The Project Tomorrow report, Speak Up 2011Personalizing the Classroom Experience suggests educators and librarians have taken noticed that
students accept the do-it-yourself approach to education that has been
made possible through new technologies.
The report, a survey of representing students, parents,
teachers, librarians, and administrators from more than 5,800 public and
private K-12 schools, shows that educators utilizing social networking sites
for professional use has risen from 22% in 2008 to 45% in 2011, Additionally, more
than a third of teachers responding are now using online professional learning
communities (PLC), compared to one in five just four years ago.
The study suggests a shift in thinking about students
bringing devices into the classroom is possible as more educators become
familiar with using the technology. The study found that those educators see
the gadgets as a way to “increase student engagement (83%), access online
textbooks (73%), and extend learning beyond the end of the school day (63%).”
The report also found that 27% of administrators surveyed feel that allowing students
to bring their own mobile devices into the classroom could be a technology
solution to budget issues.
At the same time, the report also states that
harnessing the potential of technology in the classroom continues to be a
challenge because of all the new tools and services that are available. All the
choices make it difficult to choose the best product or app, or to even
evaluate which tools work best.
