Dive Brief:
- A recent Education Dive survey of teachers and administrators, sponsored by Sprint, found a need for more training in educational technology and limits from tight budgets and inadequate network infrastructure.
- As Ed Tech Magazine reports, some 86% of respondents said their districts need more ed tech training, and 41% said they didn’t think their districts had an explicit plan for how tech can be incorporated into lessons and curricula — but 75% said this type of professional development would be a priority this year.
- Fully 75% of respondents cited budgets as a major challenge (along with network infrastructure and unreliable devices or software), and 71% said their districts need a dedicated office or department to help with tech use in classrooms.
Dive Insight:
Schools have IT departments. The inadequacy highlighted by the survey is the lack of support for ed tech use in classrooms, specifically. While many districts have instructional technology coaches or other leaders, the survey makes clear far too many do not. One major recommendation from a panel at ISTE 2016 is for chief technology officers to move troubleshooting off their plates and focus the IT department more on tech initiatives that address educational goals. This would require a culture shift in many schools, where teachers and other employees are used to calling the help desk for simple fixes. But with a national focus on better using technology in classrooms and closing the “digital use divide,” the shift soon may be past due.
