Students, teachers and future teachers do not agree on the integration of technologies

United States - The results of a recent survey in the United States reveal differences in the perceptions of students, teachers and future teachers about the integration of technology in schools.

While there is progress in integrating technology into schools, students, teachers and teaching students do not perceive these changes in the same way. survey.

In general, students and principals surveyed agree that technologies such as blogs, wikis and social media are important educational tools in the 21st century. However, not all teachers share this view.

The lack of familiarity with technological tools and the potential dangers of using the Internet in their classroom are the reasons that explain the reluctance of teachers, according to Julie Evans, President and CEO of Project Tomorrow who conducted the survey.

Besides, in an article, she explains that teachers would not be totally sold to social networks because they usually don't know how to profit from it academically.

In addition, 76 % teachers admit to being worried about the classroom use of devices such as laptops, smartphones and iPods, even for academic purposes.

However, teachers are starting to buy into students' vision for the place of technology in education, says Evans. Two-thirds of teachers use technology in their lessons and almost half use specialized software to develop writing, reading or math skills in students.

In 2008, only 15 % teachers reported regularly updating their profile on a social network. The recent survey shows that they are now 48 % to do so. “We still have a long way to go, but the poll is encouraging,” said Julie Evans.

As for future teachers, according to the survey, they seem to believe in the integration of technologies in the educational environment. Prospective teachers (79 %) are more likely to use digital media in their lessons than their colleagues (66 %).

On the other hand, only one in four teaching students admit to having courses on the integration of technologies in the preparation of a course. Over 50 % of respondents said they were only prepared to use software.

About 40 % claim to have learned to give multimedia presentations. Word processing and database software, on the other hand, are covered in most educational institutions.

When asked about their vision for the ideal school in 2019, 58 % of principals and 57 % of students believe that every student should have a laptop.

The survey was conducted among 5,700 schools by Project Tomorrow, a non-profit organization.

By Marie-Christine Leblanc