Teaching with Technology - Common Sense Media

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Teaching with Technology: The Promise and Reality of the U.S. Digital Classroom

A graphite White Paper from Common Sense Media www.graphite.org

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Teaching with Technology: The Promise and Reality of the U.S. Digital Classroom A graphite White Paper from Common Sense Media www.graphite.org

Table of Contents Executive Summary.................................................................................... 3 Introduction................................................................................................. 5 Methodology............................................................................................... 6 Key Findings............................................................................................... 7 1. Edtech isn’t optional; it’s essential.............................................................................................. 7 2. 1:1 student access to devices is just getting started, but the penetration of laptop and mobile devices is remarkable............................................... 8 3. Few teachers report using edtech tools frequently, but demand for edtech use is strong.......................................................................................... 9 4. Money, access, time, and training are the biggest challenges to edtech implementation....................................................................................... 10 5. It’s tough to find the good stuff.................................................................................................. 11

Conclusion................................................................................................ 13 Survey Toplines......................................................................................... 14

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Executive Summary Overview Digital Classroom is a national online survey of teachers and

2. 1:1 student access to devices is just getting started, but the penetration of laptop and mobile devices is remarkable.

administrators conducted in May 2013 to identify current

The majority of teachers (73%) report using more traditional

practices, attitudes, and challenges related to the selection and

provisioning or ways for students to access technology, such

use of educational technologies in preK-12 public school

as in-class sharing (37%) or using the computer lab (36%). Only

classrooms in the United States. This Graphite White Paper

one in nine teachers (11%) are implementing 1:1 or Bring Your

from Common Sense Media is a report on the findings from this

Own Device (BYOD) programs (where each student has access

survey, which will be fielded annually.

to their own device). Half of all teachers (49%) report having

Teaching with Technology: The Promise and Reality of the U.S.

used tablets in their classroom for learning or instruction during

Methodology The survey was conducted online in the U.S. by Harris Interactive in May 2013, among 764 public school preK-12 teachers and 205 public school administrators. The data were weighted to key demographic variables to align with the national population of the respective groups. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. Wherever significant differences are reported, they are reported at the significance level (alpha) of 0.05. (For more details on the survey and the methodology of the study, please see the full report.) Throughout this paper, “educational technologies” or “edtech” will refer to digitally delivered products designed to help students or teachers, such as mobile applications (apps), websites, computer/console games, digital planning tools, or digitally delivered curricula.

the school year (either teachers only, students only, or by both), 40% report smartphone use, and 69% laptop use. High school teachers, and to a lesser extent, middle school teachers, report significantly higher prevalence of 1:1/BYOD provisioning.

3. Few teachers report using edtech tools frequently, but demand for edtech use is strong. Despite their enthusiasm for edtech and its benefits, weekly less than one fifth (19%) of teachers use content-specific tools (like Mathboard), 31% report using information/reference tools (like Desmos Graphing Calculator or Dictionary.com), 24% use teacher tools (like ClassDojo or Lesson Planet), and only 14% report using digital curricula (like Dreambox Learning or Lexia Learning). Even in 1:1/BYOD classrooms, teachers report relatively low usage. For example, 15% of teachers in 1:1/ BYOD classrooms report using subject-specific content tools weekly and 18% use teacher tools weekly. Weekly use of

Main Findings

1. Edtech isn’t optional; it’s essential. Most teachers (86%) and administrators (93%) consider it important or absolutely essential to use educational technologies1 in the classroom. Overwhelming proportions of teachers agree that using edtech in the classroom confers benefits like student engagement, personalized learning,

information/reference tools in these classrooms is higher, at 37%. Math teachers are not significantly more likely to use edtech than teachers of other subjects. However, while teachers vary in their current use of edtech, nine in ten (92%) agree they would like to use technology in the classroom more than they do now.

and collaboration. Elementary school teachers (57%) are significantly more likely than middle (42%) or high school teachers (36%) to agree that edtech is absolutely essential.

1

In the Harris survey, Teachers and Administrators were initially shown the following definition of “educational technologies”: “Educational technologies are digitally-

delivered products designed to help students or teachers, such as apps, computer games, websites, digital planning tools or digitally delivered curricula.”

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4. Money, access, time, and training are the biggest challenges to edtech implementation. As seen above, the use of edtech sometimes lags behind its promise. What’s standing in the way? Teachers and administrators identify funding, infrastructure, and time as the biggest challenges to implementation. Educators also rank lack of training high on the list of challenges.

5. It’s tough to find the good stuff. In addition to the typical challenges of funding and infrastructure, this survey also asked teachers about discovery and decisionmaking around edtech. Three quarters (76%) of teachers agree it’s at least somewhat difficult to find high quality edtech products, and roughly one in three spends an hour or more each week looking for edtech products to use in the classroom. Further analysis reveals that teacher attitudes toward the potential of edtech are related to perceived difficulty of finding good edtech products. Compared to those who agreed it was not difficult, teachers who agreed that it was difficult to find good edtech tools were more likely to agree that lack of training, demands on teacher time, and difficulty of determining quality are obstacles to edtech implementation. They were also less likely to be high edtech users and to agree that edtech is absolutely essential, improves outcomes, helps students collaborate, or that funding is a challenge. However, there were no significant differences between the two groups (difficult vs. not difficult to find good edtech) in terms of relevant demographic factors such as school level or subjects taught, mean years of experience, urbanicity of the respondent’s location, and proportion of minority or free/reduced lunch students.

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Introduction Every day, we hear about a new educational technology innovation or school district integrating and embedding technology more deeply into their system and pedagogical DNA. What do classroom teachers and education administrators think about these trends, what are their own realities regarding edtech, where are the gaps in their ability to capitalize on the best tools and innovations, and how are they going about making sense of the plethora of edtech resources out there? Teaching with Technology: The Promise and Reality of the U.S. Digital Classroom is a national online survey of public school teachers and administrators conducted in May 2013 that aims to answer some of these questions. It was designed to identify current practices, attitudes, and challenges related to the use of educational technologies in preK-12 classrooms in the United States. This Graphite White Paper from Common Sense Media is a report on the findings from this survey. The survey — conducted by Harris Interactive — adds to the growing body of research on the use of educational technologies in the larger U.S. education landscape and makes several contributions: •

First, this study is conducted by Common Sense Media, an independent non-profit organization, and strives to provide an unbiased snapshot of the state of the U.S. digital classroom. Subsequent waves of the survey will identify changes to this landscape over time.



Second, this study provides unique data on the use of specific kinds of edtech devices and tools by both students and teachers (as reported by teachers).



Third, the survey gathers data from both teachers as well as administrators, and also examines differences, where present, between teachers from different grade levels or school demographics.



And fourth, the study explores educators’ discovery, selection, and decision-making around edtech for use in the classroom.

