Is Most Classroom Tech Helping Students, or Teachers?

The latest findings from a nonprofit research organization’s ongoing survey of K-12 communities across the United States found that in-class use of technology is still “primarily passive” and used more for the purposes of benefiting educators than students.

Project Tomorrow’s Speak Up Initiative for the 2022-2023 academic year obtained opinions from more than 50,000 students, teachers, administrators and parents across the nation. The Oct. 26 report is the latest installment of a larger and continuing body of research dating back 20 years in which 6.2 million voices have been documented so far.

The executive summary for the survey work in 2022-2023, which focuses on the use of technology in schools, notes:

• When assigned to write a report or paper, less than half of students in grades 8 and under said their first step would be to use the Internet and online tools to gather information, compared to 62 percent of high school students. Fourteen percent in the younger student group said their first step would be to look for a book in the school library, compared to just 1 percent of high schoolers.
  
• Seventy-nine percent of teachers for grades 6-8 and 67 percent for 9-12 said they use a digital learning management system (LMS) weekly, but less than 25 percent of teachers for all of those grades indicated that they conduct a weekly virtual lab or online experiment.
  
• Less than 15 percent of teachers for grades 6-12 used digital tools to create media for their students on a weekly basis.
  
• Educators overwhelmingly indicated a need for more organized professional development opportunities. When asked how they learn about new technologies for their classrooms, 77 percent said they learn by asking other teachers, and 64 percent said they learn on their own.
  
• Ninety-six percent of parents said the effective use of classroom technology is important for their child’s future, and 53 percent of parents said their main concern is that their child is not learning the right skills in school to be successful.
  
• Only 12 percent of school administrators said their teachers are proficient enough with data to learn and understand the needs of individual students.
  

“While technology use is now part of the DNA of students’ learning behaviors,” the report summary said, “in-classroom use is still primarily passive and in support of adult management goals rather than student skill development.”

In a public statement, Project Tomorrow CEO Julie Evans expressed hope that schools and districts will consult students as the focus on classroom technology and future-ready skills continues.

“Throughout these shifts, it’s crucial we elevate students’ voices and work hand-in-hand with them to better support learning together,” she said.

The latest survey results coincide with Speak Up’s Oct. 26 congressional briefing, "From CDs to AI." The presentation, which was attended by stakeholders from K-12 communities as well as national policymakers, was broadcast live on edWeb.net. Evans’ presentation included a panel discussion by four students.

“Students are using technology to extend their learning, and in fact, they have their own vision for effective learning,” Evans says in the video. “And of course, the question is, are we listening?”