Majority of surveyed educators use digital content, but concerns over funding, lack of devices remain
Ninety-seven percent of educators surveyed for an annual report said they use some form of digital content, and more than 50 percent of those respondents said they use apps, websites, and/or digital games in the classroom.
But there also remains a gap between teachers’ and administrators’ views on digitally-enhanced instruction and professional development.
The Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) Educator Confidence Report surveyed more than 1,000 teachers and school and district administrators about various issues relating to technology in the classroom.
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Of the 97 percent of educators who use digital materials in their classrooms, the most commonly-used resources were free or open educational resources (71 percent) and video (66 percent); digital versions of instructional materials (54 percent) and interactive whiteboards (54 percent), and apps, websites, and/or digital games (51 percent).
Laptops and desktop computers were cited as the most often used classroom technology, but only 23 percent of respondents said they used that technology daily. Eighteen percent said they used it 3-4 times per week, and 23 percent said they use it 1-2 times per week.
The majority of respondents said their students use digital tools rarely (1-2 times per month) or never to turn in an assignment (63 percent), take an assessment (65 percent), or engage with each other for learning purposes (68 percent).
The survey also revealed gaps between classroom teachers and district administrators.
Seventy-seven percent of administrators said their district used interactive whiteboards, compared to 52 percent of classroom teachers.
Similar gaps exist when it comes to the reported use of open educational resources (87 percent vs. 70 percent), online assessments (66 percent vs. 42 percent), learning management systems (64 percent vs. 36 percent), and adaptive learning content (49 percent vs. 35 percent). The results also indicate a technology gender gap: 80 percent of CTOs/CIOs in the survey were male, compared to 20 percent female.
Awareness around student privacy issues is becoming more important as well, with 41 percent of educators saying they were very aware of privacy policies associated with products students use.
When it comes to benefits from technology-enhanced instruction, educators reported improved student engagement (60 percent), better student access to instructional content (55 percent), and the ability to deliver individualized instruction (48 percent) as the top three.
Educators’ biggest concerns about the state of teaching today include a lack of funding (66 percent), implications of teacher accountability requirements (63 percent), meeting new standards-aligned assessment requirements (58 percent), and lack of technology devices in classrooms, lack of classroom autonomy, and lack of differentiated lessons for students who require intervention, all three of which tied for fourth place at 36 percent.
The independent survey was conducted by the market research agency MDR on behalf of HMH. To view the full report, visit http://learn.hmhco.com/ECR2015.
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