Survey Partners Digital Classroom: Enabling New Ways of Learning Education Survey 2016 Contents Contents 2 The Survey 3 Survey Methodology and Respondents Profile 4 Key Findings 5 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 insight through their extra comments. We would also like to thank our partner, Xirrus, for their assistance in compiling the survey questions, scrutinising the responses and analysing the results. Digital Classroom: Enabling New Ways of Learning in Education 2016 © 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. Except as otherwise expressly permitted under copyright law or iGov Survey’s Terms of Use, the content of this publication are owned by or controlled may not be copied, reproduced, republished, downloaded, posted, broadcast or transmitted in any way without first obtaining iGov Survey’s written permission or that of the copyright owner. To contact the iGov Survey team: Email: [email protected] Tel: 0845 094 8567 Address: FAO David Cross, Ingenium IDS Ltd, Mansion House, Wellington Road South, Stockport, Cheshire, SK1 3UA Page 2! of !20 Digital Classroom: Enabling New Ways of Learning in Education 2015 The Survey Technology is impacting almost every aspect of our lives, with the adoption of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets increasing every year in the UK. With rising numbers of ‘digital natives’, educational institutions are adopting more and more of the latest developments in technology, in a bid to prepare students for the digital world in which they will work. The importance of IT and digital technology in education is clear – our research shows that over half (55%) of respondents from colleges of further education, secondary schools and primary schools believe technology has an important role to play in their teaching and learning strategy. Moreover, an overwhelming majority of 82% believe it will become even more important in the coming years. This report, produced in collaboration with Wi-Fi and technology experts Xirrus, firstly examines the ways in which educational institutions currently use IT, digital technology and Wi-Fi to enhance their teaching and learning strategies. It also considers increased technology adoption and how reduced budgets will impact their strategies in the future. Page 3! of !20 Digital Classroom: Enabling New Ways of Learning in Education 2015 Survey Methodology and Respondents Profile The survey was conducted by iGov Survey between Tuesday 6th October 2015 and Friday 23rd October 2015. A broad cross-section of heads, managers, and c- suite executives were asked to participate in the questionnaire and represented organisations from Colleges of Further Education, Secondary Schools, Primary Schools, and Independent and Private Schools. There was no incentive to take part in the survey, and the findings presented in this report are based on the participants who fully completed the survey. The questionnaire was completed by 262 individuals from 244 unique organisations, and responses came from people with a role in IT as well as those representing line of business. The survey questions are available in Appendix 1. The results have been collated and presented in percentages. Please note that the key findings expressed throughout this report are based on those who fully completed the survey. For the multiple choice questions, results have been given as a percentage of the participants group, rather than the total number of answers for the question. 1% Figure 1: Respondents Breakdown by Sector 26% 35% Colleges of Further Education Independent Schools Primary Schools Secondary Schools Multi Academy Trusts 11% 27% Page 4! of !20 Digital Classroom: Enabling New Ways of Learning in Education 2015 Key Findings The most common use of Wi-Fi networks amongst survey participants was reported as ‘facilitating group work and collaboration’ (67%) This was followed by the provision of ‘electronic textbooks’ (41%), and the use of ‘instant communication via messaging or online chat services’ and ‘social forums/ discussion boards’, both reported by 40% of participants. Figure 2: How does your organisation utilise its Wi-Fi network to enable digital learning and working? Please tick all that apply. Electronic Textbooks 41% Group Work/Collaboration 67% IM or Chat Services 40% Social Forums/Discussion Boards 40% Other 23% Don't know 8% 0% 14% 28% 42% 56% 70% When asked whether they had experienced any barriers to increased adoption of digital learning and working, almost three quarters of participants (74%) stated that restricted budgets presented a