Survey Partners

Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education

Survey Report 2017 Contents

The Survey 3 Survey Methodology and Respondents’ Profile 5 Key Findings 6 Conclusion 11 Appendix 1: Full Survey Questions 12 Appendix 2: Participating Organisations 19

Acknowledgements

The survey team at iGov Survey would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who were kind enough to take part – and especially to those who found the time to offer additional insights through their extra comments. We would also like to thank our partner, Brother UK, for their assistance in compiling the survey questions, scrutinising the responses and analysing the results.

Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 is © copyright unless explicitly stated otherwise. All rights, including those in copyright in the content of this publication, are owned by or controlled for these purposes by iGov Survey.

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To contact the iGov Survey team: Email: [email protected] Tel: 0845 094 8567 Address: FAO Sandra Peet, Pacific House, Pacific Way, Digital Park, Salford Quays, M50 1DR

Page 2 of 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 The Survey

Traditional methods of teaching are fast becoming obsolete. Gone are the days of chalkboards and textbooks. The modern classroom must now cater to changing expectations, from staff, students and parents alike, as pupils prepare for the digital world of education and beyond.

The 2017 consumer digital index carried out by Lloyds Bank suggests that 97% of people aged 15 to 24 now have basic digital skills, up 4% from 93% in 20151. As pupils develop new skills and continue to embrace the latest digital advancements outside of the classroom, the pressure to adapt inside mounts.

And it’s not just changing pupil expectations that is driving this shift. A poll carried out by the app TeacherTapp found that 60% of teachers state they are unhappy with the balance between their professional and personal commitments. Moreover, research conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) suggests just under a quarter of teachers (23%) are now considering leaving the profession due to workload2.

Today, UK schools spend over £900m on educational technology every year3. Further research also suggests that 67% of educators believe technology enables them to engage better with students by using a familiar medium, whilst more than half use online technology to learn and work remotely4.

With this in mind, iGov Survey partnered with supplier of technology solutions for business, Brother UK, to examine the ways in which institutions across the UK currently use web and video technology to aid in teaching and learning, and how this is being used to foster increased collaboration not just for students, but for staff as well.

About Our Survey Partner

OmniJoin HD web collaboration from Brother UK is a cost effective, easy to use and network-friendly hosted/on premise platform perfect for today’s universities and further education institutions.

Brother's intelligent video offers up to HD quality at typically a third of the bandwidth footprint of competitor technologies, providing reliability for web conferencing even on challenging network connections.

1 Lloyds Bank (2017) ‘Lloyds Bank Consumer Digital Index 2017’ [Online]. Available at: http://www.lloydsbank.com/assets/media/pdfs/lloyds-bank- consumer-digital-index-2017.pdf (Accessed 7 November 2017) 2 Allen, R (2017) ‘Stop shooting silver bullets and learn to trust our teachers again’ [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/nov/ 07/trust-teachers-auditing-performance (Accessed 7 November 2017) 3 Manning, E. (2017) ‘Out with the old school? The rise of ed tech in the classroom’ [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/small-business- network/2017/aug/01/schools-slowly-edtech-sector-cubetto-kahoot-firefly (Accessed 7 November 2017) 4 Classflow (2017) ‘The State of Technology in Education’ [Online]. Available at: https://resourced.classflow.co.uk/app/uploads/2017/08/ CF_StateOfTech_Infographic-1-e1474195491671.png (Accessed 7 November 2017) Page 3 of 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 A true immersive collaboration experience with file sharing, real-time document working, annotation, video playback and recording, while offering a simple and intuitive user interface.

Used extensively for remote learning within universities, with cross platform support and integration into existing solutions (LMS) via our free APIs.

To find out more, visit: https://www.brother.co.uk/business-solutions/web-conferencing

Page 4 of 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 Survey Methodology and Respondents’ Profile

This survey was conducted by iGov Survey in partnership with Brother UK. The project ran from Friday 14 July 2017 to Monday 2 October 2017.

Survey respondents represented a broad cross-section of roles across UK education institutions. This included: Administration, Business Development, Business Management, Chief Executive/Deputy, Childrens Services, Contract Services, Corporate Services, Digital, E-Government, Education, Finance Management, General Manager, Head teacher, Information, IT Management, IT Technical Lead, Operations, Organisational Planning, Performance, Procurement/Purchasing, Project, Public Relations, Quality Assurance, Research, Senior Manager, Service Delivery, Shared Services, Technical Services, and Transformation/Change Management.

