Software Association Opens Annual Survey at Redesigned Site

The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) has launched its sixth annual Vision K-20 Survey at its newly revamped Web site.

"We're excited to launch the sixth annual survey and new-and-improved Web site with additional information for both educators and industry professionals," said Karen Billings, vice president of the SIIA Education Division, in a prepared statement "With the ed-tech industry becoming increasingly global, we are also pleased to announce that this will be first year to include responses from outside the U.S."

Each year, SIIA opens its Vision K-20 survey to educators, administrators, and faculty members from K-12 and higher education institutions. The short, online survey sponsored by the Education Division of SIIA offers participants the opportunity to evaluate their current technology and to compare it to previous survey results.

The survey consists of 20 statements related to the Vision K-20 initiative goals that educators can use to compare how they are currently implementing technology. By completing the survey every year, progress can be tracked over time and provide a snapshot of technology use. From the responses, a picture of "ideal implementation" helps educators determine how they can best use technology to improve learning and teaching.

Visitors to the redesigned SIIA Web site will find new resources and materials designed specifically for educators and industry professionals, including studies that support the mission of the Vision K-20 initiative, as well as resources intended to help educators meet their educational goals and technology benchmarks.

SIIA member organizations, including Digital Learning Day, the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), iPopp, Intel Worldwide Education, SmartBrief, International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), edWeb.net, eSchool Media and MMS Education helped develop the Vision K-20 initiative.

"We are very pleased to help SIIA again this year to conduct this important survey with educators and administrators," said Susan Meel, CEO at MMS Education, in a prepared statement. "This survey provides a very helpful tool for educators, so they can determine how their institution is progressing in terms of integrating technology and preparing students for the 21st Century."

SIIA is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry. The Education Division represents member companies that provide software, digital content and other technologies. For more information about SIIA, visit siia.net/education.

Initial results of the survey will be announced in May at the 2013 Ed Tech Industry Summit (ETIS), with a final report released in June at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) annual conference.

For further information about Vision K-20, and to take the survey, visit the siia.net/visionk20.

About the Author

Sharleen Nelson is a freelance journalist based in Springfield, Oregon. She can be reached at [email protected].

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