CHICAGO – Building upon a growing movement, the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association, in partnership with the Alliance for Excellent Education, is calling on teachers, schools, principals, community leaders, parents and students to participate in the inaugural national Digital Learning Day on Feb. 1, 2012. Digital Learning Day will celebrate innovative teaching practices that make learning more personalized and engaging and encourage exploration of how digital learning can provide more students with more opportunities to get the skills they need to succeed in college, career and life.

“Digital Learning Day is more than just a day” said Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, co-chair of Digital Learning Now and former governor of West Virginia. “It is about building a digital learning movement that truly provides a quality education for every child.”

Technology has made nearly everything in modern life more efficient, accessible, richer and faster. It is hard to imagine modern life without the rapid innovations that have boosted productivity, created jobs and changed our daily lives, yet education remains largely untouched by the power of technology in the classroom and particularly teaching and learning.

”Simply layering on technology alone will not move the education needle very much,” said Wise. “Effective technology combined with great teachers and engaged students has the potential to transform the world of learning. The time has come to ensure that every child has access to the engaging experience that comes with powerful teaching and rigorous content available through digital learning. The teachers are here, the technology is everywhere and the students are ready and able.”

Feb. 1, 2012, will be the culmination of a continuous celebration of innovation, personalization and imagination to build a movement that provides a high quality education to every child. No matter the approach, no matter the grade level, no matter the subject or geographic location, no matter a teacher’s specific comfort with using technology, this day will challenge education professionals and policy makers at all levels to start a conversation, make a proclamation, improve a lesson or create a plan. 

“Librarians in schools and in public libraries are involved every day in helping children and teens with digital learning, so YALSA is very pleased to be a partner in Digital Learning Day,” said Sarah Flowers, president of YALSA. “It is a perfect fit with initiatives that we already have established, such as Teen Tech Week™ and our recent effort to provide resources for librarians in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) areas.”

The website, DigitalLearningDay.org, will offer customized toolkits for all audiences, grades and subjects to help you think about how you can contribute to the campaign.  Teachers, principals, students, leaders, parents and communities are invited to visit DigitalLearningDay.org today to register to receive toolkits, resources and invitations to run-up events and activities.

YALSA will offer a webinar on Feb. 1, 2011, on STEM as part of its participation in Digital Learning Day. Details on how to attend or receive a copy of this webinar will be posted at the Teen Tech Week website in November 2011.

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