Edtech failing to change student outcomes: Survey
A majority of teaching faculty say data-driven assessments and accountability efforts aren't helping improve the quality of teaching and learning, according to the 2016 Inside Education Survey on Faculty Attitudes on Technology. Instead, the respondents indicated the tools are only serve to satisfy accreditors and politicians. Faculty members still worry that online education can’t deliver outcomes equivalent to face-to-face instruction, and overwhelmingly believe that textbooks and journals are too expensive. In an attempt to counter this, faculty members are attempting to create a more diverse student body and increase access to education.

Dive Brief:

Inside Higher Ed has produced its annual Survey of Faculty Attitudes on Technology, which reveals a large pool of dissatisfaction among professors about the value of technology in teaching and learning.

A majority of those faculty surveyed said it is harder to justify technology investments because the student outcomes aren't matching the inputs, most faculty members do not discuss scholarship on social media, and that only a third of faculty members say they are included on decisions about how to use data mining services and applications.

Professors also indicated that they recognize the evolution of scholarly journals moving to open-access formats, but say that they fear peer-review is in jeopardy as a result.

Dive Insight:

The divided embrace of technology by faculty is an age-old challenge in higher education, but sharply contrasts other surveys suggesting that faculty members understand, and even expect for institutions to mandate technological development. In the end, executives have to help faculty to realize how tech integration efforts, training, and usage for teaching and learning all come together to improve the academic enterprise.

Without tech infusion, there is little room to expand foundations for competency-based education, innovations in distance learning, or assessment to ensure that different kinds of students are primed for success. The culture should not be one of faculty reacting negatively to technology as a hindrance, but leadership positively promoting it as an asset in the work environment.