Ed Tech Trends
Many Parents Say Tech Barriers Hindered Academic Success in the Last Year
A new survey of 1,000 parents of school-age children (age 0–10) found that nearly half (48%) reported technological barriers that hindered their kids' academic success over the last year. Barriers included limited equipment, lack of Wi-Fi and other factors.
At the same time, parents were split on how the pandemic affected their kids' learning and productivity. The plurality, 40%, saw an increase in learning and productivity, while a nearly equal number (38%) reported a decrease as a result of the aforementioned barriers.
The findings were part of a fall 2021 parent survey overseen by ed tech company codeSpark, which offers a game-based educational tool focused on STEM for grades K–5. The tool, codeSpark Academy, is free for public schools in North America.
Other findings included:
- 18.5% of parents made a decision to keep their kids in remote learning;
- Most students (51%) were back in the classroom this year; and
- 66.2% of students prefer in-person learning.
The findings were not released in a report accessible to the public. Further information about codeSpark can be found at codespark.com.