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Methodology The Teaching with Technology survey was conducted

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probabil-

online within the United States by Harris Interactive for

ity sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are

Common Sense Media in May 2013, among 764 public school

most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sam-

preK-12 teachers (including 254 preK-fifth grade teachers,

pling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse,

252 sixth-eighth grade teachers and 258 ninth-12th grade

error associated with question wording and response options,

teachers) and 205 public school administrators.

and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are mis-

Qualified teacher respondents were U.S. residents, 18 years or

leading. All that can be calculated are different possible sam-

older, employed full- or part-time as a classroom teacher in

pling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted,

grades preK-12 in a U.S. public or charter school.

random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this

Qualified administrator respondents were U.S. residents,

ideal. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to

18 years or older, employed full-or part-time in a U.S. public or

participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theo-

charter school and either a principal, assistant principal,

retical sampling error can be calculated.

superintendent, or assistant superintendent; or a curriculum supervisor, technology coordinator, media specialist, or

Wherever significant differences are reported between sub-

librarian and who is involved in making educational technologies

groups, they are reported at the significance level (alpha) of 0.05.

decisions for their school or district. Throughout this paper, “educational technologies” or “edtech” To keep in line with their actual proportions in the population,

will refer to digitally delivered products designed to help

teachers’ figures for gender, years of experience, region,

students or teachers, such as mobile applications (apps),

urbanicity, grade level, school size and percentage of students

websites, computer/console games, digital planning tools, or

eligible for free/reduced lunch were weighted where necessary.

digitally delivered curricula.2

Among administrators, figures for region, urbanicity, and district size were also weighted, where necessary, to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population.

2

In the Harris survey, Teachers and Administrators were initially shown the following definition of “educational technologies”: “Educational technologies are digitally-

delivered products designed to help students or teachers, such as apps, computer games, websites, digital planning tools or digitally delivered curricula.”

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Key Findings

1.

Edtech isn’t optional; it’s essential. Eighty six percent of teachers and nearly all administrators (93%) agree that it’s important or absolutely essential to use educational technologies in the classroom. Moreover, teachers agree there are appreciable benefits of technology for learning. Nine in ten (96%) agree that using edtech in the classroom increases student engagement and enables personalized

Proportion of teachers and educators who agree that using edtech in the classroom offers various benefits:

learning (95%). A large majority agrees it improves student outcomes (89%) and helps students collaborate with each

96%

Enables personalized learning

95%

other (87%). In addition, almost all educators (99% of teachers and 100% of administrators) agree that edtech expands resources available to teachers. A significantly higher proportion of elementary school

98%

Increases student engagement in learning

96% 100%

Expands resources available to teachers

99%

teachers (57%) agree that edtech is absolutely essential compared to middle (42%) and high school teachers (36%). Although an overwhelming majority of teachers associate edtech use with several positive attributes, relative to elementary school teachers, a significantly higher proportion of middle (45%) and high school teachers (43%) feel that these technologies could also distract students.

90%

Helps students collaborate

87% 93%

Improves student outcomes 50%

89% 60%

70%

80%

90%

Administrators

100%

Teachers

Teachers reporting student use (alone or with teachers) of mobile devices for learning are significantly more likely to identify as early adopters and to agree that edtech use is essential and improves student outcomes.

5x

Teachers who say that using edtech in the classroom is absolutely essential are five times more likely than other teachers to strongly agree that it improves student outcomes.

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2.

1:1 student access to devices is just getting started, but the penetration of laptop and mobile devices is remarkable. The majority of teachers report using more traditional methods

board/interactive whiteboards (64%) are widespread, almost

of provisioning technology for students, such as in-class

half of all teachers (49%) report having used tablets in their

sharing (37%) and using the computer lab (36%). Only one in

classroom for learning or instruction during the school year

nine teachers (11%) report being in classrooms where students

(either teachers or students only, or both), 40% say

have access to their own device through 1:1 or BYOD

smartphones were used, and more than two thirds (69%)

programs, and significantly more middle (14%) or high school

report having used laptops. According to teachers, over a

teachers (20%) report their implementation than elementary

third of students (34%) have access to tablets either individually

school teachers (6%).

or in a shared situation. Considering tablet devices are

Although shared access is still more commonplace than 1:1 access, the prevalence of laptop and mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets is remarkable given how recent an invention the latter are. Although desktops (84%) and smart

5%

1-to-1 laptop program

5%

1-to-1 tablet program

40%

49%

Smart board, interactive white board, or similar

1% 37%

Computer lab

36% 16% % teachers reporting

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in the classroom.

Tablet

Student sharing of in-class computers or tablets

None

(either alone, or with teachers) use any smaller mobile device

Smartphone

11%

BYOD (students supply own computers)

is notable. A total of 55% of teachers report that students

Percent of teachers reporting use of each device in the classroom for learning or instruction by students, teachers, or both:

Percent of teachers who report each way in which computers and other devices are provided to their students: 1-to-1 laptop/tablet/BYOD (net)

relatively new entrants into the market, their penetration

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64%

Laptop

69%

Desktop computer

84% 0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

% teachers reporting

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

3.

Few teachers report using edtech tools frequently, but demand for edtech use is strong. Despite their enthusiasm for edtech and its benefits, weekly

Even in 1:1/BYOD classrooms where each student has access

less than one fifth (19%) of teachers use content-specific tools

to his or her own device and one might expect the proliferation

(like Mathboard or iCivics, for example), 31% report using

of edtech tools, teachers report relatively low usage. For

information/reference tools (like Desmos Graphing Calculator,

example, 15% of teachers in 1:1/BYOD classrooms report

Google Earth, and Dictionary.com), almost a fourth (24%) use

using subject-specific content tools weekly and 18% use

teacher tools (like Socrative and ClassDojo), and only 14%

teacher tools weekly. Only weekly use of information/reference

report using digital curricula (like Lexia Learning or Dreambox

tools is reported by a relatively greater proportion of teachers

Learning). Most teachers report using at least one type of

in 1:1/BYOD classrooms (37%).

educational technology product during the school year, and

However, while teachers vary in their current use of edtech,

three-quarters report using at least one tool more than once a

nine in ten (92%) agree they would like to use technology

month. Few use these on a weekly basis. Of those who are not

in the classroom more than they do now. Nearly half (48%)

using any of the types of edtech tools specified in the survey,

of teachers across all grade levels strongly agree with

at least one-quarter of teachers plan to do so next year.

this statement. Two-thirds plan to use at least one type of digitally delivered tool or product more often than they do this school year.

Percent of teachers reporting weekly or more frequent use of various types of edtech tools: 20%

Digital curricula

14%

18%

Teacher tools

24%

37%

Information / reference tools

31%

15%

Subject-specific content tools

19% 0%

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10%

20%

1:1/ BYOD Classrooms

30%

40%

All Classrooms

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4.

Money, access, time, and training are the biggest challenges to edtech implementation. This survey’s findings suggest that the use of edtech sometimes lags behind its promise. What’s standing in the way?

Teachers

infrastructure,

identify

and

time

lack as

of the

funding, biggest

insufficient hurdles

to

implementation. In another question asking respondents about certain pros and cons of edtech, four in ten teachers and a little over one-fifth of administrators agree that using edtech in the classroom places too many demands on teachers’ time.

