IRVINE, CA, May 25, 2004 - NetDay, the national education technology nonprofit group, announced the successful completion of Speak Up Day for Teachers, a unique online opportunity for teachers in all grades and subjects from communities around the country to share their voices and views about their personal and professional use of technology and the Internet. Speak Up Day for Teachers is supported through a grant and in kind support from BellSouth Corporation and through the outreach support of Apple, Sun Microsystems and Google.

During Speak Up Day for Teachers, 11,132 teachers in 1,885 schools from all 50 states participated by completing the online survey, exceeding NetDay’s original goal of reaching 10,000 teachers by over 10%. States with the highest participation rate were Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Florida and New York.

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. The results of the Speak Up Day for Teachers survey provide a rich snapshot of how teachers view the use of technology in the educational process. We hope that this effort will raise awareness about the importance of the teacher as a key stakeholder in technology decisions, “noted Julie Evans, NetDay CEO.

Besides gathering national data to inform policymakers, NetDay Speak Up Day is stimulating local discussions about the role of technology in education. Many school districts across the country embraced NetDay Speak Up Day for Teachers to gain new insights into their own teachers’ ideas about technology use.

• “I am really trying to get an idea of the sense teachers have for what is useful to them in the classroom. Like many other school districts, we have a base of technology in place that is aging and we are struggling to find the dollars to replace the old, while we anticipate the new. I will try to use this feedback with my Board of Education to make a case for technology as an appropriate tool in this new world of No Child Left Behind,” said Thomas Nemmer, Director of Technology, Hamburg Central School District in upstate New York.
• According to Jim Hirsch, Associate Superintendent for Technology, Plano (TX) Independent School District, his district “ needed good information on how teachers are using technology resources at work and at home so we can provide even better support for their use. I plan to provide an overview of the results to our school board and cabinet, and use the information to inform our district technology steering committee as they begin the process of planning and budgeting for professional development and other technology initiatives. “

NetDay efforts to reach out to teachers across the country received strong support from 35 education associations and organizations nationwide. NetDay’s social sector partners helped in the development of the survey questions and in the promotion of Speak Up Day to their affiliates, members and client schools.

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.

Speak Up Day began as a single event, but has become an opportunity to collect input from all stakeholders in the education community on topics of interest such as technology. Speak Up Day for Students will become an annual event and other similar Speak Up Day online events will give voice to other stakeholders on various topics.

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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