Technology in the Classroom survey results

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PC or laptop are most likely to be used in all lessons. Television, radio and CD/DVD are amongst the least likely to be used in lessons. MP3 players are also not.
Technology in the Classroom survey results Jill Elston Insightful Marketing September 2013

Summary

Executive summary (1 of 2) Technology in the classroom is used significantly and to a great extent by almost all respondents, although there are still technological challenges – some of them very basic – to overcome in many schools. Teachers are now confident in dealing with technology in the classroom.  Over half of schools have a written technology / e-learning strategy  There is a wide variation in the budget allocation to IT/technology. 52% of schools spend less than 20% of their budget on IT. 18% of schools spend more than 50% of their budget.  The more a school currently spends, the more likely they are to see that spend increasing in the next five years.  An overwhelming majority of students have access to the internet at home. Schools in Africa were more likely to report lower numbers of students having access.  ‘Old’ technology such as television/radio/CD player seems to be falling out of favour and being replaced by PC/Laptops.  Newer technologies such as smartphones and tablets are yet to be used significantly.  Internet /web-based software is most popular for both teaching and learning.  63% of respondents say that students are allowed to bring their own technology into the classroom.  Those who do now allow it are mostly afraid of misuse, distraction and being liable for loss/damage of student property.  Anecdotally, a small number of schools appear to be shifting opinion and making it easier for students to use their own technology.

Executive summary (1 of 2)  Technology in the classroom is mostly used for lesson planning, creating resources and whole class activities.  Teachers agree with the benefits of technology for students, particularly that it helps to develop realworld skills.  Teachers think the main benefit of technology for them is access to a wealth of content.  Technical issues and managing students’ use of technology are the greatest challenges.  87% think that all lessons will be supported by some form of technology in 10 years’ time.  A third think that technology will make physical classrooms obsolete in 10 years’ time.  The ability to connect classrooms around the world was the most appealing technological solution for teachers.

In total, 519 responses were received.

School context There are some regional variations, with schools in India/Pakistan, Middle East and Europe more likely to be further ahead in technology.

Over half of schools have a written technology or e-learning strategy. A

less than 20% of their budget on IT.

quarter still do not.

18% of schools spend

52% of schools spend

more than half of their budget of IT.

Schools who already spend over 50% are more likely to increase their budget. Those schools who expected the budget to remain the same or decrease were more likely to have only a small proportion of their budget allocated to IT in the first place.

Does your school have a written strategy or improvement plan for using technology and/or e-learning?

12%

 63% of respondents said their school has a written strategy or improvement plan.  However, the results are slightly skewed and over-inflated by multiple answers coming from the same school. It is impossible to calculate the exact percentage based on the data available, but I believe a more accurate representation would be that 55-57% of schools have a written strategy.

Don't know 25%

No Yes

63%

Approximately what percentage of your overall school budget is spent on IT equipment, software, connectivity and support?

80

 49% of respondents did not know how the school budget was spent.

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0 - 10%

11- 20%

21 - 30%

31 - 40%

Over 50%

 Data excludes ‘don’t know’ answers

Over the next five years do you expect this budget to increase, decrease or stay the same?

4% 17%

This breakdown remains the same even if we remove those who answered ‘do not know’ from the previous question.

decrease? increase? stay the same?

79%

Regional variations If we take the profile of a school which is advanced in using technology in the classroom as:  Having a written technology statement  Spending more than one third of their budget on IT  Having confident or very confident teachers  Allowing students to use their own technology 31 schools fit this profile. There are some regional variations in the results.  India and Pakistan make up 32% of these schools (but only 13% of the overall responses)  Middle East makes up 16% of these schools (but only 5% of the overall responses)  Europe (excl. UK) makes up 10% of these schools (but only 3% of the overall responses)

Home context Results show an overwhelming majority of students have access to the internet at home.

61% of respondents

19% of respondents

Schools in Africa

said that between 91100% of their students have internet at home.

said that between 8190% of their students have internet at home.

were more likely to report that less than 50% of their students had internet access at home, accounting for 13 out of the 22 responses.

