Tech Blog

As iPhones and iPads have become normal accessories for upper middle class professionals, so too have new and hand-me-down cellphones and tablets become essential school supplies for their children.

Teachers have responded to the trend, incorporating the gadgets into their daily lesson plans. But that is widening the educational gulf between students and schools that can afford to keep up with the latest digital technologies, and those who cannot, according to a new report.

A survey of 2,500 US middle and high school teachers by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project revealed 52 per cent of teachers in upper-income schools say their students use their personal cell phones in class to look up information and complete assignments, compared to 35 per cent in low-income schools.

The same is true for tablet computers (56 per cent of teachers of upper-income students use them compared to 37 per cent of teachers of low-income students) and e-readers (55 per cent v. 41 per cent).

“Digital technologies have become essential instructional tools for the vast majority of teachers in this study,” said Kristen Purcell, associate director for research at the Pew Internet Project. “Yet, not all teachers feel that they and their students have the access they need to these tools or the resources necessary to use them effectively.”

The survey also indicated that wealth may not be the only factor affecting the use of technology in schools. Generational differences among teachers also determine how comfortable they are with these tools, and thus how much they are incorporated in the classroom.

The oldest teachers are more than twice as likely teachers under age 35 to say their students know more about using digital tools than they do.

Almost two-thirds of younger teachers describe themselves as “very confident” when it comes to using new digital technologies, compared with 44 per cent of teachers age 55 and older.

Overall, 41 per cent of teachers report that the internet is having a “major impact” on the amount of work required of them.

“The internet is changing the very nature of how teachers engage in their profession and
collaborate with one another,” said Judy Buchanan, deputy director of the National Writing Project and a co-author of the report. “The key moving forward is to ensure that all educators have equal access to the vast resources available online.”