OTAN News
Survey Shows How Teachers and Students Are Using EdTech
Image by rawpixel from Pixabay
A new educational technology survey is out from Gallup and the NewSchools Venture Fund entitled Education Technology Use in Schools: Student and Educator Perspectives. The aim of the survey, which polled K-12 students, teachers, principals, and administrators, is to understand how teachers and students are using EdTech products both in the classroom and outside of school and the perception of the effectiveness of EdTech tools. The survey included questions in these five topic areas:
-
Current Access To and Availability of Education Technology – The questions were meant to determine use of devices and EdTech programs by teachers and students in the classroom and outside of school, and the results show a bit of a “digital divide” between high- and low-poverty areas.
-
Criteria for Selecting and Purchasing Digital Learning Tools – The results show that teachers, principals, and administrators would like more information about the effectiveness of EdTech tools, but that information is sometimes hard to find. Teachers usually ask other teachers for information about EdTech tools to use and which to avoid. And, according to the survey, more than 4 in 10 teachers use their own money to purchase EdTech products.
-
Perceptions of the Value and Utility of Digital Learning Tools – Teachers, principals, and administrators see the value of EdTech products in schools. Among the results, EdTech tools help teachers be more effective and support instructional strategies, help personalize learning for students, help students learn new things on their own and learn more outside of class, help students focus better, and help students practice solving real-world problems.
-
Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Digital Learning Tools – Teachers, principals, and administrators say that digital tools can help with research and finding information, and help with creating projects, reports, and presentations.
-
Extent to Which Schools Employ Certain Approaches to Teaching and Learning – The results show that teachers are beginning to use EdTech products to both differentiate learning in the classroom and have students work in unison, varying the use of EdTech depending on the situation.
Although the focus of the survey is on K-12 classrooms and schools, this survey and similar studies are instructive for adult education agencies to better understand how effective EdTech products are in the classroom and what issues arise when deploying EdTech in the classroom. This survey also provides a student perspective that is helpful to review, because we sometimes focus on teachers when we should consider both educators and learners.
OTAN provides a variety of training on EdTech tools for presenting, assessing, and communicating in the classroom. Please contact us at support@otan.us or call our office at 916-228-2580 to discuss your training needs!
Survey: Education Technology Use in Schools: Student and Educator Perspectives from Gallup and the NewSchools Venture Fund
Article: Not Just Classroom Supplies: Teachers Also Buy EdTech With Their Own Money from EdSurge