What percentage of your students do you estimate have access to the internet at home? 350 300 250 200 150 100 50

Don't know

91 - 100%

81 - 90%

71 - 80%

61- 70%

51 - 60%

41- 50%

31 - 40%

21 - 30%

11 - 20%

0 - 10%

0

Teacher confidence Results show high levels of teacher confidence with technology.

96% of respondents felt

44% reported feeling

‘very confident’ or ‘confident’ about using technology in the classroom.

‘very confident’.

Training and practical experience were most likely to give teachers extra confidence.

How confident are you in using technology in the classroom?

 There was no discernible pattern to those teachers who felt less confident. Except that 4 out of the 21 who reported feeling ‘not very confident’ all came from the same school in Zimbabwe, possibly suggesting a localised issue in one school.

Confident

44%

Not confident at all 52%

Not very confident Very confident

4% 0%

What would give you more confidence using technology in the classroom?  14 comments were received.  6 comments focussed on training / education issues

Having more small workshop training on the things I need for my department. Singapore

 2 comments focussed on the need for practical experience / practice  3 comments focussed on lack of technology or connectivity issues User manuals, training and better support (when things break down etc.). Malaysia

Time to develop strategies, assistance in developing strategies and technology that is reliable. Turkey

Hardware for teaching ‘Old’ and cutting edge technology were least likely to be used.

Projector/IWB and PC or laptop are most

Television, radio and CD/DVD are

The newest technologies such as

likely to be used in all lessons.

amongst the least likely to be used in lessons. MP3 players are also not used much and from some comments it seems clear that a lot of teachers rely on PC/laptops to provide their Audio Visual material.

electronic readers and smartphones still have relatively low uptake compared to other hardware. Comments tended to focus on very subject specific pieces of technology.

How often do you use the following hardware in your classroom for teaching?

350 300 250 200 150 In most lessons 100

Occasionally Never

50 0

Other hardware used (number of mentions in brackets)  Audio / Video via a PC (6)  Visualiser (5)  Apple TV (4)  Data loggers (4)  Calculators (2)  Scanner (4)  CNC machines, e.g. lathe, laser cutters (3)  Voting pads (2)  Music technology / instruments (2)  OHP (2)  Digital microscope  Heart rate monitors / GPS activity trackers / stopwatches  Language lab  Plasma screens

Software for teaching Internet / web-based software shows the greatest popularity amongst teachers.

Videoconferencing, social networks and apps are least likely to be used by teachers in the classroom.

A majority of Website based material teachers use software is most popular. on an occasional basis, rather than using it in every lesson.

How often do you use the following software/services in your classroom for teaching?

350 300 250 200 150 100

In most lessons Occasionally

50 0

Never

Other software used (number of mentions in brackets)  2D & 3D CAD software (2)  Moodle (2)  Own developed software (2)  Blogs / School wiki  Clarity Works (ESOL resource)  Google doc/sites  Movement analysis software / blood gas analysis software  Mathematical graphing software

Hardware for students Trends for hardware for student access look broadly similar to the hardware used by teachers in class, with a couple of exceptions.

Students are less likely than teachers

Students are more likely than teachers

to have access to a PC or laptop in the classroom.

to have access to a smartphone or iPad/tablet in the classroom.

Which hardware do your students have access to in your classroom (either individually or in groups)? 350 300 250 200 150 In most lessons 100 50

Occasionally Never

0

 In additional comments, 1 teacher mentioned calculators; 1 said most students had their own smartphone; 2 teachers said the equipment was not always in the classroom but could be accessed via a separate lab or ordered in for a specific lesson.

Software for students Internet and web-based software is most likely to be accessed by students in the classroom.

Generic software is more likely to be accessed by students than teachers in the classroom.

Websites for teachers are less likely to be accessed by students in the classroom than by teachers.

All other software follows a very similar pattern to how it is accessed by teachers.

Which of the following software/services do your students have access to in your classroom (either individually or in groups)? 300 250 200 150 100 50 0

In most lessons Occasionally Never

Other software used  Clarity works  Google docs/sites  Moodle  Mymaths online subscription

Regulations on student technology A majority of students are allowed to bring their own technology in the classroom, with other schools set to change policy. But comments show real reservations about students accessing their own technology from some teachers.

