Teaching with Technology:

Transcription

1 Teaching with Technology: The Promise and Reality of the U.S. Digital Classroom A graphite White Paper from Common Sense Media FALL

2 Teaching with Technology: The Promise and Reality of the U.S. Digital Classroom A graphite White Paper from Common Sense Media

3 Table of Contents Executive Summary...3 Introduction...5 Methodology...6 Key Findings Edtech isn t optional; it s essential :1 student access to devices is just getting started, but the penetration of laptop and mobile devices is remarkable Few teachers report using edtech tools frequently, but demand for edtech use is strong Money, access, time, and training are the biggest challenges to edtech implementation It s tough to find the good stuff Conclusion...13 Survey Toplines TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

4 Executive Summary Overview Teaching with Technology: The Promise and Reality of the U.S. Digital Classroom is a national online survey of teachers and administrators conducted in May 2013 to identify current practices, attitudes, and challenges related to the selection and use of educational technologies in prek-12 public school classrooms in the United States. This Graphite White Paper from Common Sense Media is a report on the findings from this survey, which will be fielded annually. Methodology The survey was conducted online in the U.S. by Harris Interactive in May 2013, among 764 public school prek-12 teachers and 205 public school administrators. The data were weighted to key demographic variables to align with the national population of the respective groups. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. Wherever significant differences are reported, they are reported at the significance level (alpha) of (For more details on the survey and the methodology of the study, please see the full report.) Throughout this paper, educational technologies or edtech will refer to digitally delivered products designed to help students or teachers, such as mobile applications (apps), websites, computer/console games, digital planning tools, or digitally delivered curricula. Main Findings 1. Edtech isn t optional; it s essential. Most teachers (86%) and administrators (93%) consider it important or absolutely essential to use educational technologies 1 in the classroom. Overwhelming proportions of teachers agree that using edtech in the classroom confers benefits like student engagement, personalized learning, and collaboration. school teachers (57%) are significantly more likely than middle (42%) or high school teachers (36%) to agree that edtech is absolutely essential. 2. 1:1 student access to devices is just getting started, but the penetration of laptop and mobile devices is remarkable. The majority of teachers (73%) report using more traditional provisioning or ways for students to access technology, such as in-class sharing (37%) or using the computer lab (36%). Only one in nine teachers (11%) are implementing 1:1 or Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs (where each student has access to their own device). Half of all teachers (49%) report having used tablets in their classroom for learning or instruction during the school year (either teachers only, students only, or by both), 40% report smartphone use, and 69% laptop use. High school teachers, and to a lesser extent, middle school teachers, report significantly higher prevalence of 1:1/BYOD provisioning. 3. Few teachers report using edtech tools frequently, but demand for edtech use is strong. Despite their enthusiasm for edtech and its benefits, weekly less than one fifth (19%) of teachers use content-specific tools (like Mathboard), 31% report using information/reference tools (like Desmos Graphing Calculator or Dictionary.com), 24% use teacher tools (like ClassDojo or Lesson Planet), and only 14% report using digital curricula (like Dreambox Learning or Lexia Learning). Even in 1:1/BYOD classrooms, teachers report relatively low usage. For example, 15% of teachers in 1:1/ BYOD classrooms report using subject-specific content tools weekly and 18% use teacher tools weekly. Weekly use of information/reference tools in these classrooms is higher, at 37%. Math teachers are not significantly more likely to use edtech than teachers of other subjects. However, while teachers vary in their current use of edtech, nine in ten (92%) agree they would like to use technology in the classroom more than they do now. 1 In the Harris survey, and were initially shown the following definition of educational technologies : Educational technologies are digitallydelivered products designed to help students or teachers, such as apps, computer games, websites, digital planning tools or digitally delivered curricula COMMON SENSE MEDIA TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 3

5 4. Money, access, time, and training are the biggest challenges to edtech implementation. As seen above, the use of edtech sometimes lags behind its promise. What s standing in the way? and administrators identify funding, infrastructure, and time as the biggest challenges to implementation. Educators also rank lack of training high on the list of challenges. 5. It s tough to find the good stuff. In addition to the typical challenges of funding and infrastructure, this survey also asked teachers about discovery and decisionmaking around edtech. Three quarters (76%) of teachers agree it s at least somewhat difficult to find high quality edtech products, and roughly one in three spends an hour or more each week looking for edtech products to use in the classroom. Further analysis reveals that teacher attitudes toward the potential of edtech are related to perceived difficulty of finding good edtech products. Compared to those who agreed it was not difficult, teachers who agreed that it was difficult to find good edtech tools were more likely to agree that lack of training, demands on teacher time, and difficulty of determining quality are obstacles to edtech implementation. They were also less likely to be high edtech users and to agree that edtech is absolutely essential, improves outcomes, helps students collaborate, or that funding is a challenge. However, there were no significant differences between the two groups (difficult vs. not difficult to find good edtech) in terms of relevant demographic factors such as school level or subjects taught, mean years of experience, urbanicity of the respondent s location, and proportion of minority or free/reduced lunch students. 4 TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

