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Three in Four U.S. Teachers Say Open Educational Resources Are Used More Often Than Textbooks
Annual survey results suggest that connectivity and hardware barriers are falling as online sharing enables broad-based adoption of digital resources
AUSTIN, Texas, March 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
TES Global [http://www.tesglobal.com ], digital education company and home to the
world's largest online teacher network, today published the findings of its second annual
Teachers and Technology Survey. Conducted in January and February 2016, the survey
gathered opinions on classroom technology from nearly 1,000 American teachers.
For the second year in a row, the survey revealed near saturation of education
technology; however, 2016 figures show that adoption of open educational resource in
particular appears to be accelerating, with 73% of survey respondents reporting that they
now use open resources more often than textbooks.
Adoption of OER has been buoyed by teacher word-of-mouth, as well as recent regulatory
shifts. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Education issued new regulation that
requires all copyrightable intellectual property created with grant funds to have an open
license. According to a 2015 report from Hewlett, Creative Commons-licensed works have
increased from 50 million in 2006 to 1.18 billion in 2015.
This year's survey also provides a window into the uses of technology in the
classroom. The data suggests that application of technology is broadening beyond its
historic focus on intervention and remediation, and that adoption of online communication
tools has reached a tipping point.
- 84% report that they are using technology to deliver whole-group instruction; 74%
use it for differentiated instruction. Â
- 70% of teachers report that they are using technology to communicate with parents,
reflecting a perennial focus on parent engagement - and confirming the broad-based
adoption of online tools like Remind and ClassDojo.
- The majority (93%) agrees that technology has most impacted the way they approach time
management, as well as instructional delivery (88%).
Access to hardware also appears to be accelerating. This year's survey highlights an
increase in access to hardware, and a substantial drop in connectivity challenges.
- Just 27% indicated that they lacked enough computers and tablets, although 37% say
this is still the most wanted technology in their classroom.
- 16% claim that internet connectivity is a barrier to successful use of technology in
the classroom, compared to 35% in 2015.
- 25% of the teachers surveyed would most like to see game-based technology in their
classroom above any other single technology, including laptops.
- 10% of teachers would most like to see virtual or augmented reality headsets enter the
classroom, a 5% increase from last year.
"We are thrilled to see improvements around access to technology and high-quality open
resources," said Rob Grimshaw, chief executive officer of TES Global. "Arming teachers
with the tools they need to succeed is the right way to ensure that innovative
technologies can impact student performance."
Today at SXSWedu, Grimshaw will be discussing these survey findings and predictions
for how technology will shape the future of education. Â More details on his panel can be
found here [http://schedule.sxswedu.com/events/event_PP49944 ].
About TES GlobalÂ
TES Global is a fast-growing and digital education company committed to supporting
teaching and learning. Our mission to help improve performance and standards in education
by both supporting teachers with a portfolio of tailored digital services, and by
providing the world's most respected higher education data and analysis. We are home to
the world's largest online community of teachers, with 7.9Â million registered users. For
more information, visit http://www.tesglobal.com
About SXSWedu Â
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(R) family of conferences and
festivals that includes SXSW(R) Music, Film and Interactive; SXSW Eco(R) and SXSW V2V(R).
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 7-10, 2016 in Austin,
Texas. For more information, please visit http://sxswedu.com.
TES Global
CONTACT: Contact: Julia Shatilo, SXSWedu Press & Publicity, E-mail: press@sxswedu.com, Tel: +1-512-467-7979
Three in Four U.S. Teachers Say Open Educational Resources Are Used More Often Than Textbooks
Annual survey results suggest that connectivity and hardware barriers are falling as online sharing enables broad-based adoption of digital resources
AUSTIN, Texas, March 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
TES Global [http://www.tesglobal.com ], digital education company and home to the
world's largest online teacher network, today published the findings of its second annual
Teachers and Technology Survey. Conducted in January and February 2016, the survey
gathered opinions on classroom technology from nearly 1,000 American teachers.
For the second year in a row, the survey revealed near saturation of education
technology; however, 2016 figures show that adoption of open educational resource in
particular appears to be accelerating, with 73% of survey respondents reporting that they
now use open resources more often than textbooks.
Adoption of OER has been buoyed by teacher word-of-mouth, as well as recent regulatory
shifts. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Education issued new regulation that
requires all copyrightable intellectual property created with grant funds to have an open
license. According to a 2015 report from Hewlett, Creative Commons-licensed works have
increased from 50 million in 2006 to 1.18 billion in 2015.
This year's survey also provides a window into the uses of technology in the
classroom. The data suggests that application of technology is broadening beyond its
historic focus on intervention and remediation, and that adoption of online communication
tools has reached a tipping point.
- 84% report that they are using technology to deliver whole-group instruction; 74%
use it for differentiated instruction. Â
- 70% of teachers report that they are using technology to communicate with parents,
reflecting a perennial focus on parent engagement - and confirming the broad-based
adoption of online tools like Remind and ClassDojo.
- The majority (93%) agrees that technology has most impacted the way they approach time
management, as well as instructional delivery (88%).
Access to hardware also appears to be accelerating. This year's survey highlights an
increase in access to hardware, and a substantial drop in connectivity challenges.
- Just 27% indicated that they lacked enough computers and tablets, although 37% say
this is still the most wanted technology in their classroom.
- 16% claim that internet connectivity is a barrier to successful use of technology in
the classroom, compared to 35% in 2015.
- 25% of the teachers surveyed would most like to see game-based technology in their
classroom above any other single technology, including laptops.
- 10% of teachers would most like to see virtual or augmented reality headsets enter the
classroom, a 5% increase from last year.
"We are thrilled to see improvements around access to technology and high-quality open
resources," said Rob Grimshaw, chief executive officer of TES Global. "Arming teachers
with the tools they need to succeed is the right way to ensure that innovative
technologies can impact student performance."
Today at SXSWedu, Grimshaw will be discussing these survey findings and predictions
for how technology will shape the future of education. Â More details on his panel can be
found here [http://schedule.sxswedu.com/events/event_PP49944 ].
About TES GlobalÂ
TES Global is a fast-growing and digital education company committed to supporting
teaching and learning. Our mission to help improve performance and standards in education
by both supporting teachers with a portfolio of tailored digital services, and by
providing the world's most respected higher education data and analysis. We are home to
the world's largest online community of teachers, with 7.9Â million registered users. For
more information, visit http://www.tesglobal.com
About SXSWedu Â
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(R) family of conferences and
festivals that includes SXSW(R) Music, Film and Interactive; SXSW Eco(R) and SXSW V2V(R).
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 7-10, 2016 in Austin,
Texas. For more information, please visit http://sxswedu.com.
TES Global
CONTACT: Contact: Julia Shatilo, SXSWedu Press & Publicity, E-mail: press@sxswedu.com, Tel: +1-512-467-7979