Survey: Funding for Ed Tech Still Encumbers 21st Century Learning

An education technology company has released results from its latest teacher survey. Among the findings: funding for ed tech is the biggest issue for most schools; augmented and virtual realities are hot really only with pundits, not classrooms; and Google is a top choice.

According to the 2018 Kahoot edTrends Report, which surveyed 1,516 people, lack of funding topped the list of main challenges faced by teachers in implementing ed tech successfully, referenced by 51 percent of respondents. Lack of training came in second, mentioned by 45 percent of teachers.

Respondents reported that the major ed tech trends they're seeing in their districts were data-driven instruction and intervention, designated by three-quarters of teachers, followed by "tools that promote creativity in learning," listed by slightly more than half of survey participants. VR and AR, however, appeared way down the list with just over 10 percent of teachers reporting that it's showing up in their schools, beat out by personalized learning, computational thinking, design thinking, gamification, social-emotional learning and maker education.

Trends for ed tech. Source: the 2018 Kahoot edTrends Report from Kahoot.

Trends for ed tech. Source: the 2018 Kahoot edTrends Report from Kahoot.

Google is becoming a favorite with teachers and students in U.S. K-12 classrooms for both hardware (Chromebooks) and software (Google Classroom, used for instruction by 53 percent of respondents). However, when measured by Kahoot student usage, iOS still beat out Chrome OS (39 percent vs. 33 percent), although Apple's usage is shrinking, while Google's is growing. Among teachers, Windows still dominates for Kahoot usage, referenced by 56 percent of educators, compared to 17 percent who listed Chrome OS and 9 percent who mentioned iOS.

The results are openly available on the Kahoot website.

The Kahoot platform, which the company claimed has 70 million active users each month, is a game-based classroom response system that uses quizzes, discussions and surveys to inspire learning.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • teacher and children working with a LEGO Education Science kit

    LEGO Education Debuts Science Kits for Hands-on Learning

    LEGO Education has announced a new learning solution to engage students in hands-on science learning. Available in three kits by grade band, LEGO Education Science provides 120-plus standards-aligned science lessons, teacher materials, and select LEGO bricks and hardware.

  • computer monitor with glowing digital data and graphs bursting out in an abstract, energetic explosion of lines and elements against a dark background

    New OpenAI Agent Turns ChatGPT into a Research Analyst

    OpenAI has unveiled a new "Deep Research" feature that enhances ChatGPT with the capabilities of a "research analyst" that automates time-consuming research by retrieving, analyzing, and synthesizing online information.

  • silhouetted human figures stand opposite a glowing digital brain, surrounded by abstract circuits and shadowy shapes

    Tech Execs Expect AI Advancements to Increase Security Threats

    Forty-one percent of tech executives in a recent international survey said they believe advancements in AI will significantly increase security threats. NetApp's second annual Data Complexity Report points to 2025 as "AI's make or break year."

  • outline of a modern school building as glowing blue geometric shapes, surrounded by binary code streams, with golden orbs and lines representing funding, set against a dark gray gradient with faint grid patterns

    FCC Cybersecurity Pilot Participants Selected

    The Federal Communications Commission has officially selected the participants for its Schools and Libraries Cybersecurity Pilot, the three-year program exploring the use of Universal Service funds to improve school and library defenses against cyber attacks.