Princeton, NJ – September 22, 2009 – Preliminary results of a Survey of K-12 Educators on Social Networking and Content-Sharing Tools were released last week at the EdNET Conference in Chicago. The survey was co-sponsored by three organizations—edWeb.net, MCH, and MMS Education—and was deployed to more than 70,000 K-12 principals, teachers, and school librarians.
The purpose of the study, which will be conducted on a regular basis, is to begin benchmarking educators’ use and attitudes about Web 2.0 collaborative technologies such as social networking, blogging, wikis, video-sharing, and more.Students are far ahead of educators in their use of technology, and this survey is intended to provide information than can help measure and close the gap.
According to the survey, Facebook is currently the leading social network that educators have joined—86% of educators who have joined a social network have joined Facebook.There are a number of social networks that are dedicated specifically to education.Although these sites currently have low penetration, educators expressed a strong preference to join a social network dedicated to education, which bodes well for these niche sites.
Another key finding is that educators who have already joined a social network are far more positive about the technology and its value in education than educators who have not joined a social network. As the younger generation that has grown up on social networks enters the education workforce, there will be increasing desire and pressure to use this technology for professional and classroom collaboration.
Educators who responded provided insight on the factors that are inhibiting the growth of this technology in educational settings including—major privacy concerns, schools/districts that block access to these website, and time pressure.
To request a copy of the preliminary findings from the Survey of K-12 Educators on Social Networking and Content-Sharing Tools, send an email to survey@edweb.net or call 800-575-6015, ext. 100.You can download a copy from the MMS Education website at www.mmseducation.com.
About the Sponsors
edWeb.net is a professional social network for the education community that makes it easy to connect and collaborate with colleagues, share information and best practices, and create professional learning communities. The edWeb is a user-friendly Web 2.0 platform that introduces educators to technology that students use every day, mostly outside of school. The edWeb is free for education professionals and for educational institutions. Education companies are invited to join as sponsors. The site is located at www.edweb.net. For more information, contact Lisa Schmucki, founder and CEO, at 800-575-6015, ext. 100, or by email at lisa@edweb.net.
MCH, Inc. is a leading source of compiled data on education, health, and government institutions in the United States. MCH is a privately owned company that has been in the education market for over 80 years. MCH is a strategic partner of edWeb.net and is helping to spread the word about the edWeb to the preK-12 education community. For more information, contact John Hood, president, at 800-776-6373 or by email at johnh@mailings.com.
MMS Education is a national market research, consulting and marketing company specializing exclusively in the education market. MMS is particularly interested in how social networking and social media will provide enhanced opportunities for educators to collaborate peer to peer, and also as a way for education companies and nonprofit organizations to connect more directly with the educators who use their products and services in classrooms every day. For more information, see www.mmseducation.com or contact Susan Keipper Meell, CEO, at 800-523-5948 or by email at smeell@mmseducation.com.
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