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12/4/2017 1 Comment

Curricula: Trends By Subject Matter And Pedagogy (EduTech Specs)

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Some subjects and teaching styles require more technology than others. Across the United States, investments in educational technology (including hardware, applications, and learning management systems) are influenced in part by the teachers' perceptions of that technology and how they will use it in their classrooms.

Today we look more closely at the traits defining those teachers. What subjects or styles of teaching facilitate greater adoption of educational technology? Does this scale to the national level?​

SECTION #4 - Curricula

Purpose: To discover trends in educational technological adoption based on the subjects and pedagogies of the teachers surveyed.

Scope: American K-12 Schools

Research Questions:
  1. Shifting Needs: How are changing approaches to classroom instruction impacting teachers' technological needs and points of adoption?
  2. Subject Patterns: Which subjects will be most likely to lead in technological adoption in the upcoming years?

Research Methods:
In contrast to previous posts, this research topic is taking a qualitative approach to understanding the Why and How of teachers shifting their pedagogies and technological uses. For this, we are looking at data collected by Simba Information's interviews from the following reports:
  • Deploying K12 Science and Social Studies Content (2016)
    • Individual interviews with curriculum directors in 31 different districts across 20 states
    • Plus 6 interviews with state or regional curriculum directors
  • ​National Materials Adoption Scorecard and 2017 Outlook (2016)
    • ​Comprehensive data aggregation from states which participated in statewide adoptions
  • ​K-12 Classroom Technology Survey Report and Data Appendix (2016)
    • ​Email-based survey with 437 responses from teachers across 47 states (and DC)​​

​Shifting Needs: Impact of New Pedagogy On Teacher Needs

Social Studies is ditching textbooks in favor of problem-centered learning.
  • Interviewed teachers said their districts are focusing on Inquiry-Based Learning, a problem-centric technique which "lends itself to textbook-free classes."
  • Instead of textbooks, interviewees reported that their districts are seeking commercial digital resources or supplemental materials designed to facilitate inquiry-based learning.
  • In addition, the push for digital materials is fueled by increasing desires from social studies teachers to have access to content that is more up-to-date with current events.
  • This trends appears most strongly at the elementary level.

Science is also pushing to reduce textbooks in favor of problem-centered learning.
  • Interviewees mentioned their districts focusing on "Three-Dimensional Learning," in which teachers focus more on providing problems and making relevant resources available for students as opposed to mandating a single textbook.
  • These teachers also reported that digital materials (especially Open Education Resources) are making movements towards becoming supplemental or even core curricula in schools.

Teachers are saving money on books and using it on Professional Development.
  • Interviewees stated that their districts are using savings from switching to digital resources and investing it in training, "so that teachers can adapt to the inquiry-based learning pedagogy."

​Subject Patterns: Subjects Leading Adoption Of EduTech

Edutech Adoption occurs in large, sweeping purchases by states.
  • Simba Information notes that sound data on adoption by subject matter is difficult because many purchases occur when an entire state focuses on a particular subject (e.g. K-5 Math, 6-8 English) and purchases materials for the entire public system.

2017 was dominated by CA English/Language Arts purchases and Social Studies purchases in FL, NC, VA, ID, and TX.
  • Purchase estimates for Californian ELA materials are about $300 million.
  • The total adoption market for materials was estimated at about $530 million. 

Based on public records, 2018 will be driven by CA Social Studies purchases and FL Science purchases.
  • 2019 will be shaped by Californian Science purchases and Texan ELA purchases.
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LEARN MORE

Simba Information's report on these trends can be accessed here by students of participating institutions, or for a fee.

Have any questions? Feel free to leave them below and I'll keep digging to find truths in EduTech and the future of learning!

Next Topic: Reasoning: Factors Influencing School Choices In EduTech
1 Comment

11/24/2017 2 Comments

Demography: Trends By Region And Type (EduTech Specs)

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The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), enacted in 2016 by a bipartisan congress, has represented a substantial change in how American schools allocate resources, assess student learning, and improving learning standards across the Pre-K and K-12 environments. In addition, it has already begun drastically reshaping the ways that schools adopt new technologies and educational resources in their states and districts.

What does research tell us about how particular demographic traits (such as region, income, ethnicity, and more) affect technological adoption? What can we learn from recent political shifts in the United States? Let's dig into the specs to find out. 

SECTION #3 - Demography

Purpose: To discover trends in educational technological adoption based on the demographic traits of schools.

Scope: American Pre-K thru 12th Grade Schools

Research Questions:
  1. Advantages: Which demographic traits lead to earlier and more comprehensive adoption of educational technologies? 
  2. Regions: What regional differences can be detected in survey data?

Advantages: Factors Improving EduTech Adoption In Schools

According to Simba Information's 2015-2017 Surveys in Ed Tech, Tablet Deployment, and Resource Acquisition, we can observe the following:

Rural/Suburban Schools and Small Districts Provide More Devices for Students.
  • The average Student-to-Computing Device ratio was 2.7:1 for Rural Schools, 2.8:1 for Suburban Schools, and 3.6:1 for Urban Schools.
  • Districts with 5,000 of fewer students enrolled enjoyed a ratio of 2.6:1, while large districts (more than 25,000) had an average ratio of 3.7:1.​

High Schools are much more likely to have devices for students than Elementary Schools.
  • Grades 9-12 enjoy a Student-to-Computing Device ratio of 2.6:1, while K-5 schools have a 3.8:1 ratio for devices.
  • Companies forucsed on Higher Education received $368M in 2015.