Top four challenges to integrating edtech in schools according to administrators and teachers (percent reporting each challenge): Lack of trained appropriate staff

45%

Lack of training for teachers on how to use and implement

43%

45%

Lack of time to implement

Over half (53%) of all teachers indicate that they had insufficient technology infrastructure, including connectivity and hardware problems. Lack of time to implement (45%) and training (43%) were also top-ranked challenges for teachers. One in

38%

Insufficient tech infrastructure in the classroom

53% 45% 66%

Lack of funds

75%

three educators feel that challenges in implementing these technologies outweigh their benefits.

$255 a year

10 

0%

20%

40%

Teachers

60%

80%

Administrators

40% of teachers who use edtech pay an average of $255 a year out of pocket to purchase edtech tools for their classrooms.

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5.

It’s tough to find the good stuff. Decision-making In addition to the typical challenges of funding and infrastructure, this survey also asked teachers about discovery and decision-making. Classroom teachers appear to be quite involved in decision-making around edtech. Fully 80% of teachers report contributing to (66%) or leading/having the greatest influence on (14%) decisions about the use of edtech

Most important criteria in selecting edtech tools for classroom use, according to teachers and administrators (percent reporting each criterion): 37% 29%

Overall high quality

25%

Free

45%

in their schools. Just over half of teachers (55%) say that they are involved in the decision-making process when purchasing

33% 32%

Helps teachers teach

educational technologies under $100. Over half of teachers report that technology coordinators, media specialists, or other school staff (including principals) are similarly involved in the decision to purchase under-$100 edtech.

Discovery With hundreds of thousands of mobile apps claiming to be educational, tens of thousands of video games with some

65%

Aligns to academic standards

41% 30%

Fun and engaging for students

44% 57% 56%

Learning potential for students 0%

20%

40%

Administrators' priorities

60%

80%

Teachers' priorities

potential for learning, and countless websites, the sea of edtech resources out there can be overwhelming.

Seventy-six percent of teachers agree it’s at least somewhat difficult to find out about high quality educational technologies for instruction, student learning, or classroom management. One in three teachers spends an hour or more each week looking for edtech products to use in the classroom.

What criteria are educators looking for when they select edtech products to use in classrooms? Both teachers and administrators rank learning potential for students as an important factor (57% administrators and 56% teachers), but there are some differences in how they prioritize other factors. Administrators place higher emphasis on standards alignment (65%), while teachers are more interested in resources that align to standards (41%), are free (45%), and are fun and engaging for students (44%). Further analysis reveals that teacher attitudes toward the potential of edtech are related to perceived difficulty of finding good edtech products. Compared to those who agreed it was not difficult, teachers who agreed that it was difficult to find good edtech tools were significantly more likely to agree that lack of training (47% vs. 32%), demands on teacher time (45% vs. 26%), and difficulty of determining quality (22% vs. 8%) are

Teachers’ primary means (81%) of finding out about

obstacles to edtech implementation. They were also

edtech is from other educators — teachers, librarians, or tech

significantly less likely to be high edtech users (26% vs. 45%)

coordinators/media specialists. Over half of all teachers also

and to agree that edtech is absolutely essential (45% vs. 59%),

rely on administrators for recommendations, and the third

improves outcomes (87% vs. 96%), helps students collaborate

most popular source is web search engines.

(85% vs. 94%), or that funding is a challenge (63% vs. 74%).

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However, perceived difficulty in finding high quality edtech was no higher or lower across key tech usage lines: those who consider themselves early adopters, those who would like to use more technology in the classroom, and across different device usage profiles (i.e., desktops vs. laptops vs. tablets, or shared vs. 1-to-1 classrooms). Also, there were no significant differences between the two groups (difficult vs. not difficult to find good edtech) in terms of relevant demographic factors such as school level or subjects taught, mean years of experience, urbanicity of the respondent’s location, and proportion of minority or free/reduced lunch students. While this study’s methodology does not allow for causal inferences, the above analysis indicates that the difficulty of finding good edtech is significantly correlated with lower edtech usage and enthusiasm. It’s also probable that higher usage and enthusiasm signal higher tech savvy and greater awareness of the challenge of discovery, or that a third, related but unmeasured, factor is linked to (and causing) both of these

Percent of teachers who agree to each attribute by perceived difficulty of finding high-quality edtech products: 74% 63%

Funding is an obstacle to using edtech

94% 85%

Edtech helps students collaborate

96% 87%

Ed tech improves student outcomes 8%

It's hard to determine which products are high quality

22%

The challenges of implementation outweigh the benefits

25% 36% 26%

Edtech places too many demands on teachers' time

45% 32%

Lack of training is an obstacle to using edtech

47% 0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Not difficult

100%

Difficult

120%

constellations of variables (perceived difficulty and edtech usage/adoption).

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Conclusion This Graphite White Paper presented findings on attitudes and

There are several differences between teachers who perceive

practices regarding teaching with technology based on an

difficulty in discovering good edtech and those who don’t.

online survey of U.S. public school teachers and administrators.

Those who do perceive this difficulty (relative to those who

A majority of educators appear to believe in the potential of

don’t) are more likely to agree that lack of training, demands

educational technologies to enhance teaching and learning.

on teacher time, and difficulty of determining quality are

Shared access to desktops and laptops is the norm. However,

obstacles to edtech implementation. They are also less likely

mobile devices like tablets and smartphones have penetrated

to be high edtech users and to agree that edtech is absolutely

the classroom to a notable extent - with over half of all teachers

essential, improves outcomes, helps students collaborate, or

reporting that students have access to these devices. Teachers

that funding is a challenge. However, they’re not significantly

in mobile-rich classrooms are more likely to be early adopters

different on a host of other variables like edtech usage, device

and convinced of the benefits of edtech.

usage, and personal/school demographics.

Although they report high enthusiasm for the promise of edtech,

These results prompt us to ask: is the fact that so many

teachers report much less frequent use of edtech products,

teachers (who feel empowered to make decisions) feel it is

with less than a third of all teachers indicating they use various

difficult to find high quality edtech a major inhibitor to adoption

types of edtech tools weekly or more often. Still, almost all

and usage? Does the perception of difficulty encourage

teachers (92%) say they would like to use edtech tools more

skeptical teacher attitudes, or is it the other way around? Or, is

often than they do now.

there another common factor behind both (outside of a demographic or economic factor)? And if perceived difficulty

Educators agree there are several headwinds challenging

does lower teacher expectations for edtech, then would efforts

implementation of edtech in the classroom, including time

to make it easier for teachers to discover, vet, implement, and

constraints, funding, lack of access/infrastructure, and lack

use those products result in a significant uptick in teacher

of training. In addition, three-quarters of teachers report that

attitudes and usage? To borrow from Geoffrey Moore’s famous

it’s at least somewhat difficult to find out about high quality

model of the technology adoption curve, is the edtech category

edtech tools. Many turn to peers, administrators, or web

waiting to “cross the chasm”?

searches to aid in their discovery of good edtech. Teachers, in general, appear to feel involved in decision-making around edtech for use in their classrooms, and those who purchase on their own spend an average of $255 each year on edtech tools. Although administrators are clearly leading edtech decisions, remarkable proportions of teachers reported being involved in these decisions, contributing to them, and actually purchasing products.

