96% of teachers say technology plays a significant role in the classroom, but basic barriers still pose challenges
AUSTIN, TX, March 10, 2015 --- Digital education company TES Global has today published findings from its first annual Teachers and Technology Survey at SXSWedu. This survey of 1,000 U.S. teachers and over 3,000 globally also marks the formal launch of TES Labs, a new platform allowing teachers and start-ups to collaborate and develop effective education technology products. TES Labs has graduated from its successful beta phase, and looks to usher in a new era of worldwide collaboration for entrepreneurs and its global community of almost 7 million teachers.
Classroom tech is now universal
Teachers everywhere are embracing new technologies that improve and enhance instruction. A whopping 96% of survey respondents in U.S. agreed that technology plays a significant role in their classroom.
- Ed tech has eclipsed age old mediums; 69% claim that open resources are now used more often than textbooks.
- The majority of teachers (83%) use technology to deliver whole-group instruction or differentiated instruction (79%), while 78% report that it’s useful in communicating with parents.
- The benefit is clear: 33% report that technology lets students learn content in a different way, and 24% thinks it improves student engagement.
Teachers crave more access
Despite recent technological developments and the appreciation of the benefits, some fundamental barriers to the use of classroom technology remain in place.
- The #1 complaint from teachers is that they do not have enough hardware. More than 60% say they do not have enough computers/tablets, and affirm that tablets are the most wanted technology in their classroom.
- WiFi is also a concern; 35% claim that internet connectivity is a barrier to successful use of technology in the classroom.
- On the software side, teachers were enthusiastic about game-based learning. 20% would like to see more in their classroom, above all other new technology.
The global classroom is flat
Teachers from 26 countries shed light on the global impact of classroom technology.
- 96% of teachers in the US think technology plays a significant role in the classroom versus 94% in the rest of the world (ROW).
- Internet connectivity is a bigger challenge for classrooms outside the US; 50% say this is a barrier to tech compared to 35% in the US. Insufficient access to computers and tablets is seen as the biggest barrier in all regions (61% US vs 59% ROW).
- Teachers in the US are more likely to use technology to communicate with parents (78% US vs 54% ROW) and collect and analyse data (15% US vs 12% ROW); however, other countries are more likely to use technology to facilitate blended learning (13% US vs 16% ROW).
“Teachers are the most important voice in education and their feedback is a critical tool for education startups,” said Rob Grimshaw, chief executive officer of TES Global. “We are passionate about connecting the two communities and with technology now universal in the classroom there has never been a more important time for it to happen. TES Labs is one way that we can facilitate this, with the ultimate aim of helping put more effective technology into the hands of our teachers.”
TES Labs was created by TES Global, the leading digital education company that provides teachers with the tools and technology they need to excel. You can meet the TES Global team at SXSWedu in Austin at these events:
Tuesday, March 10
07:30: European EdTech All Stars Morning Mixer hosted by EdTech Europe
09:00: Panel Session: European EdTech: Industry Leaders Share Lessons Learnt
Wednesday, March 11
07:30 Teachers Lounge - TES Global Morning Mixer
About TES Labs
TES Labs works by enabling participating startups to ask teachers from all over the world for feedback on their products and usage through short weekly surveys, which are automatically matched up to registered teachers based on their profiles. The startups are then able to act on the advice they are given, while teachers will be entered into regular prize draws – which more active teachers are more likely to win. TES Labs works with partners Emerge Education (http://emerge.education) in the UK and the Education Design Studio (EDSi - http://nestcentral.org/edsi) in Pennsylvania.
You can visit the TES Labs website for more information on this survey or to register your interest in the TES Labs programme as a teacher, startup or partner: https://www.tes.co.uk/labs/. You can also connect with the team @TESLabs.
About TES Global
TES Global is a fast growing and global digital education company dedicated to supporting the world's teachers with a portfolio of tailored services. Our mission is to enable great teaching by helping educators find the best jobs, and providing all the tools and technology they need to excel. It is home to the world's largest online community of teachers, with 6.8 million registered users on its TES Connect, Share My Lesson and Wikispaces platforms. For more information, visit http://www.tesglobal.com
Contact: Tom Glover, TES Global, tom.glover@tesglobal.com
About SXSWedu
The SXSWedu Conference & Festival fosters innovation in learning by hosting a diverse and energetic community of stakeholders across a variety of backgrounds in education. The four-day event affords registrants open access to engaging sessions, interactive workshops, hands on learning experiences, film screenings, early stage startups and a host of networking opportunities. By providing a platform for collaboration, SXSWedu works to promote creativity and social change.
SXSWedu is a component of the South by Southwest family of conference and festivals that includes SXSW Music, Film and Interactive; SXSW Eco and SXSW V2V. Internationally recognized as the convergence gathering for the creative arts, SXSWedu extends SXSW’s support for the art of engagement beyond musicians, filmmakers and new media innovators to include society’s true rock stars: educators.
Join the passionate and innovative community at SXSWedu, March 9-12, 2015 in Austin, Texas. For more information, please visit: http://sxswedu.com.
Contact: Julia Shatilo, SXSWedu Press & Publicity, press@sxswedu.com