63% of respondents

School rules/policy

said that students are allowed to bring their own technology into the classroom.

was most frequently cited as the reason why students could not bring their own technology.

Concerns about liability and distractions in class were the main reasons given for forbidding technology.

Are students allowed to bring their own technology for use in your classroom?

37%

 Of the 37% who do not allow technology a small number indicated that the policy was under review, or likely to change, suggesting an attitude shift may be underway in some schools.

No Yes

63%

Reasons for not allowing technology  133 comments received  31 cited school rules / policy Where further explanation was given, the most common reasons were:  Believed to be a distraction / used for non-educational purposes (37)  Security / school don’t want liability if things are lost/broken (14)  Not necessary / school provides everything (13)  Would lead to inequalities if not all students have them (9)  Safeguarding / worried about what students can access (8)  Technological reasons (6)  Too young (3) Interestingly, 7 respondents commented that the school policy was about to change or changing the policy was being considered. A couple of respondents also highlighted their own personal disagreement with school policy, suggesting that there may be a slow shift towards allowing technology. However, there were still very many negative comments regarding the potential for distraction / misuse.

Comments on why students are not allowed technology in the classroom. Students are distracted by these devices. They update and browse facebook and other social networks during class time instead of focusing on the lesson. Thefts of these devices became a problem in the school. Some students attempted to use their devices to cheat during exams by 'googling' answers during exams. Other students would wear their headphones and listen to music during classes instead of listening to the teacher. For these reasons we have forbidden students to bring these devices to school. Botswana

Because of distractions in the classroom. It does not allow for uniformity of learning outcomes for students. Students are not equally endowed financially so it may cause bad feelings amongst disadvantaged students. Nigeria

The cost of internet in the Islands is too high, so we have to be very strict about its use. Also we have had issues with bullying using mobile phones and finally personal MP3 players are viewed as a high risk in the event of fire and students not hearing firealarms. Falkland Islands

We cant trust them, some students will use it for having fun instead of learning the related subjects. Indonesia

Because if they bring electronic devices to school and something happens to them i.e. they break, lose them, gets stolen, etc. it's a problem for the school - although we always say that the school cannot be held responsible for valuables brought to school, parents don't see it that way! Uruguay

The computer lab in school is well equipped and available for all students. To avoid accessing other sites and misuse of internet, we do not allow students to use their own gadgets. With permission they may use , for presentations. They can access net only through a password given to them by school and many social sites are protected by Firewall and hence it is easy to have control. India

Use of technology in the classroom Technology is well-used by a majority of teachers for all of the activities listed in the question.

Lesson planning, creating resources & whole class teaching were the most frequent activities undertaken.

All respondents use technology for at least one of the areas listed.

Supporting students with special educational needs was the least cited area of use.

presentations.

 ‘Other’ comments were: communicating with other teachers and students, calculators, music/video recording, Other

Communicating with parents

Supporting students with special educational needs

Monitoring attendance and behaviour

Monitoring and analysing pupil progress

Recording information about students

Assessment

Collaborative learning activities

Individual learning activities

Whole class teaching activities

Creating & organising your own digital resources

Lesson planning

How do you use technology in your classroom? 600

500

400

300

200

100

0

Benefits of technology for students The majority of teachers agreed with all the benefits listed.

‘Helping students develop real world skills’ was seen as the strongest benefit.

Teachers were IT, research and least likely to agree communication that technology helped skills are seen as the to provide confident, engaged and motivated students.

skills students are most likely to develop by using technology.

Student benefits: how far do you agree with the following statements about the benefits of technology for students 350

300

250

200 Strongly agree Agree

150

Neither agree nor disagree Disagree

100

Strongly disagree 50

0 helps to develop is consistent with provides creates more enables students skills that students how students opportunities for confident, to access a wealth need in the real gather information them to put their engaged and of additional world and communicate learning into motivated students content outside of the practice classroom

Other student benefits  Classroom reflects the outside world  Necessary for IB syllabus  Saves students time (4)  Prepares students for modern world (3)  Good for revision and research  Motivates students  Gives real world experience for languages / CAD  Increased interactivity of lessons  Able to communicate with students outside classtime via social media etc.

What are the key skills that students develop through using technology in the classroom?