6 Introduction Every day, we hear about a new educational technology innovation or school district integrating and embedding technology more deeply into their system and pedagogical DNA. What do classroom teachers and education administrators think about these trends, what are their own realities regarding edtech, where are the gaps in their ability to capitalize on the best tools and innovations, and how are they going about making sense of the plethora of edtech resources out there? Teaching with Technology: The Promise and Reality of the U.S. Digital Classroom is a national online survey of public school teachers and administrators conducted in May 2013 that aims to answer some of these questions. It was designed to identify current practices, attitudes, and challenges related to the use of educational technologies in prek-12 classrooms in the United States. This Graphite White Paper from Common Sense Media is a report on the findings from this survey. The survey conducted by Harris Interactive adds to the growing body of research on the use of educational technologies in the larger U.S. education landscape and makes several contributions: First, this study is conducted by Common Sense Media, an independent non-profit organization, and strives to provide an unbiased snapshot of the state of the U.S. digital classroom. Subsequent waves of the survey will identify changes to this landscape over time. Second, this study provides unique data on the use of specific kinds of edtech devices and tools by both students and teachers (as reported by teachers). Third, the survey gathers data from both teachers as well as administrators, and also examines differences, where present, between teachers from different grade levels or school demographics. And fourth, the study explores educators discovery, selection, and decision-making around edtech for use in the classroom COMMON SENSE MEDIA TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 5

7 Methodology The Teaching with Technology survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive for Common Sense Media in May 2013, among 764 public school prek-12 teachers (including 254 prek-fifth grade teachers, 252 sixth-eighth grade teachers and 258 ninth-12th grade teachers) and 205 public school administrators. Qualified teacher respondents were U.S. residents, 18 years or older, employed full- or part-time as a classroom teacher in grades prek-12 in a U.S. public or charter school. Qualified administrator respondents were U.S. residents, 18 years or older, employed full-or part-time in a U.S. public or charter school and either a principal, assistant principal, superintendent, or assistant superintendent; or a curriculum supervisor, technology coordinator, media specialist, or librarian and who is involved in making educational technologies decisions for their school or district. To keep in line with their actual proportions in the population, teachers figures for gender, years of experience, region, urbanicity, grade level, school size and percentage of students eligible for free/reduced lunch were weighted where necessary. Among administrators, figures for region, urbanicity, and district size were also weighted, where necessary, to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words margin of error as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. Wherever significant differences are reported between subgroups, they are reported at the significance level (alpha) of Throughout this paper, educational technologies or edtech will refer to digitally delivered products designed to help students or teachers, such as mobile applications (apps), websites, computer/console games, digital planning tools, or digitally delivered curricula. 2 2 In the Harris survey, and were initially shown the following definition of educational technologies : Educational technologies are digitallydelivered products designed to help students or teachers, such as apps, computer games, websites, digital planning tools or digitally delivered curricula. 6 TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

8 Key Findings 1. Edtech isn t optional; it s essential. Eighty six percent of teachers and nearly all administrators (93%) agree that it s important or absolutely essential to use educational technologies in the classroom. Moreover, teachers agree there are appreciable benefits of technology for learning. Nine in ten (96%) agree that using edtech in the classroom increases student engagement and enables personalized learning (95%). A large majority agrees it improves student outcomes (89%) and helps students collaborate with each other (87%). In addition, almost all educators (99% of teachers and 100% of administrators) agree that edtech expands resources available to teachers. A significantly higher proportion of elementary school teachers (57%) agree that edtech is absolutely essential compared to middle (42%) and high school teachers (36%). Although an overwhelming majority of teachers associate edtech use with several positive attributes, relative to elementary school teachers, a significantly higher proportion of middle (45%) and high school teachers (43%) feel that these technologies could also distract students. Proportion of teachers and educators who agree that using edtech in the classroom offers various benefits: Enables personalized learning Increases student engagement in learning Expands resources available to teachers Helps students collaborate Improves student outcomes 87% 90% 89% 96% 95% 93% 98% 96% 100% 99% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% reporting student use (alone or with teachers) of mobile devices for learning are significantly more likely to identify as early adopters and to agree that edtech use is essential and improves student outcomes. 5x who say that using edtech in the classroom is absolutely essential are five times more likely than other teachers to strongly agree that it improves student outcomes COMMON SENSE MEDIA TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 7

9 2. 1:1 student access to devices is just getting started, but the penetration of laptop and mobile devices is remarkable. The majority of teachers report using more traditional methods of provisioning technology for students, such as in-class sharing (37%) and using the computer lab (36%). Only one in nine teachers (11%) report being in classrooms where students have access to their own device through 1:1 or BYOD programs, and significantly more middle (14%) or high school teachers (20%) report their implementation than elementary school teachers (6%). Although shared access is still more commonplace than 1:1 access, the prevalence of laptop and mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets is remarkable given how recent an invention the latter are. Although desktops (84%) and smart board/interactive whiteboards (64%) are widespread, almost half of all teachers (49%) report having used tablets in their classroom for learning or instruction during the school year (either teachers or students only, or both), 40% say smartphones were used, and more than two thirds (69%) report having used laptops. According to teachers, over a third of students (34%) have access to tablets either individually or in a shared situation. Considering tablet devices are relatively new entrants into the market, their penetration is notable. A total of 55% of teachers report that students (either alone, or with teachers) use any smaller mobile device in the classroom. Percent of teachers who report each way in which computers and other devices are provided to their students: Percent of teachers reporting use of each device in the classroom for learning or instruction by students, teachers, or both: 1-to-1 laptop/tablet/byod (net) 11% Smartphone 40% BYOD (students supply own computers) 5% Tablet 49% 1-to-1 laptop program 1-to-1 tablet program 1% 5% Smart board, interactive white board, or similar 64% Student sharing of in-class computers or tablets 37% Laptop 69% Computer lab 36% Desktop computer 84% None 16% % teachers reporting 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% % teachers reporting 8 TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

