teachers and technology Archives

Crunch the numbers: The latest edtech data you can use right now

Study.com released new survey data last month that sheds light on parents’ evolving attitudes towards the role of schools as students head into the third school year post-pandemic. The education platform surveyed parents in California and Texas to understand their perspectives on their children’s education. Notably, 55 percent and 47 percent of parents in California and Texas, respectively, support extending the school year to provide students with increased learning time, and 46 percent of California parents and 43 percent of Texas parents favor the use of A.I. tools like ChatGPT for academic help in schools.

Across both states, a significant number of respondents believe in a shared responsibility between parents and schools to foster academic growth. Over a third assign a major or complete responsibility to schools in this regard. However, a large percentage of parents in California (28 percent) and Texas (27 percent) feel that schools are taking minimal or no responsibility post-pandemic to help their child catch-up academically. A significant number of parents demonstrated dedication to improving their child’s education through the utilization of district and schoolwide resources as well as support in the home:

37 percent of California parents and 41 percent of Texas parents have sought external educational support, such as tutoring or counseling, for their children.
In California, most parents have sought tutoring or study sessions (26 percent), homework help or after-school programs (23 percent), or educational online platforms (20 percent).
In Texas, most parents have sought tutoring or study sessions (31 percent), homework help or after-school programs (19 percent) educational online platforms (16 percent).

The enduring consequences of academic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic underpin the motivations driving parents to seek additional support tools for their children’s education. In both states, more than a third of parents reported a substantial negative impact on their child’s academic performance due to the pandemic and related social-emotional challenges.…Read More

Five ways teachers can use technology to help students

The Huffington Post reports that Thomas Edison once said, “Books will soon be obsolete in the public schools… our school system will be completely changed inside of ten years.” Amazingly enough, however, one of our nation’s most important inventors was proven quite wrong. The American education system has a remarkable resistance to innovation and the classroom experience has changed very little in the 100 years since Edison’s prediction. Advances in information technology have revolutionized how people communicate and learn in nearly every aspect of modern life except for education. The education system operates under the antiquated needs of an agrarian and industrial America…

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Snapshot: This is how teachers use technology

Tablets and eReaders saw the biggest increase among technology platforms available for classroom instruction.

With Digital Learning Day on the horizon, technology is once again in the national spotlight. But are teachers using new resources in today’s classroom? The answer, according to a new survey, is a resounding yes.

The survey was released as part of PBS LearningMedia, a free media on-demand service for classrooms, featuring more than 20,000 digital assets from national organizations all aligned to lesson plans and Common Core State Standards. It surveyed more than 500 U.S. pre-K-12 teachers in January 2013.…Read More

An apple a day is great, but teachers really want more tech

In the days of yore, teachers routinely wanted paper towels and art supplies for their classrooms, Mashable reports. Now, in this era of trying to teach to digital natives, they just want more technology in the classroom, according to the results of a survey of teachers across the country. The survey was commissioned by PBS LearningMedia, a leading provider of free teacher resources and digital content for use in the classroom. Three quarters of those surveyed said they want more technology in order to better engage their students. One big barrier to more tech in the classroom is the budget. More than half of teachers polled said it’s not a lack of training, but a lack of funding that’s keeping the gadgetry out of the classroom. For more on the survey, see the infographic provided by PBS LearningMedia below…

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Educators who use technology on their own are more likely to support ed tech

The report focused on the views of three subsets of teachers, principals, and district administrators who use technology.

If there’s one thing different generations can agree on, it’s that technology isn’t like Justin Bieber: Nearly everyone loves their smart phone—but you have to be a child of the late 90s to really love Bieber. Highlighting this bit of cultural knowledge is a new report that reveals it’s not just students who love using 21st-century technology; it’s many of the adults in education, too—and the adults are translating this love into classroom practice.

According to the ninth annual “Speak Up” survey, facilitated by the nonprofit group Project Tomorrow and supported by numerous companies, education associations, and think tanks, while only 46 percent of all Americans report using a smart phone, more than 70 percent of school principals and district administrators use these always-connected devices, making them early adopters of technology their students crave.…Read More

10 ways to change the minds of tech-reluctant staff

"Removing technology from its stature as something mystical and powerful is something I stress to whomever I'm working with," says one reader.

We often hear about tech-savvy educators and administrators who have an array of best practices and whose love for technology is evident. But as anyone who’s ever been part of a school or district knows, not all teachers and administrators are as comfortable or familiar with technology.

In a recent “Question of the Week,” we asked our tech-savvy readers: “How do you get tech-reluctant teachers and administrators to use technology effectively?” Here are our readers’ top answers (edited for brevity).…Read More

Research dispels common ed-tech myths

Teachers newer to the profession were no more likely to use technology than teachers with more experience.

Contrary to popular opinion, newer teachers aren’t any more likely to use technology in their lessons than veteran teachers, and a lack of access to technology does not appear to be the main reason why teachers do not use it: These are among the common perceptions about education technology that new research from Walden University’s Richard W. Riley College of Education and Leadership appears to dispel.

Prepared by Grunwald Associates based on a 2009 survey of more than 1,000 teachers and administrators conducted by Eduventures Inc., the study argues that the more K-12 teachers use technology, the more they recognize its potential to help boost student learning and engagement and its connection to developing key 21^st century skills.…Read More