Promethean’s 2019 State of Technology in Education Report revealed that 94% of educators have access to handheld tablets in their school, and a further 91% have access to interactive front of class displays, such as Promethean’s ActivPanel Titanium interactive screen.
Technology is more present than ever in Australian classrooms, and attitudes towards edtech are extremely positive – 90% of educators agreed that technology helps them to do their job better, and 95% said using tech is a great way to engage students.
With more and more teachers appreciating the opportunity to use technology during lessons, it’s worth considering which areas of the curriculum are best suited to edtech usage.
Teaching different skillsets with technology
In the 2019 State of Technology in Education survey, teachers were asked about the best uses of technology in the classroom.
- 39% said that technology is best used to teach soft skills (eg. communication, creativity, problem-solving)
- 40% said that technology is best used for teaching hard skills (eg. subject-specific skills, computing, analysis)
The remaining 21% responded ‘Don’t know’.
Although the split between those that think technology should be used to teach hard and soft skills might be surprising at first, this shows that educators are using technology in different situations relatively evenly. Clearly, educators are finding ways to use their classroom solutions to support teaching and learning across the curriculum.
One thing that educators do agree on, is that technology must be adapted to the learning situation – over 90% believed this to be the case. By pragmatically blending technology with existing learning practices, teachers are making the most of their edtech solutions and driving engagement in all subjects.
Just having access to classroom edtech solutions isn’t always enough – it’s important that we understand how technology is best applied in different learning situations, which is one reason why Promethean is mapping the edtech landscape with the State of Technology in Education Report.
This year’s State of Tech survey is now open for responses – spare just a few minutes to take part, and you could be in with a chance of winning a $100 gift card.