Technology in the Classroom survey results. Jill Elston Insightful Marketing September 2013

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1 Technology in the Classroom survey results Jill Elston Insightful Marketing September 2013

2 Summary

3 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.

4 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.

5 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 quarter still do not. 52% of schools spend less than 20% of their budget on IT. 18% 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.

6 Does your school have a written strategy or improvement plan for using technology and/or e-learning? 63% of respondents said their school has a written strategy or improvement plan. 12% 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. 63% 25% Don't know No Yes

7 Approximately what percentage of your overall school budget is spent on IT equipment, software, connectivity and support? 49% of respondents did not know how the school budget was spent % 11-20% 21-30% 31-40% Over 50% Data excludes don t know answers

8 Over the next five years do you expect this budget to increase, decrease or stay the same? 17% 4% 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%

9 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)

10 Home context Results show an overwhelming majority of students have access to the internet at home. 61% of respondents said that between % of their students have internet at home. 19% of respondents said that between 81-90% of their students have internet at home. Schools in Africa 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.

11 What percentage of your students do you estimate have access to the internet at home? % 11-20% 21-30% 31-40% 41-50% 51-60% 61-70% 71-80% 81-90% % Don't know

12 Teacher confidence Results show high levels of teacher confidence with technology. 96% of respondents felt very confident or confident about using technology in the classroom. 44% reported feeling very confident. Training and practical experience were most likely to give teachers extra confidence.

13 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. 44% Confident Not confident at all 52% Not very confident Very confident 4% 0%

14 What would give you more confidence using technology in the classroom? 14 comments were received. 6 comments focussed on training / education issues 2 comments focussed on the need for practical experience / practice 3 comments focussed on lack of technology or connectivity issues Having more small workshop training on the things I need for my department. Singapore 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

15 Hardware for teaching Old and cutting edge technology were least likely to be used. Projector/IWB and 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 used much and from some comments it seems clear that a lot of teachers rely on PC/laptops to provide their Audio Visual material. The newest technologies such as electronic readers and smartphones still have relatively low uptake compared to other hardware. Comments tended to focus on very subject specific pieces of technology.

16 How often do you use the following hardware in your classroom for teaching? In most lessons Occasionally Never 0

17 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

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

19 How often do you use the following software/services in your classroom for teaching? In most lessons Occasionally Never 0

20 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

21 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 to have access to a PC or laptop in the classroom. Students are more likely than teachers to have access to a smartphone or ipad/tablet in the classroom.

22 Which hardware do your students have access to in your classroom (either individually or in groups)? In most lessons 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.

23 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.

24 Which of the following software/services do your students have access to in your classroom (either individually or in groups)? In most lessons Occasionally Never 0

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

26 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 said that students are allowed to bring their own technology into the classroom. School rules/policy 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.

27 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. 63% No Yes

28 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.

29 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 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 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 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 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

30 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.

31 How do you use technology in your classroom? Lesson planning Creating & organising your own digital resources Whole class teaching activities Individual learning activities Collaborative learning activities Assessment Recording information about students Monitoring and analysing pupil progress Monitoring attendance and behaviour Supporting students with special educational needs Communicating with parents Other Other comments were: communicating with other teachers and students, calculators, music/video recording, presentations.

32 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 least likely to agree that technology helped to provide confident, engaged and motivated students. IT, research and communication skills are seen as the skills students are most likely to develop by using technology.

33 Student benefits: how far do you agree with the following statements about the benefits of technology for students Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 50 0 helps to develop is consistent with skills that students how students need in the real gather information world and communicate outside of the classroom provides opportunities for them to put their learning into practice creates more confident, engaged and motivated students enables students to access a wealth of additional content

34 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.

35 What are the key skills that students develop through using technology in the classroom? IT skills Problem solving Collaboration Research Creativity Communication Analysis Evaluation

36 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 least likely to agree that technology helped build their confidence. More resources and more engaged students were other benefits most frequently mentioned.

37 Benefits for teaching: how far do you agree with the following statements Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree 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

38 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)

39 Challenges Technical issues and managing students are seen as the greatest challenges. 81% of respondents see technical issues as a major challenge. In some countries this is as basic as reliable electricity & internet access. 76% of respondents find it difficult to prevent students going off on a tangent. Comments reinforce that students are distracted by social media. 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.

