Findings Reinforce Need for Increased Investment, Leadership and Support to Ensure the Nation's Educational System Can Innovate and Compete

WASHINGTON, June 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) today released the findings of an annual national education survey used to measure U.S. educational institutions' progress toward achieving the SIIA Vision for K-20. The survey was developed to help educators and administrators individually benchmark their institutional progress in using technology to provide 21st century tools, anytime/anywhere access, differentiated learning, assessment tools, and enterprise support. The aggregated results also provide a picture of our nation's progress as a whole.

As the voice of the educational technology industry, SIIA developed this vision for K-20 education - a vision to ensure that all students have access to a technology-enabled teaching and learning environment capable of preparing them to compete globally and lead the world in innovation. A successful pilot survey was initiated in 2008, and a follow up survey was conducted in spring 2009.

"America's students thrive in their personal lives by quickly adapting to 21st century technologies, but they often lose access to that technology in classrooms. The Vision K-20 initiative helps education leaders understand the opportunities to incorporate those same tools into our nation's curriculum and instruction, ensuring we prepare our students to compete on a global scale," explained Dr. Karen Billings, Vice President for the SIIA Education Division.

The top 2009 survey finding: While the nation's educational system improved on 17 of the 20 measures compared to 2008, there was only a 1 percent average increase overall to 62 percent, meaning that education institutions are 62 percent of the way toward achieving SIIA's Vision K-20 benchmark of 100 percent.

"These are extremely challenging times for education, making it even more critical for institutions to use technology to achieve their educational goals and outcomes," added Billings. "SIIA calls on education leaders and public officials to increase support for, and adoption of, innovative technology-based and online educational models needed to meet the needs of today's digital-native learners and prepare them for the digital, knowledge economy."

Other key findings include:

• U.S. schools and universities showed the greatest improvement from 2008 in the adoption of high-speed broadband access and web portals needed to enable online learning, enhanced communication and connectivity, and access to multimedia-rich applications and content.

• The U.S. education system is furthest along - at 70 percent toward achieving the goal - in the use of technology to support the enterprise, and to facilitate communication and collaboration. The system is least advanced in the use of technology-based assessment tools (46 percent), nurturing creativity and self-expression (60 percent), and helping schools meet the needs of all students (59 percent).

• In general, post-secondary institutions continue to show more progress on the various measures than do K-12 schools and districts.

The Vision Survey request was distributed to educators and administrators with the help of many partners that included CoSN, iNACOL, SIFA, The Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, Project Tomorrow, JDL Horizons, edWeb, UBoost, WeAreTeachers, WeTheTeachers, Big Deal Book, eCampus News, Education Week, and eSchool News.

The report on the 2008 Vision K-20 Survey is available at http://siia.net/visionk20/pages/progress.html.

For more information on the 2009 Vision K-20 survey results, contact Sandy@cblohm.com or EBramlet@siia.net.

About SIIA

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industries. SIIA provides global services in government relations, business development, corporate education and intellectual property protection to 500 leading software and information companies. For further information, visit www.siia.net.

About SIIA's Education Division

SIIA's Education Division serves and represents more than 150 member companies that provide software, digital content and other technologies that address educational needs. The Division shapes and supports the industry by providing leadership, advocacy, business development opportunities, and critical market information. SIIA provides a neutral business forum for its members to understand business models, technological advancements, market trends, and best practices. With the leadership of the Division Board and collaborative efforts with educators and other stakeholders, the Division undertakes initiatives to enhance the use of educational technology and the success of SIIA members.

SIIA Communications Contact: Eileen Bramlet, 202.789.4469, ebramlet@siia.net

PR Contact: Sandy Fash, C. Blohm & Associates, 608.839.9800, sandy@cblohm.com

SOURCE SIIA