State of Tech survey blog
Once regarded as a slow-changing sector, the changes to education technology seen in the past 12 months have been remarkable. But are these changes a short-term solution? Or a long-term shift in pedagogical practices?
The pandemic brought with it revolutionary change — platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Classroom, thought to be only business tools, are now commonplace in education. In some cases, technology converted laptops into temporary classrooms, and remote learning kept education alive while most students were at home. But, according to our research, engagement and motivation suffered.
In 2020, schools became entirely reliant on technology for basic lesson delivery. School leaders quickly identified where edtech had the most value. It gave educators an opportunity to focus on new tech skills, and to collaborate with IT managers and administrators to bring their schools’ software and hardware in line with wider learning goals.
But are these reliances now permanent? Are pedagogies and teaching methods forever changed or have old habits already resumed? We’re asking teachers, senior leaders, IT managers and other school staff their on-hand experiences from the past 12 months. Complete our survey to have your say.
Are edtech tools satisfying educators’ demands?
According to our State of Technology in Education Report, almost all educators surveyed reported using online strategies for students’ lessons, only 20% considered their schools “very prepared to implement remote learning.” More (41%) were only somewhat prepared — having the right IT tools, but not the processes in place.
Could staff training and strategic focus be the answer?
Last year, when asked what schools will need to prioritize first to make remote learning successful, 43% said teachers will need training on technology. But one-third of respondents stated that their school has no formal, outlined strategy for using technology.
What’s more, no IT tool is valuable if teachers and staff feel intimidated or overwhelmed by it. But factoring in sufficient training and testing has a time implication, too, when teachers are already grappling with busy schedules and demanding workload.
Tell us your experiences of teaching, both remotely and in-person, in 2020/21. Have the ways you and your colleagues teach changed significantly, or are the old practices returning in your school? Complete our survey to be a part of our most important State of Technology in Education report to date.
