Classroom technology has changed the face of teaching in recent years. Teachers can now track and measure student progress with real-time data. Social media has become a valuable tool for educators in instruction. Video and other digital resources help keep students engaged.
Last year, HMH—in collaboration with YouGov, a global public opinion and data company—published its 4th Annual Educator Confidence Report (ECR), surveying more than 1,200 participants who represent a diverse national sample of educators. In part, the survey examined their attitudes toward the usage of technology—how they feel it benefits their career and student learning as well as the challenges of implementing educational technology in schools.
In the graphic below, you can explore areas of teacher optimism and concern regarding edtech and discover the digital tools teachers use most frequently based on ECR data.
A large majority of educators said they felt technology has had a positive impact on their instruction. According to the ECR, 58 percent of teachers said in 2018 that they feel very to extremely confident in their ability to use edtech as an effective teaching tool. Four-fifths of educators also use social media, apps, and other online communities for parent engagement, peer collaboration, and instructional content.
"Technology allows students to reach new potentials and provides the opportunity to support thinking and engagement," one elementary school teacher in Arizona said, according to the ECR.
And while barriers to effective use of classroom technology tools exist, the key teacher obstacles related to edtech—including hardware and digital content—seem to be waning. Still, educators have expressed concern about an overreliance on technology to solve instructional challenges, a lack of professional development to help them implement a tech-driven curriculum, and a lack of digital technology resources—especially in high-poverty schools.
At the end of the day, technology is just one tool in a teacher's toolbox. Tech may enhance teaching, but that doesn't mean it should replace it completely. In the ECR, 94 percent of educators said that the human connection a teacher makes with a student is the most important component of learning.
Edtech resources and insights for educators on Shaped:
- 3 Ways to Use Social Media in the K–12 Classroom
- How and Why to Use Social Media as a School or District Leader
- In Blended Learning, Combine 'Old School' Teaching With Modern-Day Technology
- Is It Time for Schools to Teach Social Media and Tech Safety?
- Debunking the 'Education Is Broken' Myth
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Want to learn more about teachers' views on edtech in the classroom? Download the full Educator Confidence Report.
