Education Week - April 5, 2023 - 12

or virtual learning to replace teachers/traditional instruction.
That was clearly a response to all the remote
or hybrid instruction during the big stretch of the pandemic.
(See chart on the left for other enlightening
responses.)
The most common responses inevitably point to a
The EdWeek Research Center asked teachers,
principals, and district leaders across the country
What is the worst or most misguided
use of educational technology
you have experienced during
your career in K-12 education?
" The constant use of Chromebooks
is destroying our basic elementary
foundation skills. "
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Alabama
" The purchase of smartboards before
teachers were properly trained on how,
when, and what to use them for. It became
a huge waste of time and money. "
DISTRICT ADMINISTRATOR-TECHNOLOGY
New York
" Our school district invested thousands
of dollars into VR [virtual reality]
headsets for our college and career
readiness teachers to use.
According to students, it is just
a very bad video game. "
HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER
Arkansas
" Use of message boards
for comments during Zoom-based
'antiracist' lessons. "
HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHER
California
big-picture problem with the use of educational technology:
It is now far more accepted than ever before,
but its use is often inappropriate and/or ineffective.
In some ways over the past few years, educators have
" Tutoring with no human involvement. "
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Pennsylvania
" When teachers consider what
technology to use and then fit the topic
to the technology, rather than use the
appropriate technology to fit the topic. "
HIGH SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES/HISTORY TEACHER
Texas
" Allowing cellphones to be used inside
the school building at all! "
" Having kindergarten students
use iPads to take reading
and math assessments. "
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER
California
" Using technology as a babysitter. "
PRINCIPAL, OTHER GRADE-LEVEL
CONFIGURATION
Illinois
" Teachers using a smartboard
as a bulletin board. "
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Nevada
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Vermont
adjusted their perspectives about technology. For example,
in a nationally representative survey of teachers,
and district leaders in spring 2020, the EdWeek
Research Center sought educators' opinions on 1-to-1
computing programs (one device per student, provided
by schools). An overwhelming 73 percent of survey respondents
agreed with this statement posed by the survey:
" When schools reopen, students' increased levels
of access to 1-to-1 computing will make high-quality
teaching and learning easier. "
Even so, there are plenty of critics of 1-to-1 computing
these days. For instance, in the open-ended question
in the EdWeek Research Center survey about the
most misguided uses of technology, nearly 1 of every 5
educators cited giving students devices or using them
ineffectively.
That frustration could be influenced by the lack of
alignment many ed-tech tools have with schools' top
priorities. For example, only about a quarter of the 100
most-used ed-tech tools in classrooms meet Every
Student Succeeds Act requirements, according to a
new report from LearnPlatform, an education technology
company that helps districts measure the use
and effectiveness of their digital products.
Of course, the reality is that educational technology
is now baked into K-12 teaching and learning, despite
educators' frustrations with it. But bad and misguided
uses of it should be addressed head-on.
Ed-tech experts outline advice for how to
make digital learning work better
Education Week turned to two ed-tech experts for
input on how schools can avoid inappropriate and/or
ineffective use of technology for teaching and learning.
Here is what they had to say:
Annamaria Schrimpf has held positions related to ed
" Teaching concepts in front of a group
of students who are following along on
computers at their desks. "
DISTRICT ADMINISTRATOR-SPECIAL EDUCATION
Washington State
tech for over a quarter century. Currently, she serves
as the president of the Massachusetts Educational
Technology Administrators Association and the director
of educational technology and digital learning at
the Shawsheen Valley Career and Technical Regional
school district.
When asked about how schools should implement
See more responses
from teachers, principals,
and district leaders who
answered our question.
> edw.link/tc23
technology thoughtfully into K-12 learning, Schrimpf
said it is vital to have someone in a leadership position
who is an educator first and a skilled technologist
second. That way, they always put teaching and learning
first but also understand how technology can help.
" It's really about leadership, " she said. " Having a key
12 | EDUCATION WEEK | April 5, 2023 | www.edweek.org
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