10 3. Few teachers report using edtech tools frequently, but demand for edtech use is strong. Despite their enthusiasm for edtech and its benefits, weekly less than one fifth (19%) of teachers use content-specific tools (like Mathboard or icivics, for example), 31% report using information/reference tools (like Desmos Graphing Calculator, Google Earth, and Dictionary.com), almost a fourth (24%) use teacher tools (like Socrative and ClassDojo), and only 14% report using digital curricula (like Lexia Learning or Dreambox Learning). Most teachers report using at least one type of educational technology product during the school year, and three-quarters report using at least one tool more than once a month. Few use these on a weekly basis. Of those who are not using any of the types of edtech tools specified in the survey, at least one-quarter of teachers plan to do so next year. Even in 1:1/BYOD classrooms where each student has access to his or her own device and one might expect the proliferation of edtech tools, teachers report relatively low usage. For example, 15% of teachers in 1:1/BYOD classrooms report using subject-specific content tools weekly and 18% use teacher tools weekly. Only weekly use of information/reference tools is reported by a relatively greater proportion of teachers in 1:1/BYOD classrooms (37%). However, while teachers vary in their current use of edtech, nine in ten (92%) agree they would like to use technology in the classroom more than they do now. Nearly half (48%) of teachers across all grade levels strongly agree with this statement. Two-thirds plan to use at least one type of digitally delivered tool or product more often than they do this school year. Percent of teachers reporting weekly or more frequent use of various types of edtech tools: Digital curricula 14% 20% Teacher tools 18% 24% Information / reference tools 31% 37% Subject-specific content tools 15% 19% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 1:1/ BYOD Classrooms All Classrooms 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 9

11 4. Money, access, time, and training are the biggest challenges to edtech implementation. This survey s findings suggest that the use of edtech sometimes lags behind its promise. What s standing in the way? identify lack of funding, insufficient infrastructure, and time as the biggest hurdles to implementation. In another question asking respondents about certain pros and cons of edtech, four in ten teachers and a little over one-fifth of administrators agree that using edtech in the classroom places too many demands on teachers time. Over half (53%) of all teachers indicate that they had insufficient technology infrastructure, including connectivity and hardware problems. Lack of time to implement (45%) and training (43%) were also top-ranked challenges for teachers. One in three educators feel that challenges in implementing these technologies outweigh their benefits. Top four challenges to integrating edtech in schools according to administrators and teachers (percent reporting each challenge): Lack of trained appropriate staff Lack of training for teachers on how to use and implement Lack of time to implement Insufficient tech infrastructure in the classroom Lack of funds 38% 45% 43% 45% 45% 53% 66% 75% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% $255 a year 40% of teachers who use edtech pay an average of $255 a year out of pocket to purchase edtech tools for their classrooms. 10 TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

12 5. It s tough to find the good stuff. Decision-making In addition to the typical challenges of funding and infrastructure, this survey also asked teachers about discovery and decision-making. Classroom teachers appear to be quite involved in decision-making around edtech. Fully 80% of teachers report contributing to (66%) or leading/having the greatest influence on (14%) decisions about the use of edtech in their schools. Just over half of teachers (55%) say that they are involved in the decision-making process when purchasing educational technologies under $100. Over half of teachers report that technology coordinators, media specialists, or other school staff (including principals) are similarly involved in the decision to purchase under-$100 edtech. Discovery With hundreds of thousands of mobile apps claiming to be educational, tens of thousands of video games with some potential for learning, and countless websites, the sea of edtech resources out there can be overwhelming. Seventy-six percent of teachers agree it s at least somewhat difficult to find out about high quality educational technologies for instruction, student learning, or classroom management. One in three teachers spends an hour or more each week looking for edtech products to use in the classroom. primary means (81%) of finding out about edtech is from other educators teachers, librarians, or tech coordinators/media specialists. Over half of all teachers also rely on administrators for recommendations, and the third most popular source is web search engines. Most important criteria in selecting edtech tools for classroom use, according to teachers and administrators (percent reporting each criterion): Overall high quality Free Helps teachers teach Aligns to academic standards Fun and engaging for students Learning potential for students 37% 29% 25% 33% 32% 30% 45% 41% 44% 57% 56% 65% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% ' priorities ' priorities What criteria are educators looking for when they select edtech products to use in classrooms? Both teachers and administrators rank learning potential for students as an important factor (57% administrators and 56% teachers), but there are some differences in how they prioritize other factors. place higher emphasis on standards alignment (65%), while teachers are more interested in resources that align to standards (41%), are free (45%), and are fun and engaging for students (44%). Further analysis reveals that teacher attitudes toward the potential of edtech are related to perceived difficulty of finding good edtech products. Compared to those who agreed it was not difficult, teachers who agreed that it was difficult to find good edtech tools were significantly more likely to agree that lack of training (47% vs. 32%), demands on teacher time (45% vs. 26%), and difficulty of determining quality (22% vs. 8%) are obstacles to edtech implementation. They were also significantly less likely to be high edtech users (26% vs. 45%) and to agree that edtech is absolutely essential (45% vs. 59%), improves outcomes (87% vs. 96%), helps students collaborate (85% vs. 94%), or that funding is a challenge (63% vs. 74%) COMMON SENSE MEDIA TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 11

