EdTech Evolved’s parent company, eSpark, recently surveyed nearly 600 teachers on their edtech vetting and adoption habits. The results paint a fascinating picture of how the digital learning landscape has changed, what teachers expect from the programs they try, and how important it is for edtech publishers to make a positive first impression.
Survey demographics
Survey respondents included just under 600 K-5 general education classroom teachers from throughout the United States. Of these, nearly 70% reported having more than 10 years of classroom experience.
Digital learning comfort levels
More than 60% of respondents to this edtech survey strongly agreed that they feel comfortable having their kids try out new digital learning programs. This is a good indication that whatever tech-resistant/technophobic cohort of teachers may have existed 10-15 years ago when the early iterations of most of these tools were released has all but vanished.
But was it the teachers themselves who were finding and implementing these new programs, or were they programs the district rolled out for which teachers had no choice but to use? As it turns out, teacher agency is still going strong. 88% of respondents tried at least one new program that wasn’t provided by the school or district last year, with most falling in the “1-2” range.
Interesting notes:
- 17 respondents (31% of those who did not try any new programs) indicated that they are not allowed to use programs that aren’t sanctioned by their school or district.
- 16 (29%) indicated that they have no time in their day for more digital learning programs.
- 4 (7.3%) said they looked, but couldn’t find what they were looking for.
Teacher motivations and priorities
When asked for the primary reasons why teachers decided to try new digital tools, the desire to bring something fresh to students was the runaway winner at 73%. Interestingly, curriculum gaps were the second biggest motivator, with 41% of teachers indicating that their school/district-provided curriculum wasn’t enough.
Student engagement (62%) was the runaway reason why teachers latched on to a given program, while student learning outcomes (20.4%) was a surprisingly distant second. This likely speaks to the challenges posed by this unique generation of students, which has proven more challenging to reach in the post-pandemic era. Teachers are clearly looking for anything that can pique their students’ interest first and foremost. The outcomes piece is interesting—in a perfect world, that would be the most important criterion. There’s likely some lively debate to be had here about what role the teacher even should play in that kind of efficacy analysis.
But why did teachers stop using some of the digital learning programs they tried? Results here were more mixed. Notably, “trial ran out” was the clear winner at 31%. This speaks to an abundance of freemium-style programs that appeal to teachers enough to encourage sign ups, but maybe not enough that they are willing to pay (or go through the process of trying to get their school/district to pay) for them once they hit the paywall.
Student feedback was also a strong driver of decision-making, with “hard to use for my kids” (19%) and “students didn’t like it” (13%) both receiving significant numbers of votes. The smaller efficacy-focused group did show up again here, with 14% of surveyed teachers indicating they stopped using something because they “didn’t see results.”
We even saw some shades of the decades-long edtech tug of war between teacher choice and district mandates, with 13 respondents saying they moved away from a program because their school or district told them to stop using it.
Teacher vetting habits
How long do edtech publishers have to demonstrate their value to teachers? Probably not as long as they’d like. Two-thirds of respondents indicated that they make up their mind about whether to put a program in front of kids in less than half an hour, with “10-30 minutes” the most popular choice at 40%.
This means that between a publisher’s website and the signup/onboarding flow of their programs, teachers likely need to be able to identify all or most of the following things:
- What does it do?
- Who is it for?
- Where and how will I use this in the classroom?
- Does it look like something my students will like?
- Does it look like something that will be easy to use?
- Is it good for learning?
That’s a lot of information to convey in a short amount of time. The companies that do the best job of telling their story in the shortest amount of time have a significant leg up over the competition.
Once a teacher does decide on a program, the question becomes how long of a leash they’re going to give it. This question saw more variance, with an almost even split between 3 and 5+ sessions of use in the classroom. About half of all respondents were willing to give up on a program after three or fewer uses if they weren’t happy with the results. This would seem to indicate that teachers (and students) are determining pretty quickly whether they’re willing to invest time in a new program.
What are teachers looking for?
When asked what they were looking for in the new programs they intend to try next school year, teachers’ responses covered a variety of themes. Standards alignment was common, as was ease of use, student engagement, and data. Here are some of those freeform responses:
- “Easy to use, follows Arkansas ELA and Math standards, and fun.”
- “Alignment to content standards, ease of use, being able to assign standards to students, being able to view student progress and print reports about progress.”
- “I am looking for ease of use with a minimum amount of instruction on my part to teach them how to use the program. It is also ESSENTIAL that my students find the programs engaging.”
- “Standard alignment, student engagement, depth of knowledge, and price.”
- “Student learning outcomes at and beyond the grade level with opportunities to celebrate successes.”
- “Pre-assessments to place students at their learning level. Fun and engaging so students will look forward to their tech time.”
- “Adaptable to students’ level. Extra practice. Student data for my intervention.”
- “Reinforcing grade level standards, corrective feedback, options for help, engaging.”
- “Student engagement, fill gaps in learning, repeated practice, student ownership, intuitive (few glitches).”
- “If I do try something, it will be from my district or something to support writing or other gaps I see in my students’ learning.”
- “A way to do small group instruction. Being able to reteach a concept using videos and games.”
- “Being approved by the district, ease of use by teacher, and student likability.”
The uniformity across responses to this question was eye-opening. Teachers in every state and every grade level across the country are ultimately looking for very similar things. Student engagement consistently tops the short list of criteria. Time will tell whether publishers can rise to the challenge. Here at EdTech Evolved, we’re curious to see which program will be the big breakout star this year.
How will the edtech landscape change this year?
Keep tabs on all the comings and goings in K-12 culture, initiatives, and technology. Subscribe to EdTech Evolved today.
Student engagement, standards alignment, and ease of use? eSpark has it all!
eSpark is the only supplemental curriculum resource built for today’s unique generation of students. From AI-powered personalization to high-interest topics and awe-inspiring activities, eSpark is bringing magical moments back to the classroom.