The last few years created uncertainty around the world. Every industry changed in some way after the effects of COVID-19 and its destruction. Education is a constantly evolving craft, and still—it didn’t escape the wrath the entire workforce felt from staff shortages, grieving students and families, and production line delays.
However, even with the recent hardships, most educators believe education technology is a critical part of the education landscape moving forward.
The 2023 State of Technology in Education reports 32% of educators said digital equity and tech access ranks first as the most pressing issue in education today, even before the challenges surrounding student engagement, lack of staff, and their own well-being—which sadly ranked as their lowest concern, at only 8%.
Technology and digital fluency are key
After proving its value again, tech will continue to grow in both familiar and innovative ways. There will likely be an increase in both educators’ and students’ digital fluency, and the use of edtech to promote and nurture social-emotional learning will expand.
But can educators keep up with edtech’s constant growth? While digitally native students are inherently immersed in the technological world, the educator community is less predisposed to implement it as easily. Still, most are confident. 57% of educators believe their digital fluency will improve in the future, while only 11% think their understanding of technology will be worse in the coming years.
Tech tools: Fan favorites and dislikes
The 2023 State of Technology in Education report shows among edtech tools, online content and resources are predicted to grow the most—approximately 37% over the next one to three years.
Interactive panels closely follow online content in leading edtech’s future, with just over a third of educators predicting these tolls will experience the most growth as well-established classroom staples. Cloud-based lesson planning and delivery tools and artificial intelligence/virtual reality are also district-wide favorites.
Students and teachers thought 3D printing and collaboration platforms were the least likely to experience growth in the near future.
Focus on the future
Most educators believe the primary focus of education is to help students gain the interpersonal skills they need to become well-rounded, emotionally intelligent citizens. However, the reality is that only 12% of schools currently focus on soft skills. However, things are starting to change, and almost half of educators surveyed (47%) will focus mainly on teaching soft skills vs. hard or vocational skills in the future to prepare students for the workforce.
Interested in more trends and statistics from your peers? Download the 2023 State of Technology in Education report to learn what matters most in education right now, including social-emotional learning and staffing shortages. And, learn how the Promethean ActivPanel can support engaged, personalized learning in your classroom.
