global technology

Do other countries value classroom technology equally?


A new survey takes stock of how often technologies such as smartphones and interactive whiteboards are used across the globe

Technology use is becoming more prevalent in classrooms and for academic work outside of school, but it still varies widely by country, according to a new global survey.

Half of students participating in the survey say they use a desktop computer during lessons, and more than one-third say they still use a chalkboard in class.

Nearly two-thirds of students use smartphones for homework, according to the Cambridge International Global Education Census Survey. The survey includes feedback from 10,209 teachers and 9,397 students across the world.

Smartphones are sometimes a point of contention across the world. In 2015, New York lifted a 10-year ban on phones in schools, while in September of 2018, the French government imposed a ban on mobile phones in state middle schools.

Nearly half (48 percent) of surveyed students use a desktop computer at school, 42 percent use a smartphone, 33 percent use interactive whiteboards, and 20 percent use tablets. Students in China use tablets the most, with one in two students using the devices.

Laura Ascione

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