October 2005 — Special Reports
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Teachers Talk Tech
The Teachers Talk Tech survey exposes a growing problem: Cash-strapped schools must choose between using computers as administrative or instructional tools.
by Chris Rother
We all know that a gap exists between technology
for teachers and technology for teaching—and it may be getting wider. K-12
teachers are using computers more than ever before to send e-mail, record
attendance, and post information to their school’s intranet. Yet, while eight
out of 10 of the nation’s teachers rely on computers for administrative
functions, only a little more than half of them are integrating computers into
their daily curriculum.
The No Child Left Behind Act is driving the shift in priorities from instructional computing to data management for reporting purposes. And as schools scramble to meet accountability standards and qualify for government funding, the rush to build complex data networks and huge databases may be leaving instructional computing behind.
These were the major findings of the 2005 Teachers Talk Tech survey conducted by CDW Government Inc. (www.cdwg.com/education). The indepth study, now in its third year, revealed what teachers are saying about technology.
For the survey, we asked teachers nationwide to assess the role of technology in their classrooms. As communities grapple with academic and technological choices,classroom educators can provide a vital reality check. It is teachers, after all, who see the true impact of technology on learning,and know what it can and cannot do. Their input helps communities make purchasing decisions that are in the best long-term interest of students and schools.
Speaking from their front-row
perspective,educators told us that:
• Technology has changed the way they
teach.
• They need more computers for
their students.
• Those computers should
be in the classroom—
and not in a media center
or computer lab down
the hall.
• Administrative computing
saves valuable
teacher time, but it may
be shortchanging the
students.
The Battleground
is Shifting
Gone are the days when
pioneering teachers had to
sell reluctant school
administrators on the
benefits of technology.
Today, decision-makers
from state governments, to
local school boards, to
school principals clearly
support the use of technology
in schools.Having won that battle,
technology advocates are now facing a
new one: the use of computers as an
administrative tool for teachers versus an
instructional tool for teaching. This has
become such a problem because cashstrapped
school districts are finding it
difficult to afford both.
The skirmish comes at a time when more than three-quarters of teachers consider technology an effective tool for the subjects that they personally teach. In an age of mushrooming paperwork, the focus is on using technology to meet the increasing administrative requirements of K-12 education. While the resulting productivity improvements are good news for teachers and administrators, the emphasis on administrative applications may reduce efforts to leverage technology to improve classroom instruction and student learning.