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Survey Toplines Common Sense Media Teaching with Technology Survey Conducted online by Harris Interactive for Common Sense Media between May 9 and May 21, 2013 among 764 public school preK-12 teachers and 205 public school administrators. •

Teachers are defined as U.S. residents, 18 years or older, employed full or part-time as a classroom teacher in grades preK12 in a U.S. public or charter school.



Administrators are defined as U.S. residents, 18 years or older, employed full-or-part-time in a U.S. public school or charter school and EITHER: ◦◦ a principal, assistant principal, superintendent, assistant superintendent; OR ◦◦ a curriculum supervisor, technology coordinator, media specialist, or librarian who is involved in making educational technologies decisions for their school or district.

To keep in line with their actual proportions in the population, teachers’ figures for gender, years of experience, region, urbanicity, grade level, school size and percentage of students eligible for free/reduced lunch were weighted where necessary. Among administrators, figures for region, urbanicity, and district size were also weighted, where necessary, to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

Notes on Reading the Results The percentage of respondents has been included for each question. An asterisk (*) represents a value of zero. Percentages may not always add up to 100% because of computer rounding or the acceptance of multiple answers for respondents answering that question. Capital letters (A, B, C,) indicate statistically significant differences between the subgroups being tested at the 95% confidence level. The subgroups tested are Administrators vs. Teachers; and Elementary vs. Middle vs. High School Teachers.

BASE: ALL RESPONDENTS 1. Are you…?

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

Male

44% B

29%

17%

33% C

47% CD

Female

56%

71% A

83% DE

67% E

53%

 

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BASE: ALL RESPONDENTS 2. In what year were you born? Please enter your response as a four-digit number (for example, 1977).

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

50.0 B

45.5

45.9

44.6

45.5

  MEAN AGE

BASE: ALL RESPONDENTS 3. Which of the following best describes your employment status?

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

Employed full-time

93%

96%

96%

98%

95%

Employed part-time

7%

4%

4%

2%

5%

 

BASE: EMPLOYED FULL OR PART-TIME 4. Which of the following best describes your current occupation? Please select only one answer.  

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Base:

205

764

-

100%

  Teacher Principal or Head of school

13%

-

Assistant principal

16%

-

Superintendent

6%

-

Assistant or deputy superintendent

6%

-

Media specialist for a school or district

11%

-

Librarian for a school or district

19%

-

Technology/ computer coordinator for a school or district

14%

-

Curriculum/instruction director or supervisor for a school or district

14%

-

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BASE: MEDIA SPECIALIST, LIBRARIAN, TECHNOLOGY/COMPUTER COORDINATOR, CURRICULUM/ INSTRUCTION DIRECTOR OR BUSINESS ADMIN 5. Thinking about your job responsibilities, are they …?

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Base:

118

  Primarily for one school

66%

Primarily for the school district or multiple schools

34%

BASE: TEACHERS 6. How do you classify your current position as a teacher, that is, the activity at which you spend most of your time during this school year?

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

0

764

254

252

258

Full-time classroom teacher

-

96%

97%

97%

95%

Part-time classroom teacher

-

4%

3%

3%

5%

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

0

764

254

252

258

Pre-K

-

3%

5%

-

-

Kindergarten

-

16%

30% DE

1%

*

1st grade

-

17%

33% DE

*

*

2nd grade

-

20%

38% DE

1%

1%

3rd grade

-

22%

42% DE

1%

1%

4th grade

-

22%

42% DE

2%

1%

5th grade

-

23%

42% DE

4%

1%

6th grade

-

15%

10%

46% CE

4%

7th grade

-

16%

4%

64% CE

5%

8th grade

-

16%

4%

64% CE

6%

 

BASE: FULL OR PART-TIME TEACHERS 7. What grade(s) do you currently teach?

 

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9th grade

-

20%

1%

7% C

64% CD

10th grade

-

22%

1%

5% C

73% CD

11th grade

-

24%

1%

5% C

79% CD

12th grade

-

25%

1%

5% C

81% CD

BASE: EDUCATION SCHOOL-LEVEL JOB 8. Which of the following best describes the school where you teach/your school?

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

139

764

254

252

258

Elementary school

31%

48% A

91% DE

5% E

-

Junior high or middle school

16%

16%

-

81% CE

*

High school or senior high school

30%

26%

-

1%

89% CD

K-8 school

4%

4%

6% E

5% E

-

K-12 school

7%

4%

3%

5%

6%

Other

12% B

2%

*

3% C

4% C

 

BASE: HAS EDUCATION JOB AND IN PUBLIC SCHOOL/DISTRICT 9. To what extent are you involved in making decisions about the use of educational technologies in your classroom/school/district? Educational technologies are digitally-delivered products designed to help students or teachers, such as apps, computer games, websites, digital planning tools or digitally delivered curricula.

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

I am not involved at all in making these decisions

4%

20% A

21%

22%

16%

I contribute to making these decisions along with others

73%

66%

65%

67%

67%

I lead or have the greatest influence on making these decisions

23% B

14%

13%

11%

16%

 

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

T E AC H IN G WI T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

 17

Attitudes about Technology and Digital Media in the Classroom BASE: TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS 10. Next we have a few questions about teaching and learning. How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements about educational technologies in the classroom? Educational technologies are digitally-delivered products designed to help students or teachers, such as apps, computer games, websites, digital planning tools or digitally delivered curricula. 1. I give advice to other educators about new trends in educational technologies for the classroom.

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

AGREE (NET)

85% B

68%

67%

71%

68%

Strongly agree

33% B

18%

20%

21% E

13%

Somewhat agree

52%

50%

47%

49%

56%

DISAGREE (NET)

15%

32% A

33%

29%

32%

Somewhat disagree

11%

20% A

20%

20%

19%

Strongly disagree

3%

12% A

13%

9%

13%

 

2. I give parents recommendations for apps, games and websites for use at home to augment student learning.

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

AGREE (NET)

67%

70%

79% DE

69% E

53%

Strongly agree

16%

25% A

33% DE

19%

16%

Somewhat agree

51%

44%

46%

50% E

38%

DISAGREE (NET)

33%

30%

21%

31% C

47% CD

Somewhat disagree

21%

17%

11%

21% C

27% C

Strongly disagree

13%

13%

10%

11%

19% CD

 

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3. I would like to use educational technologies in the classroom more than I do now.

