Survey of 2,000 teachers finds schools
in Scotland outperform those across England, Wales and Northern Ireland for
availability and application of technology.
Lenovo has
commissioned a report from CEBR, Technology in UK Schools, detailing
insights into the use of technology in UK schools in 2020, examining the types
of technology that have been adopted, how this has been applied, and the ways
in which this has shaped the learning environment.
Please see
below for the key findings, methodology, recommendations, calls to action, and
an overview of Lenovo’s education portfolio in 2020. The full report is also
available to share.
This has been
achieved by conducting a survey of 2,000 teachers, covering a range of
different school types across the UK, alongside one-to-one interviews with
experts from the education and tech sectors from Lenovo’s education network in
the UK.
As a leading
provider of educational technology, Lenovo is committed to building smarter
technology to empower students and teachers through personalised education
solutions. A trusted technology partner to institutions around the world,
Lenovo is enabling new models of teaching, learning and collaborating through
cutting-edge solutions, all while managing cost, efficiency, and security.
This report
presents a view of:
- The digital proficiency of schools
in the UK, looking at region, school size and category among other
factors, rated using a Digital Proficiency Scale developed by CEBR for
this report
- The provision of technology in
schools, both for direct use by pupils and in the classroom for teaching
purposes;
- Recommendations and calls to action
for improvement in digital proficiency
- Case studies with first-hand
teacher experiences and perspectives
- Nearly one in ten (8%)
schools fall into the inadequate category on the Digital Proficiency Scale
developed within this report. One in five (20%) are in the excellent
category.
- One in five (18%) of all private
schools fall into the highest scoring group, compared to just 5% of
the state schools in the survey.
- Scotland emerges as the part of the UK with the
highest level of digital proficiency in schools.
- Examining the digital proficiency
at different stages of the educational system reveals that secondary
schools and sixth form colleges score slightly higher than primary
schools.
- Smaller schools have on average a slightly
lower overall score whereas bigger schools have a higher degree of
technological proficiency.
- The survey revealed that the number
one priority for teachers is to increase the number of computers available
to students in school, followed by more provision of training for
teachers on the use of technology.
- Nearly half of students access
school computers at least four times a week.
- It is not very common for
schools to provide laptops or tablets that students can bring home.
Only 3% of the teachers work at schools where all students are equipped
with laptops or tablets that they can bring home.
- Microsoft Word and coding are the
most common digital skills on the school curriculum.
- Teachers are using technology to
digitalise their administrative work. 79% of all teachers surveyed
responded saying that they are performing some or all their administrative
tasks digitally.
Recommendations
- Based on the survey results, but
also informed by one-to-one expert interviews and a review of existing
literature Cebr has developed the following recommendations:
- There is a need to expand the
provision of training to teachers, in order to maximise the effectiveness
of new technologies.
- Continue to re-orient the
curriculum towards developing digital skills for the future such as
coding, web-design and technologies of the future.
- Encourage information sharing
among teachers to improve and inspire usage of new technology and digital
skills in classrooms.
- Expand funding opportunities for
investment in new technologies to address the shortfall identified by
teachers and unlock the gains associated with higher workforce
productivity in the longer term.
Calls to action
1. Engage
with the teaching community as new technologies are introduced: while only a small percentage of
teachers feel there is too much technology in schools, more than two in five
(42%) believe the use of technology is currently about right. In order to
maximise the effectiveness of new technologies, it is essential that they have
the support of the teaching community. This can be achieved by expanding the
provision of training to teachers (currently just a quarter of teachers receive
training on the use of technology more often than once a year), as well as
collaborating with staff on an ongoing basis to ensure that technologies are
implemented in a way that aligns with the school’s objectives.
2. Continue
to re-orient the curriculum towards developing digital skills for the future: as technology evolves, routine tasks
are increasingly likely to become automated, and workers will instead be
required to interact with computers in a more involved and creative way. It is
therefore essential that schools continue to shift their focus towards
developing these deeper digital skills. While it is encouraging that most
schools now teach computer programming, the fact that only one in five (21%)
include topics relating to technologies of the future such as machine learning
or artificial intelligence highlights that there is still progress to be made.