13 However, perceived difficulty in finding high quality edtech was no higher or lower across key tech usage lines: those who consider themselves early adopters, those who would like to use more technology in the classroom, and across different device usage profiles (i.e., desktops vs. laptops vs. tablets, or shared vs. 1-to-1 classrooms). Also, there were no significant differences between the two groups (difficult vs. not difficult to find good edtech) in terms of relevant demographic factors such as school level or subjects taught, mean years of experience, urbanicity of the respondent s location, and proportion of minority or free/reduced lunch students. While this study s methodology does not allow for causal inferences, the above analysis indicates that the difficulty of finding good edtech is significantly correlated with lower edtech usage and enthusiasm. It s also probable that higher usage and enthusiasm signal higher tech savvy and greater awareness of the challenge of discovery, or that a third, related but unmeasured, factor is linked to (and causing) both of these constellations of variables (perceived difficulty and edtech usage/adoption). Percent of teachers who agree to each attribute by perceived difficulty of finding high-quality edtech products: Funding is an obstacle to using edtech Edtech helps students collaborate Ed tech improves student outcomes It's hard to determine which products are high quality The challenges of implementation outweigh the benefits Edtech places too many demands on teachers' time Lack of training is an obstacle to using edtech 8% 22% 25% 36% 26% 32% 45% 47% 74% 63% 94% 85% 96% 87% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% Not difficult Difficult 12 TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

14 Conclusion This Graphite White Paper presented findings on attitudes and practices regarding teaching with technology based on an online survey of U.S. public school teachers and administrators. A majority of educators appear to believe in the potential of educational technologies to enhance teaching and learning. Shared access to desktops and laptops is the norm. However, mobile devices like tablets and smartphones have penetrated the classroom to a notable extent - with over half of all teachers reporting that students have access to these devices. in mobile-rich classrooms are more likely to be early adopters and convinced of the benefits of edtech. There are several differences between teachers who perceive difficulty in discovering good edtech and those who don t. Those who do perceive this difficulty (relative to those who don t) are more likely to agree that lack of training, demands on teacher time, and difficulty of determining quality are obstacles to edtech implementation. They are also less likely to be high edtech users and to agree that edtech is absolutely essential, improves outcomes, helps students collaborate, or that funding is a challenge. However, they re not significantly different on a host of other variables like edtech usage, device usage, and personal/school demographics. Although they report high enthusiasm for the promise of edtech, teachers report much less frequent use of edtech products, with less than a third of all teachers indicating they use various types of edtech tools weekly or more often. Still, almost all teachers (92%) say they would like to use edtech tools more often than they do now. Educators agree there are several headwinds challenging implementation of edtech in the classroom, including time constraints, funding, lack of access/infrastructure, and lack of training. In addition, three-quarters of teachers report that it s at least somewhat difficult to find out about high quality edtech tools. Many turn to peers, administrators, or web searches to aid in their discovery of good edtech., in general, appear to feel involved in decision-making around edtech for use in their classrooms, and those who purchase on their own spend an average of $255 each year on edtech tools. Although administrators are clearly leading edtech decisions, remarkable proportions of teachers reported being involved in these decisions, contributing to them, and actually purchasing products. These results prompt us to ask: is the fact that so many teachers (who feel empowered to make decisions) feel it is difficult to find high quality edtech a major inhibitor to adoption and usage? Does the perception of difficulty encourage skeptical teacher attitudes, or is it the other way around? Or, is there another common factor behind both (outside of a demographic or economic factor)? And if perceived difficulty does lower teacher expectations for edtech, then would efforts to make it easier for teachers to discover, vet, implement, and use those products result in a significant uptick in teacher attitudes and usage? To borrow from Geoffrey Moore s famous model of the technology adoption curve, is the edtech category waiting to cross the chasm? 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 13

15 Survey Toplines Common Sense Media Teaching with Technology Survey Conducted online by Harris Interactive for Common Sense Media between May 9 and May 21, 2013 among 764 public school prek-12 teachers and 205 public school administrators. are defined as U.S. residents, 18 years or older, employed full or part-time as a classroom teacher in grades prek- 12 in a U.S. public or charter school. are defined as U.S. residents, 18 years or older, employed full-or-part-time in a U.S. public school or charter school and EITHER: a principal, assistant principal, superintendent, assistant superintendent; OR a curriculum supervisor, technology coordinator, media specialist, or librarian who is involved in making educational technologies decisions for their school or district. To keep in line with their actual proportions in the population, teachers figures for gender, years of experience, region, urbanicity, grade level, school size and percentage of students eligible for free/reduced lunch were weighted where necessary. Among administrators, figures for region, urbanicity, and district size were also weighted, where necessary, to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. Notes on Reading the Results The percentage of respondents has been included for each question. An asterisk (*) represents a value of zero. Percentages may not always add up to 100% because of computer rounding or the acceptance of multiple answers for respondents answering that question. Capital letters (A, B, C,) indicate statistically significant differences between the subgroups being tested at the 95% confidence level. The subgroups tested are vs. ; and vs. Middle vs.. BASE: ALL RESPONDENTS 1. Are you? Male 44% B 29% 17% 33% C 47% CD Female 56% 71% A 83% DE 67% E 53% 14 TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

16 BASE: ALL RESPONDENTS 2. In what year were you born? Please enter your response as a four-digit number (for example, 1977). MEAN AGE 50.0 B BASE: ALL RESPONDENTS 3. Which of the following best describes your employment status? Employed full-time 93% 96% 96% 98% 95% Employed part-time 7% 4% 4% 2% 5% BASE: EMPLOYED FULL OR PART-TIME 4. Which of the following best describes your current occupation? Please select only one answer. Base: Teacher - 100% Principal or Head of school 13% - Assistant principal 16% - Superintendent 6% - Assistant or deputy superintendent 6% - Media specialist for a school or district 11% - Librarian for a school or district 19% - Technology/ computer coordinator for a school or district 14% - Curriculum/instruction director or supervisor for a school or district 14% COMMON SENSE MEDIA TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 15

