A new report on technology needs and use in K12 classrooms found that teachers enjoy using technology that’s mostly effective in teaching students, but are lacking the right training and better budgets to make these tools more effective.
That’s one of the many issues found in the report — “Teachers Know Best: What Educators Want from Digital Instructional Tools” – that was commissioned by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. More than 3,000 teachers filled out surveys for the report, which was introduced at the recent ASU/GSV Education Innovation Summit in Phoenix, AZ.
From the survey findings, teachers identified six instructional purposes for which digital tools are useful in K-12 classroom settings. These included:
– Delivering instruction directly to students
– Diagnosing student learning needs
– Varying the delivery method of instruction
– Tailoring the learning experience to meet individual student needs
– Supporting student collaboration and providing interactive experiences
-Fostering independent practice of specific skills
Many of our education technology providers with whom CCS Presentation Systems works follow these purposes with their products, preparation and training. That’s why educators are finding that their classes are making good strides with the technology tools that are being provided.
But, according to the broad findings in the survey, teachers found that the products bought by the school districts without any or little of their input were found to be of middling quality. Although more than half of the survey respondents (54%) said that the digital products used in the classroom were found to be effective tools for teaching.
Other key findings from the report included:
- Teachers are more effective with the tools that they’ve chosen;
- Teachers learn about technology products via social media, word of mouth and meetings with other teachers and education workers;
- One of the biggest priorities is aligning the technology tools in the classroom with states’ Common Core Standards and Next-Generation Science Standards;
Moving into the future, there is a clear need to bring product developers and the education community closer together on which programs and products would be of the highest benefit to schools, teachers and students. That’s one of the key reasons why a team from CCS Presentation Systems is on a Spring CCS Roadshow. Getting our trainers and educators together on this national tour is a major benefit in CCS Presentation Systems’ ability to talk to our manufacturing partners for better developed tech tools in the future.