Week 4 Statistics

Educational Technology Research Report

As with any method, strategy, or textbook that an educator or school administration investigates, one should not ignore statistics and research to support any and all decisions that will impact student learning. The same should be said when it comes to deciding the devices and technology tools that schools invest in for their students. This week the goal was to focus on statistics that hit home, thus I chose the "2017 Digital Study Trends Survey," published by McGraw-Hill. Although the survey deals with students in college, I wanted to see how the results compared to the demographics in my elementary school, with a focus on sixth grade, which is the grade I teach.

The purpose of the survey that was conducted by Hanover Research on behalf of the McGraw-Hill Education was done so to understand trends in technology by college age students. Three statistics jumped out at me. First, the survey results regarding app usage, next being about Smartphones used as a tool for learning, and the laptop being the preferred device choice.

When it comes to the survey results depicting the favorite app for social media and studying, I was slightly surprised by the results. Now it was not the first choice results, but the second top preferred apps that caught my eyes. I talked to my son, nieces, and nephews, who are in the twenties to get their opinion. My son, an educator, does not use Instagram but is a frequent user of Facebook, Google Apps, and YouTube for social media when it comes to education. My nieces and nephews, who are recent college graduates, preferred Instagram, Snapchat, and Spotify for social media. When it comes to studying tools, my family ranked Google Apps and YouTube as their top two choices. Wanting to know the apps my current sixth grade students use, I conducted an impromptu survey in my classroom. The results to what their favorite social media app is, were loud and clear, YouTube 75%, Snapchat 15%, and Spotify 10%. Please note, I have twenty students and they are under the age of 13, but that can of worms regarding having social media accounts at that age was one I did not pursue. What surprised me was how high up the chart that Facebook is among college age students. Too often I have heard from my family and teachers who are in their twenties at my school, Facebook is low on the list of social media sites. To quote my niece, "Facebook is for old people." Well, I may be older than she and I do use Facebook, but old? Nope, not me.

Figure 1. Survey results showing preferred app choice for social media and studying (2017, p. 23).

The second statistic I found in this survey of college-age students is about the use of Smartphones as a learning device. As seen in Figure 2., Smartphones are a common device in many classrooms, but not when it comes to using Smartphones for homework. Part of this statistic makes sense to me. My school does not have a bring your own device program and phones are to be kept in the student's backpacks, not on their person. Instead, there are shared iPads for preschool through eighth grade and 1:1 Chromebooks for fifth through eighth grade. Knowing this, the experience of using Smartphones in the classroom is foreign to me. What I can relate to is my student's feelings towards using Smartphones as a tool to aid with homework. Not one of my twenty students like using a phone to to complete homework. The demographics of my school are as such, 66% of the school families are receiving free or reduced lunches, thus some of my students do not have a laptop or a tablet to use at home. I try to take that into account everytime I assign a short or long-term assignment that involves writing and using a device for research. The local public library has four old computers due to having to change locations a few years ago, but that is another story.

Figure 2. Results from the survey about Smartphones (2017, p. 4). 

Almost all my students use their phones at home for social media, watching videos/movies, and playing games. Last year, I had a student who was using her phone to research, cite sources, and type an argumentative essay. She struggled with learning, and when her parents finally told me why deadlines were missed and why her work was error laden, it broke my heart. Here was this young lady trying to do her best while typing an essay on a phone. This year, I have the same situation, students who have only a phone to complete complicated assignments. The difference is, now I am aware of this situation from the start of the school year. Not wanting to go off on a tangent, I will say that I do make sure I provide plenty of opportunities before, during, and after school to use school devices, at school.

This last statistic I chose to share is about preferred device choice, which is the laptop. With laptops being affordable, portable, reliable, it is no surprise to me that laptops top the list of the chosen device among students. Choosing this particular statistic is an affirmation in what I see with my own sixth grade students. Before I wrote the plan and submitted it to the Title III office in order to acquire 50 Chromebooks and a couple other items for my school, all students had access to shared iPads. Do not misunderstand, just about everyone was thrilled that my school was providing more 21 century skills, but teachers in the upper grades, as well as the students, were frustrated when it came to using iPads that did not have an external keyboard for word processing. Once the Chromebooks were wheeled into the classrooms, teachers took their teaching skills to another level and provided students with frequent opportunities to use laptops for authentic learning in our 21st century world.

Figure 3. Results from the survey about laptops (2017, p. 4).

As seen in Figure 3. my students are not the only ones who find the laptop as a valuable tool. No longer do my students ask to use the iPads, which also serve an important purpose in education, but students as young as eleven see how versatile a laptop is.

What does this all mean?

1. Tech does have a purpose in education.
2. Teachers provide the best learning experiences based on the tools they have.
3. The goal of any device is to have a purpose for the use of the tool.
4. Before any administration makes a choice about which device to invest in, talk to the students and teachers who will be using the tools. 
5. Students want to learn and do their best, so those who make the decisions about which platforms and devices to purchase need to have a well-developed plan in place before purchasing anything.

2017-Digital-Study-Trends-Survey-Results-FINAL-10302017[PDF]. (2017, October). McGraw-Hill            Education.