17 BASE: MEDIA SPECIALIST, LIBRARIAN, TECHNOLOGY/COMPUTER COORDINATOR, CURRICULUM/ INSTRUCTION DIRECTOR OR BUSINESS ADMIN 5. Thinking about your job responsibilities, are they? Base: 118 Primarily for one school 66% Primarily for the school district or multiple schools 34% BASE: TEACHERS 6. How do you classify your current position as a teacher, that is, the activity at which you spend most of your time during this school year? Base: Full-time classroom teacher - 96% 97% 97% 95% Part-time classroom teacher - 4% 3% 3% 5% BASE: FULL OR PART-TIME TEACHERS 7. What grade(s) do you currently teach? Base: Pre-K - 3% 5% - - Kindergarten - 16% 30% DE 1% * 1st grade - 17% 33% DE * * 2nd grade - 20% 38% DE 1% 1% 3rd grade - 22% 42% DE 1% 1% 4th grade - 22% 42% DE 2% 1% 5th grade - 23% 42% DE 4% 1% 6th grade - 15% 10% 46% CE 4% 7th grade - 16% 4% 64% CE 5% 8th grade - 16% 4% 64% CE 6% 16 TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

18 9th grade - 20% 1% 7% C 64% CD 10th grade - 22% 1% 5% C 73% CD 11th grade - 24% 1% 5% C 79% CD 12th grade - 25% 1% 5% C 81% CD BASE: EDUCATION SCHOOL-LEVEL JOB 8. Which of the following best describes the school where you teach/your school? Base: school 31% 48% A 91% DE 5% E - Junior high or middle school 16% 16% - 81% CE * High school or senior high school 30% 26% - 1% 89% CD K-8 school 4% 4% 6% E 5% E - K-12 school 7% 4% 3% 5% 6% Other 12% B 2% * 3% C 4% C BASE: HAS EDUCATION JOB AND IN PUBLIC SCHOOL/DISTRICT 9. To what extent are you involved in making decisions about the use of educational technologies in your classroom/school/district? Educational technologies are digitally-delivered products designed to help students or teachers, such as apps, computer games, websites, digital planning tools or digitally delivered curricula. I am not involved at all in making these decisions I contribute to making these decisions along with others I lead or have the greatest influence on making these decisions 4% 20% A 21% 22% 16% 73% 66% 65% 67% 67% 23% B 14% 13% 11% 16% 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 17

19 Attitudes about Technology and Digital Media in the Classroom BASE: TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS 10. Next we have a few questions about teaching and learning. How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements about educational technologies in the classroom? Educational technologies are digitally-delivered products designed to help students or teachers, such as apps, computer games, websites, digital planning tools or digitally delivered curricula. 1. I give advice to other educators about new trends in educational technologies for the classroom. AGREE (NET) 85% B 68% 67% 71% 68% Strongly agree 33% B 18% 20% 21% E 13% Somewhat agree 52% 50% 47% 49% 56% DISAGREE (NET) 15% 32% A 33% 29% 32% Somewhat disagree 11% 20% A 20% 20% 19% Strongly disagree 3% 12% A 13% 9% 13% 2. I give parents recommendations for apps, games and websites for use at home to augment student learning. AGREE (NET) 67% 70% 79% DE 69% E 53% Strongly agree 16% 25% A 33% DE 19% 16% Somewhat agree 51% 44% 46% 50% E 38% DISAGREE (NET) 33% 30% 21% 31% C 47% CD Somewhat disagree 21% 17% 11% 21% C 27% C Strongly disagree 13% 13% 10% 11% 19% CD 18 TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

20 3. I would like to use educational technologies in the classroom more than I do now. AGREE (NET) 92% 94% 90% 91% Strongly agree 48% 49% 46% 47% Somewhat agree 45% 45% 44% 44% DISAGREE (NET) 8% 6% 10% 9% Somewhat disagree 6% 4% 8% 9% Strongly disagree 2% 3% 1% 1% 4. I am among the first people to try out new educational technologies for the classroom. AGREE (NET) 68% 65% 64% 68% 63% Strongly agree 20% 22% 24% 23% 19% Somewhat agree 48% 42% 40% 46% 45% DISAGREE (NET) 32% 35% 36% 32% 37% Somewhat disagree 25% 27% 27% 24% 27% Strongly disagree 7% 9% 9% 7% 10% 5. I tend to be skeptical about new educational technologies for the classroom. AGREE (NET) 26% 23% 31% 28% Strongly agree 2% 2% 5% 3% Somewhat agree 23% 21% 26% 26% DISAGREE (NET) 74% 77% 69% 72% Somewhat disagree 45% 45% 41% 47% Strongly disagree 29% 32% 28% 25% 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 19

21 6. I tend to be skeptical about new educational technologies. Base: 205 AGREE (NET) 27% Strongly agree 3% Somewhat agree 24% DISAGREE (NET) 73% Somewhat disagree 40% Strongly disagree 32% BASE: TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS 11. How important do you think it is for teachers to use educational technologies in the classroom? TOP 2 BOX (NET) 93% B 86% 89% E 85% 79% Absolutely essential 61% B 48% 57% DE 42% 36% Important 32% 38% 32% 43% C 43% C BOTTOM 2 BOX (NET) 7% 14% A 11% 15% 21% C Somewhat important 7% 14% A 10% 15% 21% C Not important * * * - * 20 TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

