CDW Government LLC (CDW-G), source of IT solutions to educators and government, today announced the results of the 2010 21st-Century Classroom Report, a national survey of more than 1,000 high school students, faculty and IT staff members to understand how students and faculty are using technology.
CDW-G found that just 8 percent of high school teachers said that technology is fully integrated into the classroom; and the technology that is available is primarily used by teachers and not students. As a result, 43 percent of students said they are not – or they are unsure if they are – prepared to use technology in higher education or the workforce.
While high school IT professionals provide support for technology such as wireless Internet access, student computing devices, interactive whiteboards and even virtual learning, less than half of faculty members are designing lesson plans that enable students to use technology in class, and just 26 percent of students report they are encouraged to use technology throughout the school day.
Nearly all students (96 percent) said they use technology at home to complete class assignments. However, lack of technology integration means most students are “powering down” in high school, even though 84 percent believe technology is an important educational tool.
Why the student and faculty/IT disconnect? CDW-G found that it comes down to a lack of understanding. Less than half (47 percent) of high school students say their high school understands how they want to use technology as a learning tool. Comparatively, 67 percent of IT professionals believe their district understands how students want to use technology. At the same time, 71 percent of faculty said they are not incorporating guidance from their department on how to provide technology-rich assignments.
For more information, or to download the complete study, visit www.cdwg.com/21stCenturyClassroomReport.
