Edtech uptake: what’s stopping you?

Published: June 21st, 2021

With school budgets limited, it’s more important than ever to make the most of any edtech investments – and while there are factors that should be considered before going ahead with any purchase, there’s also a lot that can be done after new solutions are installed. In this blog, we’re going to take a look at some of the factors that may be limiting edtech uptake, and suggest how schools can go about addressing these challenges.

Breaking down the barriers to edtech uptake

The Promethean State of Technology in Education Report 2021 provides key insights into why some teachers feel they can’t make the most of education technology.

Of those teachers that have access to education technology but choose not to use it

  • 36% said that they don’t have time to learn how to get the most from it
  • 29% said that they don’t have the proper skills
  • 23% said that it doesn’t always work, and is more of a hindrance than a benefit
  • 12% said that they don’t see the point

This shows a range of barriers to edtech uptake, including:

  • Time – simply put, teachers already have busy workloads and can’t reasonably dedicate much extra time to learning how to use new technologies. But, that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. School leaders can do their best to offer support and training opportunities during the school day, rather than expecting teachers to attend extra sessions out of hours.
  • Skills – lacking the necessary skills is intertwined with time pressure, as learning those skills can take time. As well as making time-friendly training sessions available, school leaders can focus on giving teachers the chance to try new things in a pressure-free environment. In this regard, collaboration is king – sharing ideas and best practice between teachers can be just as useful as a structured training session, so why not encourage teachers to set up an informal meeting in a classroom where they can get hands-on?
  • Ineffective technologies – there are a number of explanations why edtech solutions may not be working properly. They could simply be coming to the end of their lifespans, or there could be a genuine technical fault. One thing that school leaders can do to offset this is to ensure regular maintenance and updates are carried out, and that the school’s wider edtech ecosystem is kept up to date wherever possible. Working directly with suppliers can also help to solve technical issues – for Promethean solutions, the Technical Support Team is always on-hand to help. Similarly, the dedicated support website features freely accessible guides, videos, FAQs and troubleshooting advice all designed to help users resolve their queries quickly and easily.

And while educators not seeing the point of using edtech could be concerning, this represents a very small minority. In fact, 95% of respondents to the survey stated their belief that technology is a necessary part of everyday life and that this should be reflected during lessons.

Building on this advice, if you’d like to learn how to make the most of your edtech investments before the point of purchase, why not read our recent blog on the topic.

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