22 BASE: TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS 12. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements about using educational technologies in the classroom? 1. It increases student engagement in learning. AGREE (NET) 98% 96% 97% 95% 94% Strongly agree 55% 56% 64% E 53% 44% Somewhat agree 43% 40% 33% 41% 50% C DISAGREE (NET) 2% 4% 3% 5% 6% Somewhat disagree 2% 4% 2% 5% 5% Strongly disagree * * * - 1% 2. It distracts students. AGREE (NET) 22% 33% A 23% 45% C 43% C Strongly agree 2% 4% 3% 6% 4% Somewhat agree 21% 29% A 20% 39% C 39% C DISAGREE (NET) 78% B 67% 77% DE 55% 57% Somewhat disagree 47% 42% 46% 39% 37% Strongly disagree 30% 25% 31% DE 15% 20% 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 21

23 3. It improves student outcomes. AGREE (NET) 93% 89% 93% DE 86% 84% Strongly agree 31% 30% 34% 26% 25% Somewhat agree 62% 59% 59% 61% 59% DISAGREE (NET) 7% 11% 7% 14% C 16% C Somewhat disagree 7% 11% 7% 13% 16% C Strongly disagree - * - 1% * 4. It expands resources available to teachers. AGREE (NET) 100% 99% 100% D 97% 98% Strongly agree 77% B 67% 74% DE 61% 59% Somewhat agree 23% 31% A 26% 36% C 39% C DISAGREE (NET) * 1% * 3% C 2% Somewhat disagree * 1% * 3% C 1% Strongly disagree - * - - 1% 5. The challenges of implementation outweigh the benefits. AGREE (NET) 32% 34% 32% 37% 35% Strongly agree 12% 7% 7% 10% 6% Somewhat agree 20% 26% 25% 27% 29% DISAGREE (NET) 68% 66% 68% 63% 65% Somewhat disagree 39% 39% 37% 39% 42% Strongly disagree 29% 27% 31% 24% 23% 22 TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

24 6. It helps student collaborate with each other. AGREE (NET) 90% 87% 85% 87% 91% Strongly agree 35% 31% 29% 33% 34% Somewhat agree 56% 56% 56% 54% 57% DISAGREE (NET) 10% 13% 15% 13% 9% Somewhat disagree 8% 12% 14% 12% 9% Strongly disagree 1% 1% * * 1% 7. It places too many demands on teachers time. AGREE (NET) 22% 40% A 38% 45% 41% Strongly agree 3% 5% 3% 7% 7% Somewhat agree 18% 35% A 34% 39% 34% DISAGREE (NET) 78% B 60% 62% 55% 59% Somewhat disagree 56% B 41% 41% 38% 42% Strongly disagree 22% 19% 21% 16% 17% 8. It enables personalized learning for individual students. AGREE (NET) 96% 95% 97% E 94% 93% Strongly agree 53% B 44% 49% E 40% 37% Somewhat agree 42% 52% A 49% 54% 56% DISAGREE (NET) 4% 5% 3% 6% 7% C Somewhat disagree 4% 4% 1% 6% C 7% C Strongly disagree - 1% 1% - * 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 23

25 Current and Future Use of Technology and Digital Media BASE: TEACHERS 13. During this school year ( ), have you or your students used the following types of technology for learning or instruction in your classroom? 1. Desktop computer(s) Used primarily by students 14% 15% 13% 12% Used primarily by me or another teacher 18% 12% 24% C 26% C Used by both students and teachers 52% 59% DE 47% 44% Not used in my classroom for learning 16% 14% 16% 17% 2. Laptop computer(s) Used primarily by students 11% 6% 14% C 17% C Used primarily by me or another teacher 19% 21% 19% 15% Used by both students and teachers 40% 38% 40% 43% Not used in my classroom for learning 31% 36% E 27% 24% 3. Tablet computer(s) (e.g., Android tablet, ipad, etc.) Used primarily by students 10% 6% 9% 20% CD Used primarily by me or another teacher 15% 14% 16% 15% Used by both students and teachers 24% 32% DE 22% E 12% Not used in my classroom for learning 51% 49% 53% 53% 24 TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

26 4. Smart Board, interactive whiteboard, or similar Used primarily by students 1% 1% 1% - Used primarily by me or another teacher 19% 12% 22% C 29% C Used by both students and teachers 45% 55% DE 38% 31% Not used in my classroom for learning 36% 32% 39% 41% 5. Smartphone (e.g., iphone, Android phone, Windows phone) Used primarily by students 12% 1% 8% C 33% CD Used primarily by me or another teacher 14% 22% DE 7% 6% Used by both students and teachers 14% 6% 19% C 25% C Not used in my classroom for learning 60% 71% E 66% E 36% 6. E-readers (e.g., Kindle, Nook) Used primarily by students 14% 9% 20% C 18% C Used primarily by me or another teacher 6% 7% 5% 5% Used by both students and teachers 8% 9% 10% 6% Not used in my classroom for learning 72% 75% D 64% 71% 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 25

