By Pamela Anderson, PhD, & Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES  | June 22, 2016
Senior Research Associate & Senior Editor, ETR

Originally published at EdSurge.

Teens, tweens and even younger kids are on smartphones, tablets and computers a lot. Of course, tech can be a force for good. Parents, educators and youth themselves report many benefits from the presence of technology in young people’s lives—connecting with family and friends, sharing experiences with distant peers, learning, being entertained and more.

By Raymond Blossom | June 2, 2016
Prevention Supervisor, Touchstone Health Services Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program

Note: Raymond Blossom participated in a recent training delivered by ETR Professional Development staff. We asked him to share some of his reflections after the event.

I grew up in the South Bay area of San Diego, California. There is a lot to witness there, a lot to learn and a lot to take in.

It is true there are beautiful beaches and weather that makes you never want to leave. But outside looking in, you may not see the lives lost too often to gang violence, families struggling to make ends meet, and the lack of opportunity for many young men and women.

As a teen, some of my closest friends were becoming parents before high school graduation. I never imagined I would one day have the opportunity to teach prevention and sexual health to teens, and to let young men and women know they do not have to become a statistic. 

By Amie Ashcraft, PhD, MPH | January 6, 2015
Research Manager, West Virginia University

I grew up in Bridgeport, West Virginia. We had what passed for a Mexican and a Chinese restaurant. We had a convenience store with a drive-thru where you could buy smokes, beverages and live bait—everything needed for a fishing trip.

By local standards, my town was not at all rural. There was even a shopping mall in Bridgeport. The town was not quite so small that everyone knew everyone else, but it was small enough that if you were getting into trouble, you could be sure that word would eventually get back to your parents.

By Annika Shore, MPH, & Amy Peterson, MSc | March 16, 2015

A well-designed professional development (PD) plan (training, technical assistance, ongoing support) provides the foundation for program tranformation and impact! In fact, our organization, founded 35 years ago, began with a training grant for teen pregnancy prevention programs.

While we have expanded into other areas since then, PD remains a fundamental component of ETR’s work. It’s one of the most important ways we support our clients and maintain our own culture of continuous learning. Our professional learning services are rooted in the belief that learning takes place over time. We view PD not as a one-time training event, but a process that occurs before and throughout the implementation stage.

By Julie Adams | February 12, 2015

I’m a digital native—from the generation born after digital technologies became common—but also old enough to have seen just how much these technologies have changed. I’m also someone who is beginning a career in research on technology education. This intersection has given me a natural interest in understanding how people’s perception of technology changes over time. 

The majority of my work at ETR has been with the students in our Watsonville TEC Program. The students have given me insight into how their young generation feels about technology and computer science stereotypes. What I’ve learned from these young people doesn’t always match what I’ve found in published research, and I’m very intrigued by this discrepancy.

By Suzanne Schrag | February 6, 2015
Product Manager, ETR

Once again, the Get Real: Comprehensive Sex Education That Works program is a hot news topic in the world of teen pregnancy prevention. We're thrilled to announce that Get Real has been officially added to the Office of Adolescent Health's list of Evidence-Based Programs.

By ETR | January 30, 2015

There are lots of birth control options. There’s a lot of information about each method, some of it pretty nuanced. There’s no one method that’s right for everyone.

We know this can be confusing, intimidating even, for anyone trying to make a good choice. So how do we get accurate information out there to more people?

By Stephanie Guinosso, MPH | January 27, 2015

How do you define program success?

From my perspective, a successful program is one that is created in partnership with key stakeholders in the community. It’s developed with the community’s needs in mind. It facilitates positive change in peoples’ lives by addressing multiple layers of an issue, from individual knowledge, attitudes and behaviors to the social and cultural structures within which people live, work and play.

A successful program relies on the best evidence for what works. It’s also flexible and adaptable to the uniqueness of a particular context. Successful programs cultivate the knowledge and skills of implementers to ensure that the program operates at its best capacity—there is a culture of learning and growth, adapting and responding to change.