Educators confess teachers are struggling to keep up with digital age
Educators confess teachers are struggling to keep up with digital age
The modern headteacher’s biggest tech-related headache is not cyberbullying or internet grooming, but teachers’ inability or unwillingness to keep pace with new technology, recent research has revealed.
Education leaders from across the UK were interviewed at the Academies Show 2015 in London by ICT business Daisy Education about their tech-related problems. It was discovered that more than two thirds (67%) confessed to being concerned by the volume of teachers struggling to get to grips with the new digital-related demands placed on them.
Nearly a third (30%) of the education providers questioned admitted that they themselves weren’t as 'clued up' about technology as they should be. Another thirty six per cent said that whilst they were confident in some areas of ICT, they knew they had weaknesses in others. Just a third of those involved in the research said they were confident they knew enough about ICT and modern technology to be able do their job properly.
When asked about the tech-related issues currently affecting their school, nearly half (44%) said that there had been an influx of new digital equipment in the school but teachers were struggling to use it due to a lack of training.
More than a third (38%) reported infrastructure problems, saying that the internet speeds in their school were either too slow or were variable. A quarter said that the school’s administrative systems were old-fashioned and regularly resulted in important phone messages being lost.
Colin Bell, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Daisy Group plc, said: “We spoke to a number of education providers at the show and discovered that there are a real range of issues affecting schools, from inappropriate use of social media to poor connectivity.
“We understand that technology is evolving very quickly so it can be difficult to keep up with the latest developments. However, these days, there is simply no excuse for schools having an out of date infrastructure or admin system. It can have a catastrophic effect on the quality of education children receive, leave parents left out in the cold, frustrate staff, and in the long-term, prevent schools enjoying the cost-benefits and efficiencies that a modern system can provide.”
The discovery follows research undertaken by ICT business Daisy Group which found that on average one in five British schoolchildren (11-16 yrs) (21%) said that the internet at school was so slow that their lessons were disrupted whenever they used it. Nearly half of the children surveyed (41%) said that internet speeds at home were much faster than at school.