Educators See Potential Uses for Generative AI, Concerned about Losing Tech to Budget Cuts

• By David Nagel
• 09/07/23

In a new national survey of more than 1,100 educators, a substantial 64% said they are somewhat or very worried about losing technology resources in the classroom owing to funding cuts.

The top concern over losing those resources was the potential drop in student engagement in the classroom, according to the study, conducted by GoGuardian in July and August. The study spanned all 50 states and included a total of 1,134 responses.

Educators participating in the survey cited engagement as their top priority and challenge in the coming year. "Motivation and engagement" was predicted by 45% of respondents to be the top issue this school year. But 92% said they expected students to be at least as engaged this school year as they were in the last, citing "the distance from the pandemic and continued familiarity with in-classroom learning. Teachers also noted their own professional development and implementation of new engagement strategies will play a role in classrooms' increased engagement," according to GoGuardian.

Said Mariana Aguilar, vice president of education at GoGuardian. "With the tumultuous years of the pandemic behind us, we're encouraged to hear that teachers are optimistic about the current state of student engagement compared to last year."

"As we move further from the effects of the pandemic and remote learning, I've found that student engagement has consistently improved," said Amy Weston, a language arts teacher in Michigan, also in a prepared statement. "Purposeful learning can happen when we help students invest in their own learning. This year, with improved personal responsibility and more established relationships and room for collaboration, I'm hopeful that I will continue to see stronger engagement and ultimately better learning outcomes in my classroom."

The survey also focused on the perception of generative AI tools like ChatGPT.

Thirty-eight percent of educators said the inclusion of AI features would impact their decision to adopt a particular technology tool, though half said it would not. The top applications for AI in the classroom, according to those surveyed, were:

1. Content creation

2. Interventions

3. Data analysis

4. Lesson planning.

Other findings from the survey included:

• 45% of teachers predict the biggest classroom challenge will be distraction from students' personal devices;

• 74% of educators said students are excited about collaboration with one another;

• 73% of educators said their students are excited about gamification of learning.

The complete report is available as a PDF here. Further information about GoGuardian can be found at goguardian.com.