Polycom Education Survey. Survey results

Transcription

1 Polycom Education Survey Survey results

2 Key theme teachers discontent with technology in schools Teachers agree that the use/teaching of technology in schools is vital to enrich learning and improve motivation and engagement However, the vast majority think technology use/teaching could be improved in their institution To correct this situation, schools/universities need to implement better training and support programmes and integrate technology into all lessons, plus enable increased access to computers for all students.

3 Secondary theme video conferencing Teachers believe investment in video conferencing should be increased in order to give students access to learning materials and improve core skills Teachers also want to use video conferencing more for communications themselves, as many aren t content with the communications mediums at their disposal The primary reason for not implementing video conferencing is cost.

4 How would you describe the teaching/use of technology at your school/university? Over three quarters (78%) of teachers think the teaching/use of technology in their institution could be improved. Similar results across countries though teachers in the Nordics are most dissatisfied (82%). University lecturers are happiest with the technology(54% compared with 85%/86% at primary/secondary schools.

5 What benefits does the use of cutting-edge technology in the classroom have for students? The top benefits technology has for students are improved motivation and engagement (70% each). Almost half (48%) of teachers also thought that it can improve communication skills. Results were similar across countries and institutions.

6 Do you think the use of cutting-edge technologies help enrich learning for your students? Over three quarters of teachers believe that the use of cutting- edge technology can help enrich learning for students. This figure rose to 99% in Russia. The country with the least faith in technology as a learning tool was Germany (58%).

7 How much emphasis does your school/university place on the use of technology in teaching? Surprisingly, only 44% of teachers think that technology is an important element to support the curriculum (59% in the UK). The higher the educational establishment, the more emphasis is placed on technology (39% primary schools, 59% universities).

8 How do you think the teaching/use of technology could be improved? Teachers would like more IT training/support (59%) in order to improve the teaching of technology in schools. Many teachers (54%) also recommend access to computers/the internet out of school hours. German teachers were particularly keen on the allocation of individual devices to pupils, and Russian teachers thought more time should be allocated to specific technology lessons.

9 Which of the following do you currently use in the classroom for teaching? Almost two thirds (65%) of teachers use PCs in the classroom and over half (56%) use laptops or netbooks. A significant number of teachers in the UK (59%) and Russia (58%) use interactive whiteboards. These are used more prevalently in secondary schools than any other type of institution (46% compared with 33% in primary schools and 34% in universities).

10 Are you content with the communications mediums at your disposal? Over a third of teachers are not content with the communications mediums currently at their disposal. This was similar across the countries surveyed. University lecturers were more likely to be content with their comms mediums than teachers at other types of establishment.

11 What are your primary methods of communication and what would be your ideal method? Method of communication Now Ideal Face-to-face 1 1 Phone 2 4 The primary method of communication, for teachers and the one they want to remain as primary, is face-to-face. Although video conferencing is 3 3 the least-used method currently, Post 4 5 it is ranked second in terms of the ideal method (first for Text 5 6 colleges and universities), implying further that teachers are Social Networking 6 7 keen on f2f-type experiences. Video conferencing 7 2 Teachers would prefer to decrease their use of phone in communication with parents and students.

12 Do you currently have video conferencing facilities in your school/university? Over half the teachers interviewed either have video conferencing facilities in place or are planning to implement them. 29% have them in place already. Russian establishments show the highest implementation rates of video conferencing (45%) and Germany the lowest (19%). Universities are far more likely to have implemented video conferencing (61%) than primary (14%) or secondary schools (23%).

13 What are your main uses of video conferencing? The most frequent use of video conferencing is for collaborative working with peers/other schools (59%), closely followed by virtual field trips (57%). Universities are more likely to use video conferencing for teaching home-based students, and giving students the ability to watch a class they have missed.

14 Why has your school/university not implemented video conferencing? The overriding reason schools and universities haven t implemented video conferencing is cost. This was the case for every country surveyed, although half the teachers in Russia mentioned that getting agreement of senior decision makers was also an issue.

15 What are the primary benefits your school/university would realise from video conferencing? The main benefits teachers identified were access to learning materials (76%) and improving core skills (67%). Few teachers thought that its implementation would contribute to cost savings (25%) although this was far higher for universities (41%).

16 Do you think the use of technologies (such as video conferencing) will increase over the next five years? The vast majority of teachers (85%) think that the use of technologies like video conferencing will increase over the next five years in schools/universities. In Russia 98% think it will increase.

17 Do you think your school/university would benefit from more investment in video conferencing? Over two thirds (68%) of teachers think their establishment would benefit from increased investment in video conferencing. This figure rises to 87% in Russia. Teachers in primary schools are most likely to want increased investment (77%).

18 Methodology Teachers from 504 educational establishments across EMEA were interviewed: UK (101), France (111), Germany (89), Russia (101) and the Nordics (102) The research was carried out by Redshift Research and an online questionnaire was completed by all respondents Teachers from the following establishments were surveyed: primary schools, secondary schools, colleges/further education (FE) institutions and universities. At least 100 interviews were completed for each type of establishment.