted in various forms to the present. More recently, it has been viewed as an alternative to the test-oriented instruction legislated by the No Child Left Behind educational funding act...
magazine published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, has interviewed a www.Y program support specialist in 2001, and subsequently featured Generation YES twice. Other publications, including Educational Leadership and T.H.E. Journal, Curriculum Review 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 reformEducation reformEducation reform is the process of improving public education. Small improvements in education theoretically have large social returns, in health, wealth and well-being. Historically, reforms have taken different forms because the motivations of reformers have differed.A continuing motivation has...
and improvement... Students in GenYES have worked magic... they have made schools places that students want [original emphasis] to be...