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

764

254

252

258

AGREE (NET)

92%

94%

90%

91%

Strongly agree

48%

49%

46%

47%

Somewhat agree

45%

45%

44%

44%

DISAGREE (NET)

8%

6%

10%

9%

Somewhat disagree

6%

4%

8%

9%

Strongly disagree

2%

3%

1%

1%

 

4. I am among the first people to try out new educational technologies for the classroom.

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

AGREE (NET)

68%

65%

64%

68%

63%

Strongly agree

20%

22%

24%

23%

19%

Somewhat agree

48%

42%

40%

46%

45%

DISAGREE (NET)

32%

35%

36%

32%

37%

Somewhat disagree

25%

27%

27%

24%

27%

Strongly disagree

7%

9%

9%

7%

10%

 

5. I tend to be skeptical about new educational technologies for the classroom.

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

764

254

252

258

AGREE (NET)

26%

23%

31%

28%

Strongly agree

2%

2%

5%

3%

Somewhat agree

23%

21%

26%

26%

DISAGREE (NET)

74%

77%

69%

72%

Somewhat disagree

45%

45%

41%

47%

Strongly disagree

29%

32%

28%

25%

 

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 19

6. I tend to be skeptical about new educational technologies.  

Total – Administrators (A)

Base:

205

  AGREE (NET)

27%

Strongly agree

3%

Somewhat agree

24%

DISAGREE (NET)

73%

Somewhat disagree

40%

Strongly disagree

32%

BASE: TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS 11. How important do you think it is for teachers to use educational technologies in the classroom?

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

TOP 2 BOX (NET)

93% B

86%

89% E

85%

79%

Absolutely essential

61% B

48%

57% DE

42%

36%

Important

32%

38%

32%

43% C

43% C

BOTTOM 2 BOX (NET)

7%

14% A

11%

15%

21% C

Somewhat important

7%

14% A

10%

15%

21% C

Not important

*

*

*

-

*

 

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BASE: TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS 12. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements about using educational technologies in the classroom? 1. It increases student engagement in learning.

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

AGREE (NET)

98%

96%

97%

95%

94%

Strongly agree

55%

56%

64% E

53%

44%

Somewhat agree

43%

40%

33%

41%

50% C

DISAGREE (NET)

2%

4%

3%

5%

6%

Somewhat disagree

2%

4%

2%

5%

5%

Strongly disagree

*

*

*

-

1%

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

AGREE (NET)

22%

33% A

23%

45% C

43% C

Strongly agree

2%

4%

3%

6%

4%

Somewhat agree

21%

29% A

20%

39% C

39% C

DISAGREE (NET)

78% B

67%

77% DE

55%

57%

Somewhat disagree

47%

42%

46%

39%

37%

Strongly disagree

30%

25%

31% DE

15%

20%

 

2. It distracts students.

 

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

T E AC H IN G WI T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

 21

3. It improves student outcomes.

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

AGREE (NET)

93%

89%

93% DE

86%

84%

Strongly agree

31%

30%

34%

26%

25%

Somewhat agree

62%

59%

59%

61%

59%

DISAGREE (NET)

7%

11%

7%

14% C

16% C

Somewhat disagree

7%

11%

7%

13%

16% C

Strongly disagree

-

*

-

1%

*

 

4. It expands resources available to teachers.

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

AGREE (NET)

100%

99%

100% D

97%

98%

Strongly agree

77% B

67%

74% DE

61%

59%

Somewhat agree

23%

31% A

26%

36% C

39% C

DISAGREE (NET)

*

1%

*

3% C

2%

Somewhat disagree

*

1%

*

3% C

1%

Strongly disagree

-

*

-

-

1%

 

5. The challenges of implementation outweigh the benefits.

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

AGREE (NET)

32%

34%

32%

37%

35%

Strongly agree

12%

7%

7%

10%

6%

Somewhat agree

20%

26%

25%

27%

29%

DISAGREE (NET)

68%

66%

68%

63%

65%

Somewhat disagree

39%

39%

37%

39%

42%

Strongly disagree

29%

27%

31%

24%

23%

 

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6. It helps student collaborate with each other.

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

AGREE (NET)

90%

87%

85%

87%

91%

Strongly agree

35%

31%

29%

33%

34%

Somewhat agree

56%

56%

56%

54%

57%

DISAGREE (NET)

10%

13%

15%

13%

9%

Somewhat disagree

8%

12%

14%

12%

9%

Strongly disagree

1%

1%

*

*

1%

 

7. It places too many demands on teachers’ time.

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

AGREE (NET)

22%

40% A

38%

45%

41%

Strongly agree

3%

5%

3%

7%

7%

Somewhat agree

18%

35% A

34%

39%

34%

DISAGREE (NET)

78% B

60%

62%

55%

59%

Somewhat disagree

56% B

41%

41%

38%

42%

Strongly disagree

22%

19%

21%

16%

17%

 

8. It enables personalized learning for individual students.

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

AGREE (NET)

96%

95%

97% E

94%

93%

Strongly agree

53% B

44%

49% E

40%

37%

Somewhat agree

42%

52% A

49%

54%

56%

DISAGREE (NET)

4%

5%

3%

6%

7% C

Somewhat disagree

4%

4%

1%

6% C

7% C

Strongly disagree

-

1%

1%

-

*

 

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

T E AC H IN G WI T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

 23

Current and Future Use of Technology and Digital Media BASE: TEACHERS 13. During this school year (2012-2013), have you or your students used the following types of technology for learning or instruction in your classroom? 1. Desktop computer(s)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Used primarily by students

14%

15%

13%

12%

Used primarily by me or another teacher

18%

12%

24% C

26% C

Used by both students and teachers

52%

59% DE

47%

44%

Not used in my classroom for learning

16%

14%

16%

17%

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Used primarily by students

11%

6%

14% C

17% C

Used primarily by me or another teacher

19%

21%

19%

15%

Used by both students and teachers

40%

38%

40%

43%

Not used in my classroom for learning

31%

36% E

27%

24%

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

 

2. Laptop computer(s)

 

3. Tablet computer(s) (e.g., Android tablet, iPad, etc.)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Used primarily by students

10%

6%

9%

20% CD

Used primarily by me or another teacher

15%

14%

16%

15%

Used by both students and teachers

24%

32% DE

22% E

12%

Not used in my classroom for learning

51%

49%

53%

53%

 

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4. Smart Board, interactive whiteboard, or similar

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Used primarily by students

1%

1%

1%

-

Used primarily by me or another teacher

19%

12%

22% C

29% C

Used by both students and teachers

45%

55% DE

38%

31%

Not used in my classroom for learning

36%

32%

39%

41%

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

 

5. Smartphone (e.g., iPhone, Android phone, Windows phone)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Used primarily by students

12%

1%

8% C

33% CD

Used primarily by me or another teacher

14%

22% DE

7%

6%

Used by both students and teachers

14%

6%

19% C

25% C

Not used in my classroom for learning

60%

71% E

66% E

36%

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Used primarily by students

14%

9%

20% C

18% C

Used primarily by me or another teacher

6%

7%

5%

5%

Used by both students and teachers

8%

9%

10%

6%

Not used in my classroom for learning

72%

75% D

64%

71%

 

6. E-readers (e.g., Kindle, Nook)

 

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

T E AC H IN G WI T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

 25

7. Game consoles or handhelds (e.g., Wii, LeapPad, Xbox, DS, etc.)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Used primarily by students

3%

3%

5%

3%

Used primarily by me or another teacher

*

*

1%

-

Used by both students and teachers

5%

6%

3%

2%

Not used in my classroom for learning

92%

91%

92%

95%

 

BASE: TEACHERS WHOSE STUDENTS OR BOTH STUDENTS & TEACHERS USE DESKTOPS/LAPTOPS/ TABLETS OR ALL ADMINS 14. Which of the following best describes how computers are provided to students for use in your own classroom/school/district? Please select only one answer.