154 individuals from 134 unique organisations participated in the survey, each of whom will have received a complimentary copy of the findings report. There was no inducement to take part in the survey, and Brother UK was not introduced as the survey partner.

The results displayed throughout this report are based on those who fully completed the questionnaire and are displayed as a percentage of this group, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

22% FIGURE 1: Sector Breakdown

Colleges of Further Education 48% Primary Schools Secondary Schools Universities 29% 1%

Page 5 of 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 Key Findings

The vast majority of participants (84%) state that it is very important for their institution to allow staff and students to communicate better, regardless of location or device

It is encouraging to see many participants recognise the importance of embracing new ways of working enabled by technology, as new devices and software alter the way in which we interact with the world, both in and outside of the classroom. Just 1% of survey participants said it was not important to them at present, suggesting that for the majority, technology is a vital catalyst in improving the way in which staff and students communicate.

1% 15% FIGURE 2: How important is it for your institution to allow staff and students to communicate better, regardless of location or device?

Very important Slightly important Not important Not at all important 84%

Looking at the current level of technology adoption across the sector, 92% of participants enable their students to access course materials via multiple devices, including onsite computers, mobile devices or external personal devices. 85% allow their students to bring their own devices, such as tablets or laptops, and a further 62% offer staff and students the ability to engage, share collaboratively and work with others from a remote location via web and video conferencing.

FIGURE 3: Current levels of adoption among ability to use multiple devices, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) schemes, and web or video conferencing.

Yes No Don't know

Are students able to access course materials via multiple devices?

Does your institution allow your students to bring their own devices (BYOD)?

Are students and staff able to engage, share and work with other via web/video conferencing from a remote location?

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Page 6 of 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 Over half of participants (52%) state that they use web or video conferencing to provide remote online learning courses

A further 48% use the technology to enable the delivery of training courses for staff and 39% conduct video-based interviews in this manner. It is encouraging to see that many participants are using web and video conferencing for a diverse range of purposes, highlighting an awareness across the sector of its flexibility.

FIGURE 4: For which of the following do you currently use web or video conferencing? Please tick all that apply.

Video-based interviews

Internal staff meetings

Training courses for staff

Remote online learning courses

Remote parent/teacher meetings

Facilitating student group sessions

Recording learning sessions

Not in use

Other

0% 15% 30% 45% 60%

Importantly, almost three quarters of participants (71%) highlighted web and video conferencing technology as a means of achieving their goal of enabling new ways of learning, teaching and working within their organisation. A further 63% cite improved communication and collaboration between students, teachers and wider staff as another significant benefit of the technology.

Page 7 of 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 FIGURE 5: Which of the following do you consider to be a key benefit of web/video conferencing? Please rate each option on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is not beneficial and 5 is very beneficial. 1 2 3 4 5 Not Applicable Reduced costs, expenses and overheads

Improved communication between students & staff

Reduction in travel for distance or remote learners

Improved student practices

Enabling new ways of learning, teaching & working

Greater student and/or staff engagement

0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 88% of participants told us that enabling new ways of teaching, learning and working was one of their strategic objectives over the coming 12 months

Moreover, this was closely followed by improved student/staff satisfaction (70%), suggesting a recognition across the sector of the role that new ways of working plays in terms of improving service delivery and experiences across their organisation.

FIGURE 6: What are your main strategic objectives over the next twelve months? Please tick all that apply.

Reduce costs

Improve staff productivity

Improve student/staff satisfaction

Enable new ways of teaching, learning and working

Increase efficiency

Be more competitive

Gain a better understanding of student/staff needs Foster better communication between students and staff

Other

0% 15% 30% 45% 60% 75% 90%

Page 8 of 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 Thinking about the areas of support that would benefit organisations with regard to the use of web or video conferencing, over half (52%) believe support for a variety of devices from PC, Mac, iOS and Android would be beneficial for their organisation. This is closely followed by those who seek more flexible licensing to allow more staff and students to use the technology (46%), and those who believe a secure UK Cloud-based system that is robust and easy to use would be advantageous (43%).

FIGURE 7: In your opinion, which of the following areas of IT support would benefit your organisation with regard to the use of a web and video conferencing solution? Please tick all that apply.