600

500

400

300

200

100

0 IT skills

Problem solving Collaboration

Research

Creativity

Communication

Analysis

Evaluation

Benefits of technology for teachers The vast majority of teachers agreed with all the benefits listed.

‘Accessing a wealth of content’ was seen as the strongest benefit.

Teachers were More resources and least likely to agree more engaged that technology helped students were other build their confidence.

benefits most frequently mentioned.

Benefits for teaching: how far do you agree with the following statements 350

300

250

200 Strongly agree Agree

150

Neither agree nor disagree Disagree 100

Strongly disagree

50

0 helps develop my own skills in using different technologies in my teaching

helps to build my confidence in using different technologies

encourages me to keep searching for innovative learning solutions

allows me to create more variety in my lessons

enables me to access a wealth of additional content

Other teaching benefits  Better organisation / saving of resources (4)  More interesting lessons (2)  Easier to adapt to different student needs  Makes presentation of material quicker  Share ideas with teachers around the world (2)  Students are more engaged (4)

Challenges Technical issues and managing students are seen as the greatest challenges.

81% of respondents see

76% of respondents

technical issues as a major challenge.

find it difficult to prevent students going off on a tangent. Comments reinforce that students are distracted by social media.

In some countries this is as basic as reliable electricity & internet access.

Less than half of teachers find keeping up with technology a challenge, reinforcing the feeling of confidence with technology that was reported in an earlier question.

What are the challenges or barriers to using technology in the classroom? 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 Providing access for Making sure my all students technical skills match those of my students

Keeping abreast of new technologies

Preventing students going off on a tangent and accessing irrelevant/inaccurate or too much content

Technical issues

Managing access to inappropriate material

Comments on challenges  Problems with internet connection (12)  Students too easily distracted – especially by social networking (9)  Funding for hardware (6)  Students know more about technology than the teachers (4)  Electricity sometimes off (3)  Lack of IT support (3)  Lack of time to prepare (3)  Problems with access to hardware  Difficulty in evaluating impact on technology on teaching / what is most effective (2)  Students can become too reliant on technology

The future The majority of teachers agree with many of the future scenarios put forward, although only 1/3 think technology will render physical classrooms obsolete.

87% of respondents

One third of

80% would like to see

think all lessons will be supported by some form of technology in 10 years’ time.

respondents think students will be learning in virtual classrooms in 10 years’ time.

technology helping to link classrooms around the world.

Technology will make the physical classroom obsolete, students will be learning in virtual classrooms

All teaching/learning resources, including books, will be online

It will be compulsory for schools around the world to teach their students computer/digital skills

All communication (except school events/parents' evenings etc) between the school and students/parents outside the classroom will be digital

Every student will have a computer on their desk or laptop/tablet for their personal use in classroom

All students' work will be completed and handed in electronically

All assessment, where applicable, will be carried out electronically

All lesson will be supported by some form of technology

Thinking about the future, where do you think technology in the classroom will be in 10 years’ time? 500

450

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

In an ideal world, which of the following technological solutions would you like to see developed?

450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 Interactive online lessons delivered in real-tim by the world's brightest minds in the field

An app to automatically mark students' work

An app to filter the internet and 'turn off' irrelevant sections

An app which alerts The ability to link with me when pupils are other classrooms using their tablet to around the world, look up some share information and inappropriate material best practice

Other

Dream classroom technological solution  Examinations completed with full access to the internet  Virtual science app for students with special needs to carry out experiments  Industry standard software made freely available to schools

Examinations completed with full access to the internet. The time limits are the key differentiator to success and failure, not recall of facts. Education systems (especially teaching in Mathematics) should move away from fact recall/process recall and move towards understanding and application. If necessary, the marking of the exams can be carried out with a transcript of the candidate's online search activity. In nowhere except for the artificial environment of the exam is there not access to perfect information.

 International student collaboration 1.An app to alert me when a new video or virtual lesson is available for topics of my interest. 2.A virtual science tool for students of special needs to be able to carry out school relevant science experiments.

Interactive desktops that allow the teacher to tap into any student's device (during classroom lesson time) and interact with the student either individually or in groups.