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

652

227

211

214

Students share a set of in-class computers or tablets

29%

42% A

48% D

32%

38%

Computers or tablets available in a central computer lab

50%

41%

44%

43%

35%

‘’Bring Your Own Device’’ (BYOD) school (i.e. students supply their own computer)

7%

6%

2%

8% C

12% C

1-to-1 laptop program (i.e. school provides a laptop for each student)

5%

6%

3%

7%

10% C

1-to-1 tablet program (i.e. school provides a tablet computer for each student)

3%

1%

1%

2%

1%

None of these

6%

4%

2%

8% C

4%

 

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BASE: TEACHERS 15. The next few questions are about educational technologies. By educational technologies, we mean digitally-delivered products designed to help students or teachers. They could include student tools (like websites, apps, or games), teacher tools (like ClassDojo, or Lesson Planet) or digital curricula (like DreamBox Learning, or Lexia Learning). During this school year (2012-2013), how often do you or your students use each of the following types of educational technologies in your classroom? 1. Subject-specific content tools for students (such as MathBoard, Shakespeare in Bits, SkyMap, iCivics)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Never

51%

52%

50%

49%

A few times a year

16%

14%

20%

18%

A few times a month

15%

12%

15%

19%

1-2 times a week

10%

13% DE

6%

6%

3-4 times a week

5%

6%

6%

4%

Every day

3%

4%

2%

4%

 

2. Information or reference tools for students (such as Desmos Graphing Calculator, Grammar Bytes!, Dictionary.com, Google Earth)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Never

26%

28%

26%

20%

A few times a year

22%

19%

24%

28% C

A few times a month

21%

20%

21%

23%

1-2 times a week

17%

19%

17%

15%

3-4 times a week

7%

8%

8%

6%

Every day

6%

6%

5%

7%

 

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

T E AC H IN G WI T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

 27

3. Productivity tools for students (such as Evernote, StoryBuilder)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Never

61%

55%

66% C

69%C

A few times a year

20%

21%

16%

21%

A few times a month

10%

13% E

9%

5%

1-2 times a week

4%

5%

2%

3%

3-4 times a week

3%

4%

3%

1%

Every day

1%

2%

2%

1%

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

 

4. Creation tools for students (such as Animoto, Prezi)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Never

54%

59% E

54%

45%

A few times a year

26%

20%

25%

39% CD

A few times a month

13%

14%

11%

12%

1-2 times a week

4%

4%

7%

3%

3-4 times a week

2%

2%

2%

*

Every day

1%

1%

1%

1%

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

 

5. Teacher tools (such as, Lesson Planet, ClassDojo, Socrative)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Never

41%

38%

37%

47%

A few times a year

18%

14%

21%

22%

A few times a month

17%

18%

19%

14%

1-2 times a week

9%

11%

9%

8%

3-4 times a week

9%

10%

10%

6%

Every day

6%

9%

5%

3%

 

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6. Digital curricula (such as DreamBox Learning, Lexia Learning)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Never

71%

67%

74%

76%

A few times a year

8%

6%

8%

10%

A few times a month

7%

8%

8%

7%

1-2 times a week

5%

8% E

4%

2%

3-4 times a week

5%

7%

2%

3%

Every day

4%

5%

5%

3%

 

BASE: TEACHERS THAT HAVE USED A DIGITAL LEARNING PRODUCT 16. You indicated that you or your students use the following educational technologies in your classroom. Is each of the following used in your classroom primarily by students, primarily by you or another teacher, or by both students and teachers in your classroom? 1. Subject-specific content tools for students (such as MathBoard, Shakespeare in Bits, SkyMap, iCivics)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

390

125

128

137

Primarily by students

33%

35%

24%

34%

Primarily by me or another teacher

24%

20%

28%

29%

Both students and teachers

43%

45%

48%

36%

 

2. Information or reference tools for students (such as Desmos Graphing Calculator, Grammar Bytes!, Dictionary.com, Google Earth)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

574

180

186

208

Primarily by students

21%

11%

20%

38% CD

Primarily by me or another teacher

15%

20% E

11%

7%

Both students and teachers

64%

69% E

69% E

55%

 

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

T E AC H IN G WI T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

 29

3. Productivity tools for students (such as Evernote, StoryBuilder)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

286

108

94

84

Primarily by students

36%

33%

37%

45%

Primarily by me or another teacher

14%

13%

12%

17%

Both students and teachers

50%

54%

51%

38%

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

 

4. Creation tools for students (such as Animoto, Prezi)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Base:

342

98

114

130

Primarily by students

35%

25%

38%

47% C

Primarily by me or another teacher

23%

29% E

23%

15%

Both students and teachers

42%

46%

39%

37%

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

 

5. Teacher tools (such as, Lesson Planet, ClassDojo, Socrative)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Base:

443

149

154

140

Primarily by students

1%

1%

*

4%

Primarily by me or another teacher

85%

84%

88%

85%

Both students and teachers

14%

16%

12%

12%

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

 

6. Digital curricula (such as DreamBox Learning, Lexia Learning)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Base:

222

89

69

64

Primarily by students

32%

35%

26%

29%

Primarily by me or another teacher

32%

28%

33%

41%

Both students and teachers

36%

37%

41%

30%

 

30 

T E AC H IN G W I T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

BASE: ALL TEACHERS 17. Thinking about next school year (2013-2014), how often do you think you or your students will use each of the following types of educational technologies? 1. Subject-specific content tools for students (such as MathBoard, Shakespeare in Bits, SkyMap, iCivics)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Do not plan to use

35%

35%

33%

36%

Will use, but less often than this year

2%

1%

1%

2%

Will use about the same as this year

26%

25%

28%

26%

Will use more often than this year

38%

39%

38%

36%

 

2. Information or reference tools for students (such as Desmos Graphing Calculator, Grammar Bytes!, Dictionary.com, Google Earth)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Do not plan to use

20%

22%

19%

17%

Will use, but less often than this year

2%

2%

2%

2%

Will use about the same as this year

46%

46%

39%

51% D

Will use more often than this year

32%

31%

41%

30%

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

 

3. Productivity tools for students (such as Evernote, StoryBuilder)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Do not plan to use

44%

39%

45%

53% C

Will use, but less often than this year

3%

2%

2%

4%

Will use about the same as this year

18%

22%

14%

14%

Will use more often than this year

35%

37%

39%

29%

 