A secure UK Cloud-based system that is robust and easy to use

Flexible licensing to allow more staff and student to use it Ability to meet legal compliance through controlling functions/ features for individual licenses Use of simple subscription-based service

Easy to configure and support multiple areas in your organisation

Secure data encryption

Support for a variety of devices from PC, Mac, iOS, and Android

Other

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Over a quarter of participants (28%) told us that they actively promote collaborative ways of working and both their staff and students have already seen benefits as a result

Furthermore, 52% state that they encourage their staff and students to use a variety of collaboration tools, though this isn’t consistent organisation-wide.

Page 9 of 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 FIGURE 8: With regard to collaborative ways of working online, which of the following statements best represents your institution? You may tick more than one response, if applicable.

We actively promote collaborative ways of working online, and both our staff and students benefit as a result We encourage both staff and students to use a variety of collaboration tools but this is not consistent We use mainly traditional forms of communication to collaborate, but are encouraged to embrace new ways of working

We don’t currently collaborate in any way online

Other

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Encouragingly, 51% of participants told us that the biggest driver for improving their communications is improved student experience. It is good to see such a high attention on this area and, together with a focus on enabling new ways of working, suggests that improved service delivery and the adoption of more effective and engaging methods of learning is a prime focus for many.

FIGURE 9: Of the following, which do you believe is the biggest driver for improving your communications?

Quicker response times

Improved student experience

Improved staff productivity

Meeting student demands

Meeting staff demands

Accessible and easy to use

Improved relationship with local businesses and higher education providers

Reducing costs

Requirements for new technology/Current systems no longer supported

Other

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Page 10 of 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 Conclusion by Andy Ostler, Head of OmniJoin at Brother UK

This report provides clear evidence that there is widespread awareness of the potential for web conferencing tools to have a significant positive impact on schools. However, it also shows there is some work to do in terms of ensuring it is implemented effectively.

The proliferation of digital technology in people’s personal and working lives has created great expectations in terms of the accessibility of information and resources. At the same time, the intense, ongoing pressure on education budgets means there are more demands than ever before on the time of teachers and their support staff.

Against this backdrop, it is encouraging that schools are embracing new collaboration and communication technologies in such large numbers. There has clearly been a remarkable shift in the way pupils are able to gain access to information, with nearly all schools allowing access from a range of devices and a majority now offering web conferencing tools to allow remote collaboration between students and staff.

A key underlying message of this sea change is that many of the perceived technological barriers to digital collaboration – security, usability and reliability – have been addressed by developers, to the extent that the emphasis is now on what can be achieved, rather than what the limitations are.

While some are currently restricting their use of these tools to functions like recruitment and training – areas where their usefulness has been proven in many different sectors of the economy – it’s clear that there is also widespread awareness of the potential benefits in terms of delivering improved outcomes for pupils.

In fact, it was the promise of improving communication between students, teachers and wider staff that most responders ranked as the biggest key benefit of web conferencing in schools, while improving the student experience was the dominant goal for school communications more broadly.

However, despite the appetite for updated technology to support new ways of working, there is clearly a challenge around implementation, and taking a consistent approach across an organisation is a barrier for many.

Whether this is a symptom of early adoption of the technology being trialled on a piecemeal basis ahead of more wholesale adoptions in the future, only time will tell, but this report shows there is a large appetite for the potential benefits on offer.

I hope you have found this report interesting and insightful, and it has given you a clearer view of the key trends impacting web conferencing adoption across the education sector.

Page 11 of 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 Appendix 1: Full Survey Questions

Question: With regard to collaborative ways of working online, which of the following statements best represents your institution? You may tick more than one response, if applicable.

Answer Percent

We actively promote collaborative ways of working online and both our staff and students are already 28% benefiting as a consequence of this

We encourage both our staff and our students to use a variety of collaboration tools but this is not 52% consistent organisation-wide

We use mainly traditional forms of communication to collaborate, for example, face-to-face and 28% telephone, but we are encouraged to embrace new ways of working, such as providing online sessions for students

We don’t currently collaborate in any way online 2%

Other - please specify 1%

Grid Question: In which of the following ways do you communicate with: Staff

Answer Percent

Face-to-face 98%

Via telephone 90%

Email/SMS 97%

Web or video conferencing 48%

External tutorial/meetings 54%

Students

Answer Percent

Face-to-face 99%

Via telephone 53%

Email/SMS 93%

Web or video conferencing 38%

External tutorial/meetings 42%

Page 12 of 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 Question: Does your organisation use a Learning Management System (LMS) and if so, which of the following do you use?

