OTAN News

Report: Educator Confidence in Technology Increasing

Sixty-five percent of educators expressed confidence in using digital technology in their classrooms, a 7 percent increase over last year, according to a recent survey commissioned by education and publishing company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH).

While 98 percent of educators reported using digital materials in their work, teachers still said there was room for improvement in implementing technology in class. Lack of funding continues to be a significant concern among educators (58 percent in 2017). Forty-six percent said they lack time “to plan for implementation of digital resources into instruction,” according to a news release; 40 percent said there was a shortage of devices in the classroom; and 48 percent of educators said they lacked “access to technology-focused professional development” (PD).

Nonetheless, there were some bright spots:

• 43 percent said they were collaborating with colleagues to develop engaging and effective instruction for students;
• 38 percent said they had access to new open source curriculum materials, such as Khan Academy, TED Talks and TeacherTube;
• 37 percent said they were actually using data to inform and improve instruction instead of just collecting data; and
• 37 percent said there were more opportunities for real-world application in curriculum and assessment.

Read about the respondent and the findings on THE Journal Web site. 

Source: T.H.E. Journal post  by Richard Chang 07/21/17