Gaggle Blog

Exclusive Data on Student Safety to be Revealed on Webinar

Written by Rob Yoegel | May 2, 2017 11:44:06 AM

Note: This post has been updated with links to watch the webcast on-demand.

Every year, the Speak Up Research Project for Digital Learning asks K-12 students, parents and educators about the role of technology for learning in and out of school. This year, we teamed up with Project Tomorrow to learn more about student online safety.

We’ll reveal the results during the next Gaggle Webcast, “Do You Know What Your Students Are Doing Online?”

Attendees will learn:

  • Results of the exclusive “Speak Up” survey questions regarding student use of technology both in school and at home.
  • How schools are getting opportunities to intervene in situations of bullying, self-harm, intentions of violence, drug and alcohol use, pornography, hate speech and other harmful situations.
  • Ways school and district leaders are addressing both the legal and ethical responsibilities of keeping students safe using technology they provide to students.

More than 400,000 students completed this year's Speak Up survey facilitated by Project Tomorrow, a national education nonprofit organization that conducts national research projects, provides online tools and resources for students, teachers and parents, and coordinates national and regional advocacy efforts.

Dr. Julie Evans, Chief Executive Officer of Project Tomorrow, will be our featured presenter. Mark Benigni, Superintendent of Meriden Public Schools in Connecticut, and Jeff Patterson, Founder and CEO of Gaggle, will join Dr. Evans in what’s sure to be a lively discussion about the survey results.

"Tools like G Suite for Education and Office 365 can be dangerous on their own, and school district leaders might not know the extent to which students are misusing them," said Patterson. "Our next Gaggle webcast should open your eyes to what students are doing with these tools."

Speak Up survey results also include valuable feedback from administrators and parents who were asked similar questions regarding student safety and the roles schools play in keeping students safe online.

"Increased usage of devices like Chromebooks has hastened the adoption of cloud-based tools such as G Suite for Education and Office 365," said Dr. Evans. "After analyzing our data, it's pretty clear that students using these tools are more likely to be the victim of an online danger or to use online tools inappropriately than students who are not. I’m looking forward to sharing our findings at the Gaggle webcast."