Answer Percent

We don’t use an LMS 15%

Moddle 43%

Blackboard 16%

Desire2Learn (D2L) 0%

Sakai 0%

Canvas 4%

Pearson Learning Solutions 1%

Jenzabar 0%

Other - please specify 21%

Question: Which of the following integration improvements do you believe would enhance your LMS? Please tick all that apply.

Answer Percent

We don’t have an LMS 14%

Web/video conferencing 40%

Screen/document sharing 44%

Ability to communicate in real-time with staff and students 49%

Improved conversations/discussion forums/group work with students and staff members 45%

Other - please specify 13%

Question: How important is it for your institution to allow staff and students to communicate better, regardless of location or device?

Answer Percent

Very important 84%

Slightly important 15%

Not important 1%

Not at all important 0%

Question: Do you offer students the ability to access course materials via multiple devices (such as onsite computers, mobile devices or external personal devices)?

Answer Percent

Yes 92%

No 6%

Don’t know 2%

Page 13 of 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 Question: Does your institution allow your students to bring their own device, such as tablets or laptops?

Answer Percent

Yes 85%

No 14%

Don’t know 1%

Question: Are students and staff currently able to engage, share collaboratively and work with others via web or video conferencing from a remote location?

Answer Percent

Yes 62%

No 29%

Don’t know 9%

Question: What are your main strategic objectives over the next twelve months? Please tick all that apply.

Answer Percent

Reduce costs 53%

Improve staff productivity 48%

Improve student/staff satisfaction 70%

Enable new ways of teaching, learning and working 86%

Increase efficiency 64%

Be more competitive 30%

Gain a better understanding of student/staff needs 44%

Foster better communication between students and staff 53%

Other - please specify 6%

Grid Question: Which of the following do you consider to be key benefits of using web or video conferencing? Please rate each option on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is not beneficial and 5 is very beneficial. Reduced costs, expenses and overheads

Answer Percent

1 5%

2 15%

3 21%

4 20%

5 23%

We don’t use this 16%

Page 14 of 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 Improved communication/collaboration between students, teachers and wider staff

Answer Percent

1 4%

2 8%

3 14%

4 21%

5 42%

We don’t use this 11%

Reduction in travel for distance or remote learners

Answer Percent

1 11%

2 5%

3 10%

4 18%

5 40%

We don’t use this 16%

Improved student practices

Answer Percent

1 3%

2 9%

3 24%

4 31%

5 20%

We don’t use this 13%

Enabling new ways of learning, teaching and working

Answer Percent

1 2%

2 7%

3 8%

4 32%

5 39%

We don’t use this 12%

Page 15 of 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 Greater student and/or staff engagement

Answer Percent

1 4%

2 8%

3 14%

4 29%

5 33%

We don’t use this 12%

Question: Of the following, which do you believe is the biggest driver for improving your communications?

Answer Percent

Quicker response times 3%

Improved student experience 51%

Improved staff productivity 10%

Meeting student demands 7%

Meeting staff demands 3%

Accessible and easy to use 14%

Improved relationship with local businesses and higher education providers 1%

Reducing costs 4%

Requirements for new technology or current systems no longer supported 2%

Other - please specify 5%

Question: For which of the following do you currently use web or video conferencing? Please tick all that apply.

Answer Percent

Video-based interviews 39%

Internal staff meetings 35%

Training courses for staff 48%

Remote online learning courses 52%

Remote parent/teacher meetings 3%

Facilitating student group sessions 24%

Recording tutorials/learning sessions to support student/absent learners 27%

We don’t use web or video conferencing 22%

Other - please specify 7%

Page 16 of 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 Question: Of those listed below, what is the main challenge you face when using web or video conferencing?

Answer Percent

The technology we use is not reliable and has connectivity issues 23%

Individuals joining remotely often feel isolated and cannot fully partake in the meeting/session 8%

Video conferences often feel disjointed and inhibits conversation flow 20%

We do not have the necessary support/skills in our organisation to facilitate it effectively 12%

Installation of software on multiple devices 5%

The lack of software on external devices 5%

We don’t use web or video conferencing at present 16%

Other - please specify 11%

Question: In your opinion, which of the following areas of IT support would benefit your organisation with regard to the use of a web or video conferencing solution? Please tick all that apply.