27 7. Game consoles or handhelds (e.g., Wii, LeapPad, Xbox, DS, etc.) Used primarily by students 3% 3% 5% 3% Used primarily by me or another teacher * * 1% - Used by both students and teachers 5% 6% 3% 2% Not used in my classroom for learning 92% 91% 92% 95% BASE: TEACHERS WHOSE STUDENTS OR BOTH STUDENTS & TEACHERS USE DESKTOPS/LAPTOPS/ TABLETS OR ALL ADMINS 14. Which of the following best describes how computers are provided to students for use in your own classroom/school/district? Please select only one answer. Middle Base: Students share a set of in-class computers or tablets Computers or tablets available in a central computer lab Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) school (i.e. students supply their own computer) 1-to-1 laptop program (i.e. school provides a laptop for each student) 1-to-1 tablet program (i.e. school provides a tablet computer for each student) 29% 42% A 48% D 32% 38% 50% 41% 44% 43% 35% 7% 6% 2% 8% C 12% C 5% 6% 3% 7% 10% C 3% 1% 1% 2% 1% None of these 6% 4% 2% 8% C 4% 26 TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

28 BASE: TEACHERS 15. The next few questions are about educational technologies. By educational technologies, we mean digitally-delivered products designed to help students or teachers. They could include student tools (like websites, apps, or games), teacher tools (like ClassDojo, or Lesson Planet) or digital curricula (like DreamBox Learning, or Lexia Learning). During this school year ( ), how often do you or your students use each of the following types of educational technologies in your classroom? 1. Subject-specific content tools for students (such as MathBoard, Shakespeare in Bits, SkyMap, icivics) Never 51% 52% 50% 49% A few times a year 16% 14% 20% 18% A few times a month 15% 12% 15% 19% 1-2 times a week 10% 13% DE 6% 6% 3-4 times a week 5% 6% 6% 4% Every day 3% 4% 2% 4% 2. Information or reference tools for students (such as Desmos Graphing Calculator, Grammar Bytes!, Dictionary.com, Google Earth) Never 26% 28% 26% 20% A few times a year 22% 19% 24% 28% C A few times a month 21% 20% 21% 23% 1-2 times a week 17% 19% 17% 15% 3-4 times a week 7% 8% 8% 6% Every day 6% 6% 5% 7% 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 27

29 3. Productivity tools for students (such as Evernote, StoryBuilder) Never 61% 55% 66% C 69%C A few times a year 20% 21% 16% 21% A few times a month 10% 13% E 9% 5% 1-2 times a week 4% 5% 2% 3% 3-4 times a week 3% 4% 3% 1% Every day 1% 2% 2% 1% 4. Creation tools for students (such as Animoto, Prezi) Never 54% 59% E 54% 45% A few times a year 26% 20% 25% 39% CD A few times a month 13% 14% 11% 12% 1-2 times a week 4% 4% 7% 3% 3-4 times a week 2% 2% 2% * Every day 1% 1% 1% 1% 5. Teacher tools (such as, Lesson Planet, ClassDojo, Socrative) Never 41% 38% 37% 47% A few times a year 18% 14% 21% 22% A few times a month 17% 18% 19% 14% 1-2 times a week 9% 11% 9% 8% 3-4 times a week 9% 10% 10% 6% Every day 6% 9% 5% 3% 28 TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

30 6. Digital curricula (such as DreamBox Learning, Lexia Learning) Never 71% 67% 74% 76% A few times a year 8% 6% 8% 10% A few times a month 7% 8% 8% 7% 1-2 times a week 5% 8% E 4% 2% 3-4 times a week 5% 7% 2% 3% Every day 4% 5% 5% 3% BASE: TEACHERS THAT HAVE USED A DIGITAL LEARNING PRODUCT 16. You indicated that you or your students use the following educational technologies in your classroom. Is each of the following used in your classroom primarily by students, primarily by you or another teacher, or by both students and teachers in your classroom? 1. Subject-specific content tools for students (such as MathBoard, Shakespeare in Bits, SkyMap, icivics) Base: Primarily by students 33% 35% 24% 34% Primarily by me or another teacher 24% 20% 28% 29% Both students and teachers 43% 45% 48% 36% 2. Information or reference tools for students (such as Desmos Graphing Calculator, Grammar Bytes!, Dictionary.com, Google Earth) Base: Primarily by students 21% 11% 20% 38% CD Primarily by me or another teacher 15% 20% E 11% 7% Both students and teachers 64% 69% E 69% E 55% 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 29

31 3. Productivity tools for students (such as Evernote, StoryBuilder) Base: Primarily by students 36% 33% 37% 45% Primarily by me or another teacher 14% 13% 12% 17% Both students and teachers 50% 54% 51% 38% 4. Creation tools for students (such as Animoto, Prezi) Base: Primarily by students 35% 25% 38% 47% C Primarily by me or another teacher 23% 29% E 23% 15% Both students and teachers 42% 46% 39% 37% 5. Teacher tools (such as, Lesson Planet, ClassDojo, Socrative) Base: Primarily by students 1% 1% * 4% Primarily by me or another teacher 85% 84% 88% 85% Both students and teachers 14% 16% 12% 12% 6. Digital curricula (such as DreamBox Learning, Lexia Learning) Base: Primarily by students 32% 35% 26% 29% Primarily by me or another teacher 32% 28% 33% 41% Both students and teachers 36% 37% 41% 30% 30 TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

