The Educator Magazine UK May- August 2023 - Magazine - Page 6
State of the Technology in Education:
An insight to UK schools’ approach to technology in a post-Covid world
After two years of turbulence, in 2022
educators had an opportunity to use
technology to rebuild a consistent
and structured school experience and
redefine how learning looks in the
post-Covid era.
And while online learning was forced
upon both teachers and students
during the lockdowns, today the
use of technology has much more
positive connotations. It’s seen to
be supporting wellbeing,
complementing the curriculum,
and building stronger connections
between peers and educators, while
the latest innovations are helping
shape a truly exciting future.
But when there is such a vast amount
of edtech at their disposal, can
educators be sure they’re making
most effective use of it and achieving
the best possible outcomes from
their pupils, rather than it being
overwhelming?
The State of the Technology in
Education report
Now in its seventh year, Promethean
has once again shared its State of
Technology in Education Report
which shares insights about the use of
technology in schools and, in recent
years, the role of wellbeing factors on
the staff and student experience.
This year, the report focuses on
social-emotional learning, the life
and role of educators and the future
of education as well as – for the first
time – pupils’ views on technology,
and how it impacts their student
experience.
Social-emotional learning
More than half (57%) of educators
are confident in technology’s ability
to support SEL (57%), noting how
it improves student engagement
(71%), strengthens collaborative or
community-based learning (69%) and
improves student behaviour (63%).
However, they believe socialemotional learning (SEL) has become
less of a priority in schools – with
6% fewer respondents saying it’s a
key part of their school’s strategy
compared to last year’s report. The
findings also showed almost a third
(30%) of schools are yet to implement
any SEL-dedicated measures at all.
The life and role of educators
Strike action has been on the news
agenda for some time, with many
schools already having staged
walkouts this year.
However, figures showed that while
teachers respect their leadership’s
management of it – with 60% of
teachers saying leadership has been
supportive and effective – many also
feel the issue hasn’t been discussed
enough. Expectedly, over half (51%)
have had to take on a heavier
workload as a result of staff shortages,
with strikes also leading to a lack of IT
admin support (40%) and reduction
in tech funding (16%) for some.
In terms of educators’ approach
to technology, respondents said it
helps their lesson delivery (62%) and
planning (60%), the quality of their
teaching (59%) and their engagement
with students (37%).
The future of education
Consistent feedback from the
research was that teachers think
the use of technology in schools
will continue to increase, and so too
is educators’ digital fluency (45%).
However, just 22% of teachers say
students’ digital fluency will improve,
while 29% say it will get worse.
Educators believe front of class
displays will lead the way in terms of
the tools used to teach (43%) over the
next three years. Meanwhile, more
novel edtech innovations, like AI, are
welcomed by the majority with just
2% saying they were unsure how it
would be used to benefit schools.
Overall, around half (45%) of
respondents perceive equal, sufficient
access to technology as the most
pressing issue they face today.
Pupils’ views
Revealing insights to pupils’
approaches to technology for the
first time, the report found students
are resoundingly confident in
technology and its benefits, with
88% saying they enjoy using it in
class. Reasons range from helping
them connect with peers (83%),
making topics more interesting (83%),
helping them to focus (83%) and
helping them to better understand
different subjects (92%).
Of the technologies available to
students, tablets (59%) outweigh
smartphones (30%) in terms of
preference. Meanwhile, robotics
and coding (25%), and virtual and
augmented reality (17%) are growing
in popularity
While 95% said they know how
to use all the technology at their
disposal in school, 21% said they feel
more technology is needed in
class, and 25% said the technology
in their school needed to be of a
higher quality.
Providing a snapshot of today’s
educational landscape, the report
shows that while there is always
room for improvement, technology
continues to add value to the
learning experience and support
student achievement. Both educators
and pupils are fully embracing its
potential, with both equally able to
select the tools that suit their
teaching and learning styles.
As a now much-valued instalment of
the educational calendar, the results
of next year’s report will be hotly
anticipated to see how these trends
continue to evolve.
Visit here to access a full copy of the full
report. https://www.prometheanworld.
com/gb/microsites/the-uk-state-oftechnology-in-education-report-2022-23/