Schools most likely to make swift changes to increase EduTech spending are suburban High Schools in mid-sized ditricts.
  • Schools Grades 9-12 were significantly more likely to indicate intentions to "increase spending on edutech by 10-15%" than other schools.
  • Schools in mid-sized districts (5,000-25,000 enrolled students) were more likely to predict increases in edutech spending.
  • Of Schools reporting an expected large drop in edutech spending (-15% or more), most were clustered in Grades K-5, located in large districts, and in urban/inner city locations.

Regions: Which Areas Fare The Best For EduTech

The Midwest is much more heavily invested in EduTech than other regions, and the Southwest is the significantly less invested.
  • Midwest: 2.4:1
  • Northeast: 2.9:1
  • West: 3.0:1
  • Southeast: 3.2:1
  • Southwest: 3.5:1

Some States are Mandating Digital Resources and Online Testing, which is Boosting their Investments.
  • The Core Adoption Market​, made up of states investing in GoOpen digital and online resources and delineated as top adopters in the 2016-2017 market, list the following as states in which digital educational investments are largely made at the state level:
    • Alabama
    • California
    • Florida
    • Idaho
    • Indiana
    • Kentucky
    • Louisiana
    • Mississippi
    • New Mexico
    • North Carolina
    • Oklahoma
    • Oregon
    • South Carolina
    • Tennessee
    • Texas
    • Utah
    • Virginia
    • West Virginia
  • Georgia passed a state law mandating "all K-12 instructional materials to be digital or electronic by July 1, 2020.
  • Virginia passed a state law designating hardware/software investments as "instructional expenses" for spending/tax purposes.

Learn More

Simba Information's report on these trends can be accessed here by students of participating institutions, or for a fee.

Have any questions? Feel free to leave them below and I'll keep digging to find truths in EduTech and the future of learning!

Next Topic: Curricula: Trends in EduTech Spending by Subject Matter and Pedagogy
2 Comments

11/17/2017 2 Comments

Economics: Startup Growth (EduTech Specs)

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One of the ways to measure the growth of educational technology is to examine the new companies that are earning investments and developing new services for the field of edutech. Economics tells us that if you can find where money is being invested, then you will be able to better predict what the future will look like.

So, what are the main issues surrounding startup companies ​in educational technology?

Section #2 - Startup Growth

Purpose: To discover trends in investment and growth within companies and products dedicated to educational technology.

Scope: American Startup Companies 

Research Questions:
  1. Investment: From a general perspective, how are startups in edutech faring financially? Where are investments being made? 
  2. Focus: What are the leading startups focused on? What categories of edutech are earning the most in investments and growth?

INvestment: How EduTech Startups Are Faring Financially

According to Simba Information's 2015-2016 Ed Tech Startup Dashboard Study, we can observe the following:

Investors Continue To Pour Capital into Ed Tech Startup Companies.
  • More than $540 Million in startup and venture capital investments were given to companies in 2015
  • Companies with the highest 2015 investments included Udacity, Civitas Learning, and Coursera with $105M, $76M, and $50M respectively.​

Higher Education (Postsecondary) EduTech Leads Investments.
  • Companies focused on K-12 Schools received $167M in 2015.
  • Companies forucsed on Higher Education received $368M in 2015.

Focus: Trends In Leading Startups

Digital Media Tops the List of Focuses for Teachers and Investors Alike.
  • The MacArthur Foundation spend $25 Million to launch Collective Shift, a non-profit dedicated to researching digital media in educational environments.
  • 90.6% of all Teachers report that they use digital media in their instruction. Elementary School teachers were the most likely to make this response.
Teachers Prefer Single, Comprehensive Platforms over Multiple Applications.
  • Qualitative surveying revealed that teachers expressed a desire to "find one platform with broad coverage...that serves all their needs [rather than] jumping from one app to another."​
  • "Adaptive Technology" was the most common descriptive phrase among high-earning startups, with leading companies focusing on facilitating adaptive learning through its work with content providers to design adaptive learning programs for specific schools segments.
Parents Value Free Over Quality, but Experts Predict This Will Change.
  • A literature review of surveys on apps parents use with their students show a resistance to paying for higher-quality apps. However, data over time shows this trends shifting in favor of higher-quality digital media educators.
Consumer-Driven Design is Key to Adoption by Parents and Students.
  • Research shows that the majority of newer edutech applications are being adopted by parents and students separate from school requirements and recommendations.
  • Parents and students adopting these newer applications report that engaging content and a friendly user interface were large factors in their decision to use the application.

Learn More

Simba Information's report on these trends can be found here. 

Have any questions? Feel free to leave them below and I'll keep digging to find truths in EduTech and the future of learning!

Next Topic: Demography: Trends in EduTech Spending by School Type, Income, and Region
2 Comments

11/3/2017 2 Comments

Economics: School Spending (EduTech Specs)

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Why do schools spend money? What informs their decision-making, and what do we know about about the patterns of U.S. schools and how they spend money on educational technology?

Since EduTech Specs is designed to be a research resource for those seeking greater insight into these topics, we will follow a template each week of identifying our Purpose, Scope and Research Questions before tackling those specific questions with data.

Section #1 - Economic Data

Purpose: To understand the national trends affecting the implementation of innovative technology in the classroom.

Scope: K-12 School Systems (Primarily Public)

Research Questions:
  1. Spending: How are schools spending their money when it comes to instructional technologies?
  2. Trend: What is the trend of spending over time?​

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10/30/2017 2 Comments

EDUTECH SPECS: AN INTRODUCTION

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Welcome to EduTech Specs – an 8-part series in which I will be taking a research-based approach to understanding the technology adoption of schools and provide a detailed forecast of educational technology in the United States.

Today we'll discuss the Why, What, and How of this blog series. I'll also provide a Preview of what you can expect from my work.

Why​ does this matter?


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