Generation YES

Youth and Educators Succeeding
Type	Non-profit
Tax ID no.	31–1808170
Location	Tumwater, Washington ;
Products	See program listing.
Key people	Dr. Dennis Harper, Founder, Adam Fletcher (speaker), Executive Director. Victoria McKinnon, Operations Director

Last updated July 07, 2024

Youth and Educators Succeeding, formerly known as Generation YES, was a U.S. based non-profit organization that works with schools around the world to empower underserved students and ensure that technology investments in education are both cost effective and meaningful.^[1] Dr. Dennis Harper was the founder and CEO from 1996 to 2020; upon his retirement, Adam F.C. Fletcher succeeded him. YES programs focused on student centered, project-based learning "experiences that impact student's lives and increase student involvement in school and community through the use of technology." In addition, research showed "all YES programs improved the use of technology in the school as a whole."

History

Youth and Educators Succeeding was founded by Dr. Dennis Harper in 1995 when he was a technology director for the Olympia, Washington school district. He wrote a United States Department of Education Technology Innovation Challenge Grant proposal to develop an initiative to involve children in the acceptance of technology in curriculum.^[2] The grant was approved in 1996 for five years, concluding in 2001.^[3] In 2020, Adam Fletcher became the Executive Director of Youth and Educators Succeeding.

The organization was a 501(c)(3) supported by schools and partnerships with other organizations to develop customized student technology programs.^[3]^[4]

The organization closed permanently in 2022.

Generation YES continues under the auspices of the Ohio Management Council where their curriculum, 20 years of research, and numerous videos are available to K-12 schools.^[5]

Programs

Youth and Educators Succeeding provides K-12 schools across the U.S. with the GenYES program. GenYES (originally known as Generation www.Y and Generation WHY) has students assist teachers as they integrate technology in classrooms. These students are denoted as Student Technology Leaders. Student Technology Leaders are then partnered with teachers to support efforts to integrate technology in classrooms by doing hardware and software support and even designing professional development.^[6]^[7]

According to Youth and Educators Succeeding, more than 2,500 schools used their programs.^[8]

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.^[9] 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 reversal in which students help support the school's technology infrastructure and partner with teachers in curriculum development.^[10]

In 2003 Youth and Educators Succeeding 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 Youth and Educators Succeeding.

The company and its programs have been featured in numerous important education publications, technology industry magazines, and academic journals. Edutopia , a respected progressive education magazine published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, has interviewed a Youth and Educators Succeeding (then known as www.Y) program support specialist in 2001,^[11] and subsequently featured Youth and Educators Succeeding (then known as Generation YES) twice.^[12]^[13] Other publications, including Educational Leadership^[14] and THE Journal,^[15]Curriculum Review^[16] 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 reform and improvement... Students in GenYES have worked magic... they have made schools places that students want [original emphasis] to be...^[17]

Related Research Articles

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Edutopia is a website published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF). Founded in 1991 by filmmaker George Lucas and venture capitalist Steve Arnold, the foundation "celebrates and encourages innovation" in K–12 schools.

Project-based learning is a teaching method that involves a dynamic classroom approach in which it is believed that students acquire a deeper knowledge through active exploration of real-world challenges and problems. Students learn about a subject by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to a complex question, challenge, or problem. It is a style of active learning and inquiry-based learning. Project-based learning contrasts with paper-based, rote memorization, or teacher-led instruction that presents established facts or portrays a smooth path to knowledge by instead posing questions, problems, or scenarios.

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Dennis O. Harper is an American educator and the founder of Generation YES, a nonprofit technology education organization founded in 1999. He is an active advocate for the transformative power of technology in education and for student leadership as change agents in schools.

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References

↑ Youth and Educators Succeeding, CISCO Foundation. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
↑ "GenYES History and Philosophy". Generation YES. n.d. Archived from the original on 2007-03-18. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
1 2 Stefanie Olsen (April 26, 2006). "When digital kids rule the classroom". CNET News.com. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
↑ Gwen Solomon (June 16, 2003). "Great Expectations, Limited Resources: 12 Tips on Doing More with Less". TechLearning. Retrieved 2007-01-20.
↑ "GenYES" . Retrieved 2023-06-10.
↑ Karen Thomas (August 6, 2001). "Students tutor teachers in tech". USA Today . Retrieved 2007-01-18.
↑ (nd) GenYES. Generation YES website. Retrieved 7/13/07.
↑ "About GenYES". Generation YES. n.d. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
↑ "Exemplary & promising educational technology programs (2000)". Learning Technologies Division, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. September 8, 2000. Archived from the original on 2006-01-02. Retrieved 2006-01-18.
↑ "Generation www.Y: Exemplary and Promising Educational Technology Programs 2000" (PDF). Learning Technologies Division, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. March 15, 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-01-12. Retrieved 2006-01-18.
↑ James L. Smith (January 9, 2001). "James Smith on Teacher Preparation". Edutopia . Archived from the original on June 22, 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-20.
↑ John Blyler (June 2005). "Angels in the Network Architecture". Edutopia. ISSN 1552-9029. Archived from the original on January 6, 2006. Retrieved 2006-01-18.
↑ Sara Armstrong (September 1, 2001). "Turning the Tables -- Students Teach Teachers". Edutopia. ISSN 1552-9029. Archived from the original on January 6, 2006. Retrieved 2006-01-18.
↑ "Students teaching teachers". Educational Leadership. 54 (6). March 1997. ISSN 0013-1784.
↑ "Keeping Tech Support in Step with Technology". THE Journal. November 2005. ISSN 0192-592X. Archived from the original on July 16, 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
↑ "Generation Yes enlists students in teacher tech training: an interview with Greg Partch". Curriculum Review. 43 (6). October 1, 2003.
↑ Boettcher, J., Justice, L., Schenk.; et al. (April 2005). Encyclopedia of Distance Learning. Idea Group Publishing. pp. 1914–1916. ISBN 1-59140-555-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)