Global education technology provider, Promethean, has released the findings from its annual ‘The State of Technology in Education’ report. Promethean surveyed over 1,600 Educators across the UK to identify current attitudes and trends with regards to technology in the classroom, and the results show that the lack of training and budgets are holding schools back.
Of the schools surveyed, most have access to technology such as Interactive flat panel displays (80%) and tablets or iPads (58%), it’s the lack of training that is hampering adopting technologies. Only 5% of teachers who responded to the survey believe that they have received full training and support for education technologies, down from 25% in 2016’s results. In addition, less than half (41%) of teachers believe that the level of training they received was ‘adequate’ which is down by 14% on last year.
The survey highlighted there is a huge margin for improvement, 100% of headteachers feel that they have a clear edtech strategy in place, whereas 48% of teachers believe that schools are either not allocating enough budget to technology, or are investing in the wrong things. This shows that communication channels between headteachers and staff needs to be improved to ensure the right investment is made.
Alistair Hayward, Promethean’s Head of UKI and ANZ markets, said: “While it’s encouraging to see that teachers are increasingly wanting to use edtech as a daily tool for education, it’s disheartening that the correct training isn’t being prioritised due to tightening budgets.
While it’s encouraging to see that teachers are increasingly wanting to use edtech as a daily tool for education, it’s disheartening that the correct training isn’t being prioritised due to tightening budgets. – Alistair Hayward, Head of UKI/ANZ Markets, Promethean
“At Promethean, while we encourage the use of education technologies, we also understand the importance of schools receiving enough training and support to enable them to use the equipment efficiently. In fact, investing in training is crucial to understand how to use the equipment effectively to improve learning outcomes. This is why we run a successful advocate programme of tech champions who can support teachers, with free advice on how to get the most out of their edtech.”
Nicole Cogbill, from Ysgol Y Ddraig, is a Promethean Advocate and added: “I attended my first Promethean Advocate Group this year and can honestly say it’s exactly the kind of network I’ve been looking for. Having completed my NQT year where I had the opportunity to put tech through its paces, being able to share ideas with more experienced teachers who also love tech is really valuable. It’s also been timely for me as I’m taking more of a lead on technology in the school, so knowing I have access to an equally enthusiastic community as well as the Promethean team is excellent.”
The survey results aren’t all bad however, they do show that when technology is being used correctly, 55% of teachers believe that the use of technology for education improves behaviour and engagement levels. Technology is also supporting teachers in reducing the assessment burden, as 63% use technology to track formative assessment and 35% of teachers use technology to track informal assessment. “This just goes to show how important getting the right training and development for our teachers is,” concluded Alistair.
A full copy of the State of Technology in Education report is now available for download here with limited edition hard copies due to be released at Bett 2018 (24th – 27th January) on Stand B98.