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

T E AC H IN G WI T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

 31

4. Creation tools for students (such as Animoto, Prezi)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Do not plan to use

41%

44%

37%

38%

Will use, but less often than this year

3%

3%

4%

2%

Will use about the same as this year

21%

18%

18%

28% CD

Will use more often than this year

35%

35%

41%

32%

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

 

5. Teacher tools (such as, Lesson Planet, ClassDojo, Socrative)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Do not plan to use

30%

25%

30%

39% C

Will use, but less often than this year

3%

3%

5%

2%

Will use about the same as this year

32%

37% E

28%

25%

Will use more often than this year

36%

36%

38%

34%

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

 

6. Digital curricula (such as DreamBox Learning, Lexia Learning)

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Do not plan to use

53%

50%

52%

59%

Will use, but less often than this year

1%

1%

2%

2%

Will use about the same as this year

14%

17%

14%

11%

Will use more often than this year

31%

32%

33%

29%

 

32 

T E AC H IN G W I T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

BASE: ADMINISTRATORS 18. The next few questions are about educational technologies. By educational technologies, we mean digitally-delivered products designed to help students or teachers. They could include student tools (like websites, apps, or games), teacher tools (like ClassDojo, or Lesson Planet) or digital curricula (like DreamBox Learning, or Lexia Learning). About how many classroom teachers in your school/district use each of the following types of educational technologies? 1. Subject-specific content tools for students (such as MathBoard, Shakespeare in Bits, SkyMap, iCivics)  

Total – Administrators (A)

Base:

205

  None

14%

1%-25% of classroom teachers

32%

26%-50% of classroom teachers

22%

51%-75% of classroom teachers

18%

76%-99% of classroom teachers

12%

100% of classroom teachers

2%

2. Information or reference tools for students (such as Desmos Graphing Calculator, Grammar Bytes!, Dictionary.com, Google Earth)  

Total – Administrators (A)

Base:

205

  None

5%

1%-25% of classroom teachers

21%

26%-50% of classroom teachers

25%

51%-75% of classroom teachers

25%

76%-99% of classroom teachers

19%

100% of classroom teachers

6%

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

T E AC H IN G WI T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

 33

3. Productivity tools for students (such as Evernote, StoryBuilder)  

Total – Administrators (A)

Base:

205

  None

16%

1%-25% of classroom teachers

38%

26%-50% of classroom teachers

20%

51%-75% of classroom teachers

14%

76%-99% of classroom teachers

9%

100% of classroom teachers

3%

4. Creation tools for students (such as Animoto, Prezi)  

Total – Administrators (A)

Base:

205

  None

15%

1%-25% of classroom teachers

31%

26%-50% of classroom teachers

24%

51%-75% of classroom teachers

20%

76%-99% of classroom teachers

9%

100% of classroom teachers

1%

5. Teacher tools (such as Lesson Planet, ClassDojo, Socrative)  

Total – Administrators (A)

Base:

205

 

34 

None

9%

1%-25% of classroom teachers

30%

26%-50% of classroom teachers

25%

51%-75% of classroom teachers

18%

76%-99% of classroom teachers

12%

100% of classroom teachers

6%

T E AC H IN G W I T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

6. Digital curricula (such as DreamBox Learning, Lexia Learning)  

Total – Administrators (A)

Base:

205

  None

25%

1%-25% of classroom teachers

35%

26%-50% of classroom teachers

20%

51%-75% of classroom teachers

8%

76%-99% of classroom teachers

7%

100% of classroom teachers

4%

Digital Media Product Selection and Decision-Making Process BASE: TEACHER OR ADMINISTRATOR 19. What are the biggest challenges to integrating educational technologies in schools? Please select up to 3 responses.

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

Lack of funds / budget limitations

75% B

66%

71% DE

60%

59%

Insufficient technology infrastructure in the classroom (connectivity, hardware)

45%

53%

54%

55%

48%

Lack of time to implement

38%

45%

48%

41%

42%

Lack of training for teachers on how to use and implement these products

1%

43% A

40%

41%

51%

Lack of student access to technology outside of school

28%

27%

25%

34%

27%

Difficulty determining which products are of high quality

18%

19%

18%

18%

20%

Not enough information about the products’ alignment with standards

15%

13%

13%

11%

14%

Difficulty getting required approvals to implement educational technologies

8%

10%

10%

11%

10%

Lack of trained, appropriate staff

45% B

*

*

*

-

Other

*

1%

1%

1%

1%

 

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

T E AC H IN G WI T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

 35

BASE: TEACHER OR ADMINISTRATOR 20. Next, we’d like to ask you a few more questions about finding educational technologies for classroom use. How difficult is it to find out about high classroom management?

36 

quality educational technologies for instruction, student learning, or

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

TOP 2 BOX (NET)

13%

23% A

22%

24%

24%

Very difficult

2%

5%

5%

5%

7%

Difficult

11%

17%

17%

19%

17%

BOTTOM 2 BOX (NET)

87% B

77%

78%

76%

76%

Somewhat difficult

52%

54%

52%

56%

55%

Not difficult

35% B

24%

26%

20%

22%

T E AC H IN G W I T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

BASE: TEACHER OR ADMINISTRATOR 21. How do you find out about educational technologies for instruction, student learning, or classroom management? Please select all that apply.

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

Teachers, librarians, or tech coordinators/media specialists

81%

81%

82%

86% E

74%

School or district administrators

55%

53%

56%

48%

51%

Education events (e.g. trade shows, conferences, seminars)

73% B

45%

46%

45%

42%

Online education publications

54% B

35%

34%

38%

36%

Online communities or social networking sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

34%

33%

37%

31%

27%

App store or marketplace descriptions and reviews

34%

29%

34% E

24%

23%

Information from the publisher of the product (e.g., product/ publisher website)

55% B

29%

25%

30%

32%

Students

23%

27%

24%

27%

34% C

Print education publications

47% B

25%

25%

31%E

21%

Parents of students

13%

13%

19% DE

10%

5%

Search engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo!, Bing, etc.)

40%

47%

49%

47%

42%

Other

*

*

-

-

*

None, I don’t find out about educational technologies

1%

1%

1%

2%

1%

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

T E AC H IN G WI T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

 37

BASE: TEACHER 22. Approximately how much time do you spend looking for or researching educational technologies?

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

764

254

252

258

Less than one hour a month

32%

27%

38%

35%

1-3 hours a month

37%

38%

34%

36%

1 hour a week

16%

16%

13%

16%

2-4 hours a week

14%

16%

13%

9%

5 or more hours a week

2%

1%

1%

4%

BASE: TEACHER OR ADMINISTRATOR 23. What are the most important characteristics in selecting educational technologies for classroom use? Please select up to 3 responses.