Demographics

Responses by region (number & %)

140

USA 2%

120 UK 15%

100

Africa 22%

80 60

S. America 12%

40 20 0

Middle East 5%

Asia 18% India/Pakist an 13%

Europe excl. UK 10%

Australia/N Caribbean Z 3% 0%

Detailed breakdown of responses (1 of 2) Europe: 131 individuals, 73 schools Africa: 114 individuals, 48 schools

Asia: 91 individuals, 51 schools

Albania (2)

-

Botswana (8)

4 schools

China (7)

7 schools

Belgium (2)

2 schools

Ethiopia (1)

1 school

Hong Kong (7)

4 schools

Cyprus (3)

2 schools

Gambia (1)

1 school

Indonesia (26)

14 schools

Czech Rep (2)

2 schools

Ghana (3)

3 schools

Japan (2)

2 schools

Denmark (1)

1 school

Kenya (3)

3 schools

Korea (1)

1 school

France (1)

1 school

Lesotho (1)

1 school

Malaysia (30)

12 schools

Germany (3)

3 schools

Malawi (1)

1 school

Philippines (4)

3 schools

Greece (2)

2 schools

Mauritius (3)

3 schools

Singapore (9)

4 schools

Italy (7)

7 schools

Mozambique (1)

1 school

Thailand (4)

3 schools

Macedonia (1)

1 school

Namibia (1)

1 school

Vietnam (1)

1 school

Malta (1)

1 school

Nigeria (5)

5 schools

Monaco (1)

1 school

Sierra Leone (1)

1 school

Netherlands (8)

3 schools

South Africa (13)

9 schools

Serbia (1)

1 school

Sudan (51)

Slovakia (1)

1 school

Spain (6)

2 schools

Sweden (2)

2 schools

Switzerland (1)

1 school

Turkey (7)

2 schools

UK (79)

38 schools

Aus/NZ: 13 individuals, 5 schools Australia (1)

1 school 4 schools

1 school

New Zealand (12)

Tanzania (2)

2 schools

Caribbean: 3 individuals, 3 schools

Uganda (4)

4 schools

Jamaica (2)

2 schools

Zimbabwe (15)

7 schools

Bermuda (1)

1 school

Detailed breakdown of responses (2 of 2) India/Pakistan: 66 individuals, 43 schools

S. America: 61 individuals, 30 schools

India (57)

36 schools

Argentina (54)

25 schools

Pakistan (9)

7 schools

Colombia (1)

1 school

Falkland Islands (1)

1 school

Mexico (3)

1 school

Uruguay (2)

2 schools

Middle East: 24 individuals, 21 schools Bahrain (2)

1 school

Brunei (1)

1 school

Egypt (1)

1 school

Israel (1)

1 school

Jordan (6)

5 schools

Kuwait (1)

1 school

Oman (3)

3 schools

Qatar (2)

2 schools

UAE (6)

5 schools

Yemen (1)

1 school

USA: 8 individuals, 6 schools USA (8)

6 schools

 NB Not all respondents stated a school name; school numbers are based on available information which may be incomplete.

0 Albania Argentina Australia Bahrain Belgium Bermuda Botswana Brunei Darussalam China Colombia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Egypt Ethiopia Falkland Islands France Gambia Germany Ghana Greece Hong Kong India Indonesia Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kenya Korea, Republic of Kuwait Lesotho Macedonia Malawi Malaysia Malta Mauritius Mexico Monaco Mozambique Namibia Netherlands New Zealand Nigeria Oman Other Pakistan Philippines Qatar Serbia And Montenegro Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia South Africa Spain Sudan Sweden Switzerland Tanzania Thailand Trinidad & Tobago Turkey Uganda UK United Arab Emirates United States Of America Uruguay Vietnam Yemen Arab Republic Zimbabwe (blank)

Country in which respondents teach

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

School location

1%

24%

in a city? in a rural area? in a town? 7%

other 68%

Respondent role 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Academic counsellor

Director of studies

Exams officer

Head of department

Head of sixth form

Other

Principal / Subject teacher Deputy Principal

Cambridge programmes taught NB Because this question was added late to the survey, only 214 out of the 519 respondents answered the question.

200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Cambridge Primary

Cambridge Secondary 1

Cambridge Secondary 2

Cambridge Advanced

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