32 BASE: ALL TEACHERS 17. Thinking about next school year ( ), how often do you think you or your students will use each of the following types of educational technologies? 1. Subject-specific content tools for students (such as MathBoard, Shakespeare in Bits, SkyMap, icivics) Do not plan to use 35% 35% 33% 36% Will use, but less often than this year 2% 1% 1% 2% Will use about the same as this year 26% 25% 28% 26% Will use more often than this year 38% 39% 38% 36% 2. Information or reference tools for students (such as Desmos Graphing Calculator, Grammar Bytes!, Dictionary.com, Google Earth) Do not plan to use 20% 22% 19% 17% Will use, but less often than this year 2% 2% 2% 2% Will use about the same as this year 46% 46% 39% 51% D Will use more often than this year 32% 31% 41% 30% 3. Productivity tools for students (such as Evernote, StoryBuilder) Do not plan to use 44% 39% 45% 53% C Will use, but less often than this year 3% 2% 2% 4% Will use about the same as this year 18% 22% 14% 14% Will use more often than this year 35% 37% 39% 29% 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 31

33 4. Creation tools for students (such as Animoto, Prezi) Do not plan to use 41% 44% 37% 38% Will use, but less often than this year 3% 3% 4% 2% Will use about the same as this year 21% 18% 18% 28% CD Will use more often than this year 35% 35% 41% 32% 5. Teacher tools (such as, Lesson Planet, ClassDojo, Socrative) Do not plan to use 30% 25% 30% 39% C Will use, but less often than this year 3% 3% 5% 2% Will use about the same as this year 32% 37% E 28% 25% Will use more often than this year 36% 36% 38% 34% 6. Digital curricula (such as DreamBox Learning, Lexia Learning) Do not plan to use 53% 50% 52% 59% Will use, but less often than this year 1% 1% 2% 2% Will use about the same as this year 14% 17% 14% 11% Will use more often than this year 31% 32% 33% 29% 32 TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

34 BASE: ADMINISTRATORS 18. The next few questions are about educational technologies. By educational technologies, we mean digitally-delivered products designed to help students or teachers. They could include student tools (like websites, apps, or games), teacher tools (like ClassDojo, or Lesson Planet) or digital curricula (like DreamBox Learning, or Lexia Learning). About how many classroom teachers in your school/district use each of the following types of educational technologies? 1. Subject-specific content tools for students (such as MathBoard, Shakespeare in Bits, SkyMap, icivics) Base: 205 None 14% 1%-25% of classroom teachers 32% 26%-50% of classroom teachers 22% 51%-75% of classroom teachers 18% 76%-99% of classroom teachers 12% 100% of classroom teachers 2% 2. Information or reference tools for students (such as Desmos Graphing Calculator, Grammar Bytes!, Dictionary.com, Google Earth) Base: 205 None 5% 1%-25% of classroom teachers 21% 26%-50% of classroom teachers 25% 51%-75% of classroom teachers 25% 76%-99% of classroom teachers 19% 100% of classroom teachers 6% 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 33

35 3. Productivity tools for students (such as Evernote, StoryBuilder) Base: 205 None 16% 1%-25% of classroom teachers 38% 26%-50% of classroom teachers 20% 51%-75% of classroom teachers 14% 76%-99% of classroom teachers 9% 100% of classroom teachers 3% 4. Creation tools for students (such as Animoto, Prezi) Base: 205 None 15% 1%-25% of classroom teachers 31% 26%-50% of classroom teachers 24% 51%-75% of classroom teachers 20% 76%-99% of classroom teachers 9% 100% of classroom teachers 1% 5. Teacher tools (such as Lesson Planet, ClassDojo, Socrative) Base: 205 None 9% 1%-25% of classroom teachers 30% 26%-50% of classroom teachers 25% 51%-75% of classroom teachers 18% 76%-99% of classroom teachers 12% 100% of classroom teachers 6% 34 TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

36 6. Digital curricula (such as DreamBox Learning, Lexia Learning) Base: 205 None 25% 1%-25% of classroom teachers 35% 26%-50% of classroom teachers 20% 51%-75% of classroom teachers 8% 76%-99% of classroom teachers 7% 100% of classroom teachers 4% Digital Media Product Selection and Decision-Making Process BASE: TEACHER OR ADMINISTRATOR 19. What are the biggest challenges to integrating educational technologies in schools? Please select up to 3 responses. Lack of funds / budget limitations 75% B 66% 71% DE 60% 59% Insufficient technology infrastructure in the classroom (connectivity, hardware) 45% 53% 54% 55% 48% Lack of time to implement 38% 45% 48% 41% 42% Lack of training for teachers on how to use and implement these products Lack of student access to technology outside of school Difficulty determining which products are of high quality Not enough information about the products alignment with standards Difficulty getting required approvals to implement educational technologies 1% 43% A 40% 41% 51% 28% 27% 25% 34% 27% 18% 19% 18% 18% 20% 15% 13% 13% 11% 14% 8% 10% 10% 11% 10% Lack of trained, appropriate staff 45% B * * * - Other * 1% 1% 1% 1% 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 35

37 BASE: TEACHER OR ADMINISTRATOR 20. Next, we d like to ask you a few more questions about finding educational technologies for classroom use. How difficult is it to find out about high quality educational technologies for instruction, student learning, or classroom management? TOP 2 BOX (NET) 13% 23% A 22% 24% 24% Very difficult 2% 5% 5% 5% 7% Difficult 11% 17% 17% 19% 17% BOTTOM 2 BOX (NET) 87% B 77% 78% 76% 76% Somewhat difficult 52% 54% 52% 56% 55% Not difficult 35% B 24% 26% 20% 22% 36 TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY: A GRAPHITE WHITE PAPER 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA