November 2003 — Special Feature

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Technology's Value in Education

By Chris Rother, VP of Education, CDW-G

Teacher Survey Reveals the Importance of Student Access to Computers, Need for More Tech Training

These days, it seems that everyone - from local school boards to Congress to academics - has strong opinions about the value of the Internet and technology in education. Ironically, the voices of teachers, who observe classroom computing every day, rarely are heard. This is unfortunate since feedback from front-line educators has several positive impacts. Quantifiable teacher input helps taxpayers and administrators understand the importance of technology investments, especially in times of budgetary crisis. Teachers are often in the best position to see the true impact of technology on learning, knowing what it can and cannot do. Thus, feedback from classroom educators can be essential in helping communities make academic and technological choices that are in the best long-term interests of students and schools.

CDW Government Inc.'s purpose for conducting "Teachers Talk Tech," a nationwide survey of K-12 teachers, was simple: to provide a broad, objective and nonpolitical picture of technology's value in education. We also wanted to give a voice to busy classroom teachers who rarely get a chance to step back and consider a wider view of technology's value and impact on learning. The in-depth study, commissioned by CDW·G, found that experienced classroom teachers have few doubts about the benefits of computers to students, schools and themselves. It also revealed that computer familiarity breeds respect and success. So, the more teachers use technology, the greater their appreciation of its actual and potential contributions.

Method

Independent researchers interviewed 606 public and private school teachers, including equal numbers from elementary, middle and high schools. The sample was drawn from 1.6 million educators in the Market Data Retrieval's Teacher Response Data Bank. Respondents averaged 17 years of teaching experience and 23 students per class, while 85% were 35 or older. Telephone interviews were conducted in May and June 2003 by InfoTek Research Inc. The survey's margin of error is a maximum of +/- 5%.

The results can reasonably be viewed as applicable to many U.S. schools, and should be informative for educators. Overall, respondents voiced clear benefits of technology's evolving role in teaching, in communicating with parents and in classroom administration. These major benefits fall into three categories: benefits in the classroom, benefits outside class and benefits to teachers.

Benefits in the Classroom

The teachers who were polled offered strong evidence that computers have earned a respected place in the classroom. A majority (86%) of respondents said in-class computers improve academic performance, while 74% said computers increase student attention in class. Surprisingly, 65% of the teachers actually said that computers can be more effective than teachers in conveying certain types of educational materials.

As for grade levels, the teachers polled said computers become even more appropriate teaching tools as students get older. When asked about the suitability of computers in class, 54% of elementary teachers, 63% of middle school teachers and 68% of high school teachers voiced strong approval. Many of these responses correlate with a recent study conducted by the CEO Forum on Education and Technology (