How Tech Tools Affect Teaching

Gone are the days when the only tools in a teacher’s arsenal were a piece of chalk and a big blackboard. Just like every other aspect of modern life, technology has dramatically changed the classroom over the last decade—making it a place that adults who graduated even just 10 years ago might not recognize.

But are things really that different inside the modern classroom than they were in the more primitive days of chalk, ink, and notebook paper? A survey of 1,000 longtime high school teachers was conducted to see how technology has impacted their classroom.

73% of the teachers agreed that technology had dramatically changed the classroom in the last five years. So, how has it changed exactly?

The teachers say that 56% of their tools have become tech based—such as smart boards, student portals, laptops, tablets, learning software, and learning apps (a far cry from the worksheets and pencils of yesteryear). These tools have not only brought the classroom into the modern age, but they have also enhanced learning and teaching, according to 82% of the teachers urveyed.

As far as access to technology goes, 80% of the teachers surveyed indicated that they had access to most of the tech tools they wanted in the classroom, but private school teachers were 13% more likely to have access to this tech. Interestingly, teachers in the southwest region of the country have the most access to tech tools in the classroom.