More than three in four (79%) teaching professionals believe that the delivery and technique of their teaching has improved since the start of the pandemic due to technology, according to this report by Nexer Digital. It also reveals that seven out of 10 (70%) teachers feel that educational technology (EdTech) mitigated the impacts of the pandemic on their learners’ education.
The positive effects of EdTech were most firmly felt by those working in further education (FE), non-degree post-secondary education, with the vast majority of FE staff (86%) saying that technology reduced the negative effects of the pandemic on teaching, versus just 68% of higher education (HE), degree level teaching staff.
The most widely appreciated benefit of EdTech by teachers is the increased availability and breadth of resources. More than four in five (83%) educators said that EdTech has increased the range of materials they have to teach with by providing access to eBooks, videos, digital games and other tools that enrich the experience for learners.
Despite EdTech being used at least some of the time by 85% of teachers, fewer than a fifth (17%) use it in every lesson. Nexer Digital’s research suggests that this is because EdTech is not easy for all teachers to use as 41% said that it takes them longer to prepare for lessons that incorporate EdTech.
The overall sentiment towards EdTech is positive and 58% of lessons feature it in some form, with this number rising to 71% in higher education. Early years learning features the fewest EdTech-supported lessons (50%), suggesting that teachers of older learners have found it easier to regularly implement EdTech into classes.