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

Has learning potential for students

57%

56%

57%

55%

56%

Is a free resource/ no cost

25%

45% A

44%

47%

46%

Is fun and engaging for students

30%

44% A

47%

43%

38%

Aligns to academic standards

65% B

41%

46% E

43% E

30%

Helps teachers teach

33%

32%

32%

26%

36%D

Overall high quality

37%

29%

25%

31%

34%

Recommended by teachers

9%

15%

13%

15%

18%

Offers a teacher dashboard or other assessment capability

10%

10%

10%

9%

9%

Approved by department head, district and/or school administrator

6%

9%

10%

12% E

6%

Available from a trusted site

10%

9%

8%

10%

10%

Rigorously rated by experts

12% B

4%

4%

5%

3%

Other

1%

*

*

-

1%

38 

T E AC H IN G W I T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

BASE: TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS 24. Next we’d like to ask you a few questions about the purchasing process in your classroom/school/district] for lower cost educational technologies, that is digitally-delivered products designed to help students or teachers such as apps, computer games, websites, digital planning tools or digitally delivered curricula that cost under $100. Who is involved in the decision to purchase educational technologies that cost under classroom/school/district]? Please select all that apply.

$100 for use in your

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

Me

57%

55%

50%

55%

63% C

Technology coordinator(s) or media specialists, or librarians in my school/district

62% B

53%

55%

57%

46%

Other teachers at my school

-

26%

23%

29%

29%

Parents of students

2%

2%

2%

2%

2%

Students

3%

1%

1%

1%

2%

Teachers in my school/district

52%

-

-

-

-

Other school staff (e.g., principals)

60%

54%

55%

52%

53%

Other district-level staff

40%

36%

34%

39%

37%

Other

*

*

-

*

-

BASE: TEACHERS AND USED A DIGITAL LEARNING PRODUCT 25. What was/were the source(s) of the funding for the educational technologies costing under $100 that you or your students used in your classroom this year? Please select all that apply.

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Base:

659

220

211

228

Purchased by my school or district

68%

71%

66%

62%

My own money

40%

39%

43%

39%

One or more products used were free

40%

41%

39%

40%

Through a grant, gift, or donation

24%

26%

18%

23%

Parents’ or PTA funds

22%

32% DE

15% E

7%

A discretionary budget that I receive to cover low-cost tools and apps

17%

14%

18%

21%

Other source

3%

3%

3%

2%

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

T E AC H IN G WI T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

 39

BASE: PURCHASED PRODUCTS WITH OWN MONEY 26. How much of your own money have you spent on educational technologies this school year, without being reimbursed? Your best estimate is fine. Enter ‘9998’ for ‘not sure’ and ‘9999’ for ‘decline to answer.’

 

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

293

103

89

101

254.5

247.3

220.6

288.8

  MEAN $ AMOUNT

School/District and Personal Demographics BASE: IN EDUCATION AND IN PUBLIC SCHOOL 27. Next, we would like to ask you some questions about your school and district. Is your school/district located … ?

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

In an urban or city area

28% B

19%

19%

23%

16%

In a suburban area next to a city

36%

45% A

45%

47%

45%

In a small town or rural area

37%

36%

36%

30%

40%

BASE: TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS 28. What percentage of students in your school/ district are eligible for free or reduced lunch? Your best estimate is fine. Enter ‘998’ for ‘not sure’ and ‘999’ for ‘decline to answer.’

40 

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

MEAN

56.9 B

42.7

45.8 E

42.5

37.0

T E AC H IN G W I T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

BASE: TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS 29. What percentage of students in your school/district come from racial or ethnic minority families? Your best estimate is fine. Enter ‘998’ for ‘not sure’ and ‘999’ for ‘decline to answer.’

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

MEAN

45.8 B

35.7

38.1

35.9

31.5

BASE: ALL QUALIFIED RESPONDENTS 30. What percentage of students in your school/district are identified as English Language Learners (ELL)? Your best estimate is fine. Enter ‘998’ for ‘not sure’ and ‘999’ for ‘decline to answer.’

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

MEAN

20.8 B

16.1

20.1 DE

11.6

11.8

BASE: TEACHERS AND SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS 31. In total, how many students attend your school? Your best estimate is fine. Enter ‘9998’ for ‘not sure’ and ‘9999’ for ‘decline to answer.’

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

139

764

254

252

258

MEAN

967.8

834.8

578.0

863.4 C

1278.9 CD

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

T E AC H IN G WI T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

 41

BASE: EDUCATOR AND IN PUBLIC SCHOOL 32. In total, how many students are in your school district? Your best estimate is fine.

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

Less than 600 students

6%

8%

10%

4%

9%

600 students to less than 5000 students

30%

38%

40%

33%

39%

5000 to less than 10,000 students

15%

16%

14%

21%

17%

10,000 to less than 25,000 students

17%

16%

17%

17%

13%

25,000 or more students

33% B

21%

20%

24%

22%

BASE: HAS QUALIFYING JOB AND IN PUBLIC SCHOOL 33. How many years have you been a teacher/a principal/an administrator]? If less than 6 months, please enter ‘0.’ If more than 6 months but less than a year, please enter ‘1.’ Enter ‘98’ for ‘not sure’ and ‘99’ for ‘decline to answer.’

42 

 

Total – Administrators (A)

Total – Teachers (B)

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

Base:

205

764

254

252

258

MEAN

8.0

15.9 A

16.9

14.6

14.8

T E AC H IN G W I T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

BASE: QUALIFIED TEACHERS 34. What subject(s) do you teach? Please select all that apply.

 

Total – Teachers

Elementary School Teachers (C)

Base:

764

254

252

258

General Classroom

32%

57% DE

6%

3%

Art

6%

9% DE

1%

3%

Computers

10%

14% DE

6%

6%

Foreign Language

3%

1%

5% C

5% C

Gym/Physical Education

5%

8% E

3%

1%

Language Arts/Reading

33%

40% E

32% E

20%

Math

32%

37% E

38% E

20%

Music

8%

12% DE

5%

4%

Science

26%

31% DE

18%

21%

Social Studies/History

26%

31% E

22%

20%

Special Education

15%

16%

18% E

10%

Other

1%

1%

1%

2% CD

© 2013 COMMON SENSE MEDIA

Middle School Teachers (D)

High School Teachers (E)

T E AC H IN G WI T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

 43

Teaching with Technology: The Promise and Reality of the U.S. Digital Classroom A graphite White Paper from Common Sense Media

Graphite, a free service from Common Sense Media, helps teachers find and share the best apps, games, and websites rated for learning. Join us at www.graphite.org

OUR OFFICES

44 

SAN FRANCISCO

650 Townsend Street, Suite 435, San Francisco, CA 94103

(415) 863-0600

NEW YORK

1230 Avenue of the Americas, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10020

(212) 315 - 2675

WASHINGTON, D.C.

1710 Rhode Island Avenue, NW, Suite 900, Washington, D.C. 20036

(202) 861- 2221

LOS ANGELES

1100 Glendon Avenue, 17th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90024

(310) 689-7535

T E AC H IN G W I T H T EC H N O LO GY: A G R A PH I T E W H I T E PA PER

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