Answer Percent

A secure UK Cloud based system that is robust and easy to use 43%

Flexible licensing to allow for more staff and students to use it 46%

Ability to meet legal compliance through controlling functions and features for individual licenses 22%

Use of a simple subscription-based service 12%

Easy to configure and support multiple areas in your organisation 40%

Secure data encryption 26%

Support for a variety of devices from PC, Apple Mac, iOS, and Android 52%

Other - please specify 8%

Question: With regard to adopting web or video conferencing tools for staff, what stage would you say your organisation has reached?

Answer Percent

It is at pilot stage only 19%

It is used by certain departments-only 39%

It is used organisation-wide 15%

We have no plans to use web or video conferencing for staff or student communications 12%

Don’t know 10%

Other - please specify 5%

Page 17 of 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 Question: In your opinion, what is the single biggest barrier preventing you from exploring the use of web or video conferencing?

Answer Percent

Lack of management buy-in 3%

Concerns over integration with legacy systems 5%

Limited resources 27%

Limited or lack of staff skills 25%

Perceived cost or lack of budget 14%

None of the above 27%

Page 18 of 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 Appendix 2: Participating Organisations

COLLEGES OF FURTHER EDUCATION

Barnet and Southgate College North East Scotland College Beaumont College North Hertfordshire College Blackpool and the Fylde College North College Northern Regional College Bolton Sixth Form College Northumberland College Bristol Baptist College Petroc Preston College Chesterfield College Richard Taunton Sixth Form College City College Peterborough Riverside College City of Glasgow College Saint Brendan's Sixth Form College Coleg y Cymoedd Shrewsbury College College Development Network South Devon College Derby College South Essex College Derwentside College South Gloucestershire and Stroud College Doncaster College South Lanarkshire College East Durham College South West College St Charles Catholic Sixth Form College Exeter College Strode College Fife College College Glasgow Clyde College The Glasgow School of Art Glasgow Kelvin College The Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education Gloucestershire College The College Harlow College The Sixth Form College Solihull Harper Adams University College Tower Hamlets College Hartlepool College of Further Education Trinity College Bristol Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College Tyne Coast College College Tyne Metropolitan College Kidderminster College University of the Highlands and Islands Kingston Maurward College Vision West Nottinghamshire College Loughborough College Waltham Forest College Mary Ward Centre (Adult Learning) Middlesbrough College West College Scotland Morley College West Lothian College Moulton College Weston College New College Durham College New College Lanarkshire New College Pontefract Yeovil College Newbury College York College

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Abbey Grange Church of Colne Community School and College Academy 360 Cottingham High School Addington School Cromwell Community College Altrincham College of Arts Douglas Academy Berwickshire High School Drumchapel High School Bishop Gore School Eastwood High School Bishop Wordsworth's Grammar School Farlingaye High School Blenheim High School Fulham Cross Girls' School and Language College Blue Coat Church of England Academy, Walsall Grace Academy Solihull Bradley Stoke Community School Hampstead School BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology Hans Price Academy Chailey Heritage School Haywood Engineering College Christopher Whitehead Language College Herne Bay High School

Page 19 of 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 Hospital and Home Education PRU Skipton Girls' High School Isobel Mair School Sperrinview School Jordanhill School St Augustine's Roman Catholic High School Lochend Community High School St Catherine's Catholic School for Girls Ludlow Church of England School St Illtyd's Marshfields School Stalham High School Meadowfield School Swindon Academy Minsthorpe Community College, A Specialist Science College Swiss Cottage Specialist SEN School Myton School The City Academy, Hackney The Gainsborough Academy Northampton School for Boys The John Wallis Church of England Academy Notley High School and Braintree Sixth Form The Marlborough Church of England School Oasis Academy Isle of Sheppey Welshpool High School Perth High School Windsor Girls' School Pilton Community College Wycombe High School Queensbury Academy Ysgol Aberconwy Shaftesbury High School

UNIVERSITIES

Aberystwyth University Staffordshire University APUC Ltd Swansea University Aston University Teesside University Bangor University The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Birkbeck, University of London The Cardiff Metropolitan University The University of Northampton Cardiff University University of Bath City, University of London University of Derby Durham University Edinburgh Napier University University of Gloucestershire Falmouth University University of Hertfordshire London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine University of Lincoln Manchester Metropolitan University Newcastle University Plymouth University University of St Andrews Southern Universities Management Service University of Wales St Georges, University of London University of Warwick

Page 20 of 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017