3. Sharing
information: the
interview with digital technology lead and computing teacher Donna Shah gives
further insight into how teachers use technology to share information with
colleagues, students and parents. Software programmes such as Microsoft Teams
allows communication to increase between teachers and can speed up
administrative processes which allows for teachers to spend more times with
students. In addition to this, information sharing among teachers can also
improve the technological and digital skills of teachers, as they are
encouraged to share and learn from each other, which in turn leads to an
increase in the quality of digital skills teaching in the classroom.
4. Expand
funding opportunities for schools: while
there are ways in which schools can upgrade their technological proficiency in
a relatively cost effective way, many of the areas of weakness identified in
this research require considerable investment in order to be addressed fully.
Although the initial costs of technology can be steep, the feedback from
teachers and the wider literature is that technology delivers a sizeable boost
to educational outcomes, and in the longer term would result in higher
workforce productivity.
Methodology
CEBR
conducted a survey of 2,000 teachers at UK schools across all regions of the
United Kingdom and conducted in-depth interviews with industry experts in order
to create this report and its recommendations.
Lenovo Education Portfolio
Lenovo’s
mission in education is to provide a purpose-built portfolio that empowers educators
to drive positive learning outcomes. Lenovo continues to offer a broad
choice of Chromebook and Windows enabled systems specifically designed for
students and teachers. Providing a superior and personalised user experience,
the education portfolio features smart and innovative technology to enhance
learning engagement.
An all new Lenovo
10e Chromebook Tablet is the latest addition and an ideal tool for K-2
students to begin their education journey with problem-solving games,
assessments and hands-on learning apps.
Lenovo 10e Chromebook Tablet
Highlights
of 10e Chromebook Tablet:
- Specifically designed to withstand the rigors of a classroom
environment with rubber bumpers and a super tough DragontrailTM Pro
Glass that meets MIL-STD-810G testing
- Powerful but efficient MediaTek processor that conquers daily
classroom tasks
- Versatile detachable keyboard folio case with anchored and
water-resistant keys1
- Eight years of auto-updates2,
world-facing camera, Universal Stylus Input support and access to tons of
creativity tools and learning apps.
The latest ThinkPad™
11e Yoga™ is a go-anywhere, do-anything, all-day learning machine, with the
flexibility offered by its convertible form factor. Thinner and lighter than
ever (19.9mm and 3.1 pounds), ThinkPad 11e Yoga Gen 6 is ideal for any grade
level or teaching style.
ThinkPad 11e Yoga Gen 6
Highlights
of ThinkPad 11e Yoga:
- Durability of ThinkPad Education design specifications that meets
MIL-STD-810G testing with rubber bumpers and Corning GorillaTM Glass
- Powerful Intel® processor that meets the needs of any students or
teachers
- Versatility of Pencil Touch Technology allowing students to use a
No. 2 pencil to interact directly with the screen, and an optional garaged
active pen when more precision is required
- Optional World-Facing Camera making it easier to record and take
pictures and videos in all modes
Lenovo is also
refreshing the 2nd generation of 100e, 300e and 500e Chromebooks and
100e, 300e Windows with the latest processors to provide the best performance
and experience for students and educators.
About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE:
992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a US$50 billion Fortune Global 500 company, with 57,000
employees and operating in 180 markets around the world. Focused on a bold
vision to deliver smarter technology for all, we are developing world-changing
technologies that create a more inclusive, trustworthy and sustainable digital
society. By designing, engineering and building the world’s most complete
portfolio of smart devices and infrastructure, we’re also leading an
Intelligent Transformation to create better experiences and opportunities for
millions of customers around the world. To find out more, visit https://www.lenovo.com, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Weibo and read about the latest news via our StoryHub.