October 2004 — Special Reports
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Evaluating Technology’s Role in the Classroom
Educators, like the kids they teach, learn in different ways and at various speeds. Roughly half of the nation’s teachers are self-taught, according to our survey, while others rely on traditional seminars and workshops for technology fundamentals. Additional sources of instruction are friends, colleagues and the teachers’ very own tech-savvy students.
Like most people, educators juggle work and family obligations. Nearly half of the teachers polled said that they don’t have enough time to become skilled with computer equipment and software. In some cases, technology may offer a solution to these training dilemmas. Delivering professional development online, for instance, gives time-strapped educators 24/7 access to training. While face-to-face sessions are still the norm, many schools and districts have augmented professional development with this anytime, anywhere deployment.
U.S. colleges of education graduate preservice teachers with excellent technology skills, and most U.S. school districts provide in-service teacher technology training on Internet research, e-mail and word processing skills. Technology is also playing an increasing role in communication between teachers and parents. Online communication not only keeps parents informed about school activities, but also helps them address concerns about their child. In our “Teachers Talk Tech” survey, more than half of the respondents with school Web sites said that technology has improved parental involvement - that’s an increase of 8% over last year’s survey.
A growing number of teachers are posting class notes, homework, assignments and other information to a school’s Web site. Knowing how to do this more effectively would facilitate the process, according to teachers. Electronic communication with students and their families is substantial and on the rise. Many parents welcome e-mail correspondence from their child’s teacher, including e-mailed report cards. Teachers are in the classroom all day with precious little time for phone calls. So, for parents and teachers, e-mail is a compelling alternative that eliminates a lot of phone tag.
Access to Computers
The No Child Left Behind Act raises the bar for school performance. It also requires schools to document this performance by collecting and analyzing vast amounts of data. Computers help children learn and verify that they are learning; teachers overwhelmingly accept this finding. Of the teachers we polled, eight out of 10 believed that access to classroom-based computers improves student performance in the classroom. More than half of the teachers surveyed cited not having enough computers for student use as an “extremely” or “very” serious problem. This finding is backed up by numerous accounts of kids often having to double up or take turns on computers, and many classrooms having just a few computers on hand. Regionally speaking, the Northwest was a standout for having the highest percentage of teachers who said that they have “the right number” of classroom computers. Nearly half of those teachers expressed satisfaction with the current number. On the other hand, teachers in the Southeast and Texas said that they need “a lot more” computers. (See the chart below for a full breakdown by region.)