40 What are the challenges or barriers to using technology in the classroom? Providing access for all students Making sure my 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

41 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

42 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 think all lessons will be supported by some form of technology in 10 years time. One third of respondents think students will be learning in virtual classrooms in 10 years time. 80% would like to see technology helping to link classrooms around the world.

43 Thinking about the future, where do you think technology in the classroom will be in 10 years time? All lesson will be supported by some form of technology All assessment, where applicable, will be carried out electronically All students' work will be completed and handed in electronically Every student will have a computer on their desk or laptop/tablet for their personal use in classroom All communication (except school events/parents' evenings etc) between the school and students/parents outside the classroom will be digital It will be compulsory for schools around the world to teach their students computer/digital skills All teaching/learning resources, including books, will be online Technology will make the physical classroom obsolete, students will be learning in virtual classrooms

44 In an ideal world, which of the following technological solutions would you like to see developed? 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 me when pupils are using their tablet to look up some inappropriate material The ability to link with other classrooms around the world, share information and best practice Other

45 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 International student collaboration 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. 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.

46 Demographics

47 Responses by region (number & %) USA 2% UK 15% Africa 22% S. America 12% 20 0 Middle East 5% India/Pakist an 13% Europe excl. UK 10% Asia 18% Australia/N Caribbean Z 0% 3%

48 Detailed breakdown of responses (1 of 2) Africa: 114 individuals, 48 schools Botswana (8) Ethiopia (1) Gambia (1) Ghana (3) Kenya (3) Lesotho (1) Malawi (1) Mauritius (3) Mozambique (1) Namibia (1) Nigeria (5) Sierra Leone (1) South Africa (13) Sudan (51) Tanzania (2) Uganda (4) Zimbabwe (15) 4 schools 1 school 1 school 3 schools 3 schools 1 school 1 school 3 schools 1 school 1 school 5 schools 1 school 9 schools 1 school 2 schools 4 schools 7 schools Asia: 91 individuals, 51 schools China (7) Hong Kong (7) Indonesia (26) Japan (2) Korea (1) Malaysia (30) Philippines (4) Singapore (9) Thailand (4) Vietnam (1) 7 schools 4 schools 14 schools 2 schools 1 school 12 schools 3 schools 4 schools 3 schools 1 school Aus/NZ: 13 individuals, 5 schools Australia (1) New Zealand (12) 1 school 4 schools Caribbean: 3 individuals, 3 schools Jamaica (2) Bermuda (1) 2 schools 1 school Europe: 131 individuals, 73 schools Albania (2) - Belgium (2) 2 schools Cyprus (3) 2 schools Czech Rep (2) 2 schools Denmark (1) 1 school France (1) 1 school Germany (3) 3 schools Greece (2) 2 schools Italy (7) 7 schools Macedonia (1) 1 school Malta (1) 1 school Monaco (1) 1 school Netherlands (8) 3 schools Serbia (1) 1 school Slovakia (1) 1 school Spain (6) 2 schools Sweden (2) 2 schools Switzerland (1) 1 school Turkey (7) 2 schools UK (79) 38 schools

49 Detailed breakdown of responses (2 of 2) India/Pakistan: 66 individuals, 43 schools India (57) Pakistan (9) Middle East: 24 individuals, 21 schools Bahrain (2) Brunei (1) Egypt (1) Israel (1) Jordan (6) Kuwait (1) Oman (3) Qatar (2) UAE (6) Yemen (1) 36 schools 7 schools 1 school 1 school 1 school 1 school 5 schools 1 school 3 schools 2 schools 5 schools 1 school S. America: 61 individuals, 30 schools Argentina (54) Colombia (1) Falkland Islands (1) Mexico (3) Uruguay (2) USA: 8 individuals, 6 schools USA (8) 25 schools 1 school 1 school 1 school 2 schools 6 schools NB Not all respondents stated a school name; school numbers are based on available information which may be incomplete.

50 Country in which respondents teach 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)

51 School location 1% 24% 7% in a city? in a rural area? in a town? other 68%

52 Respondent role Academic counsellor Director of studies Exams officer Head of department Head of sixth form Other Principal / Deputy Principal Subject teacher

53 Cambridge programmes taught NB Because this question was added late to the survey, only 214 out of the 519 respondents answered the question Cambridge Primary Cambridge Secondary 1 Cambridge Secondary 2 Cambridge Advanced

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