NetDay Provides Online Survey for Teachers to “Speak Up”
about Technology in Education

The NetDay Speak Up Day for Teachers survey is available for input April 14 through May 7

IRVINE, CA, April 14, 2004 - NetDay, the national education technology nonprofit group, announces Speak Up Day for Teachers, a unique online opportunity for teachers in all grades and subjects and from rural, urban and suburban communities around the country to share voices and views about their personal and professional use of technology and the Internet.

The goal is for 10,000 teachers from all 50 states to complete the online survey. As of today, over 100 schools and 3500 teachers have already registered to participate. The survey will be open for teacher input from April 14 through May 7. Schools are encouraged to provide time for their teachers to take the survey and information about how to incorporate Speak Up Day into National Teacher Day (May 4) plans is included on NetDay’s website, www.NetDay.org. Speak Up Day for Teachers is supported through a grant and in kind support from BellSouth Corporation.

NetDay Speak Up Day for Teachers builds upon the success of Speak Up Day for Students 2003 in which over 210,000 students from 3,000 schools in all 50 states went on line and shared their views of technology use. NetDay’s National Report on Speak up Day for Students 2003, Voices and View from Today’s Tech-Savvy Student, is available on www.netday.org

“Speak Up Day for Teachers is a direct response to what we heard from teachers after the success of Speak Up Day for Students last fall. The teachers specifically asked us to host a special NetDay Speak Up Day for Teachers so that they could also have a direct voice into the national conversation about education technology and input into the new National Education Technology Plan. We listened to these teachers and Speak Up Day for Teachers is our response to that challenge, “noted Julie Evans, CEO, NetDay.

Once again, NetDay has strong support for Speak Up Day from education associations and organizations nationwide. NetDay’s social sector partners have helped in the development of the survey questions and in the promotion of Speak Up Day to their affiliates, members and client schools.

A significant partner in Speak Up Day is the National Education Association (NEA). As Reg Weaver, President, NEA explains, “Technology has the potential to unleash a revolution in education, if we give teachers an effective voice in the best ways to incorporate computers and other learning tools in the classroom. NEA is pleased to support NetDay’s "Speak Up for Teachers" and other efforts to give students the skills they need to be effective tomorrow.”

NetDay Speak Up Day for Teachers has three goals:

• To collect national data about how teachers feel about using the Internet and technology in their professional and personal life.
• To raise awareness about the importance of teacher voice as a stakeholder in technology decisions.
• To shape conversations at the local school level about the role of technology in learning with input from students through the first Speak Up Day and from teachers.

The national report of NetDay’s findings on Speak Up Day for Teachers will be released at the National Education Computing Conference (NECC) in New Orleans on June 22, 2004, the largest annual education technology conference attended by over 12,000 educators. The report will also be shared with the US Department of Education, the US Department of Commerce, the Congress and national education groups to continue to influence policy discussions on technology and education. In addition, schools will have free access to their teachers’ aggregated data in June so that it can be used for planning, professional development and technology purchases in the 2004-2005 school year.

Schools and teachers interested in participating in Speak Up Day for Teachers should visit www.NetDay.org for more information.

ABOUT NETDAY
NetDay's mission is to connect every child to a brighter future by helping educators meet educational goals through the effective use of technology.

NetDay (www.NetDay.org), a national 501.c.3 non-profit organization known for its successful school wiring programs, today manages community and web-based programs that promote enhanced student achievement through the effective use of technology. Speak Up Day is NetDay’s latest initiative and focuses awareness on the importance of student voices in the national dialogue on education and technology.

ABOUT NETDAY PARTNERS
The following nonprofit groups are partnering with NetDay on the outreach efforts for SpeakUp Day for Teachers : Alliance for Excellent Education, American Association of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers, Cable in the Classroom, Consortium for School Networking, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Council for Exceptional Children, The Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning, Florida Virtual School, Generation YES, George Lucas Educational Foundation, GiveKidsGoodSchools.com, Greater Lafayette( LA) Chamber of Commerce, International Society for Technology in Education, Kidz Online, McKenzie Group, Math Forum @ Drexel, MAR*TEC, MOUSE, National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, National Education Association, National Education Knowledge Industry Association, National School Boards Association, National Science Digital Library, North American Council for Online Learning, Points of Light Foundation, Project Tomorrow, Public Education Network, Software & Information Industry Association, State Educational Technology Directors Association, TechCorps, TechNet, Technology Information Center for Administrative Leadership, US Conference of Mayors, Virtual High School, Inc.

ABOUT BELLSOUTH CORPORATION
BellSouth Corporation is a Fortune 100 communications services company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. BellSouth serves nearly 50 million local, long distance, Internet and wireless customers in the United States and 12 other countries.

Consistently recognized for customer satisfaction, BellSouth provides complete communications solutions to the residential and business markets. In the residential market, BellSouth offers DSL high-speed Internet access and long distance, advanced voice features and other services. The company’s BellSouth AnswersSM package combines local and long distance service with an array of calling features; wireless data, voice and e-mail services; and high-speed DSL or dial-up Internet service and Cingular Wireless.

In the business market, BellSouth serves small, medium and large businesses providing secure, reliable local and long distance voice and data networking solutions. BellSouth also provides online and directory advertising services through BellSouth® RealPages.comSM and The Real Yellow Pages®.

BellSouth owns 40 percent of Cingular Wireless, the nation's second largest wireless company, which provides innovative wireless voice and data services.

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