challenge. Other barriers included ‘security concerns’ (39%), ‘child safeguarding concerns (such as the use of the internet)’ (37%), ‘concerns of misuse’ (31%), and ‘no or unreliable Wi-Fi network’ (24%). Page 5! of !20 Digital Classroom: Enabling New Ways of Learning in Education 2015 Figure 3: Is your organisation experiencing any barriers to increased adoption of digital learning and working? Please tick all that apply. Restricted budgets 74% Security concerns 39% Child safeguarding 37% Concerns of misuse 31% No/unreliable Wi-Fi network 24% Other 16% Don't know 2% No barriers 6% 0% 16% 32% 48% 64% 80% Almost three quarters of surveyed participants (73%) provide students with the ability to access course materials and information from any device at any location Figure 4: Are your students able to access course materials and 2% information via any device at any location (such as smartphones, 25% tablets, laptops, etc)? Yes No Don't know 73% Moreover, 62% also allow or enable their staff and students to bring their own devices. 13% reported that this was restricted to staff members, whilst 24% said they did Page 6! of !20 Digital Classroom: Enabling New Ways of Learning in Education 2015 not operate a BYOD policy at all. Of this group, less than half (35%) said they were considering implementing a policy. 1% 13% Figure 5: Does your organisation allow or enable staff/students to bring their own devices? Yes No 24% Staff only 62% Don't know Figure 6: If not, is this something you are considering 20% implementing? 35% Yes No Don't know 45% Just under half of surveyed participants (42%) told us they made use of gamification applications – such as online educational games, simulations, and social channels – to aid learning. Figure 7: Does your organisation implement any gamification 25% applications for learning? 42% Yes No Don't know 33% Page 7! of !20 Digital Classroom: Enabling New Ways of Learning in Education 2015 Less than half (45%) of respondents stated they were currently able to manage their Wi-Fi network remotely from one device Figure 8: Is your organisation currently able to manage its Wi-Fi network remotely from one device? 39% 45% Yes No Don't know 16% When using their current Wi-Fi solution, the majority of respondents told us the area best controlled, managed or restricted was 'Internet Access' (84%). This was closely followed by ‘devices connecting to their Wi-Fi network’ (78%), the ‘use of education applications’ (70%), and the ‘use of smart device applications’ (62%). Figure 9: Using your current Wi-Fi solution, is your organisation able to control, manage or restrict the following areas? Yes No Don't know Use of Education Apps Use of Smart Device Apps Devices Connecting to Wi-Fi Internet Access 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Page 8! of !20 Digital Classroom: Enabling New Ways of Learning in Education 2015 Reliability was reported as the highest priority for survey participants (89%) Survey participants reported that ‘cost’ was also a high priority (64%), followed by ‘controlling application usage’ (48%) and ‘scalability’ (45%). Figure 9: Thinking about selecting your Wi-Fi solution, what priority is placed on each of the following? High Priority Medium Priority Low Priority No Priority Cost Scalability Reliability Ease of Installation Controlling Application Usage On-boarding Devices to Network 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Page 9! of !20 Digital Classroom: Enabling New Ways of Learning in Education 2015 Looking forward, survey participants reported that ‘enabling new ways of working’ was their main strategic objective (72%) Other strategic objectives being considered over the next twelve months included ‘improving staff and student productivity’ (69%), ‘increasing efficiency’ (57%), and ‘improving access from various devices and locations’ (50%). Figure 10: Moving forward, what are your main strategic objectives over the next 12 months? Please tick all that apply. Cost reduction 36% Improving productivity 69% Improving satisfaction levels 44% Enabling new ways of working 72% Increasing efficiency 57% Improving access for devices/locations 50% Become more competitive 16% Better communications 48% Other 8% Don't know 3% 0% 16% 32% 48% 64% 80% Page 10! of 20! Digital Classroom: Enabling New Ways of Learning in Education 2015 Conclusion by Jillian Mansolf, VP, EMEA at Xirrus Technology has become an integral part of education. Digital technology increasingly assimilates into our everyday lives and plays an essential role in preparing students for modern working life. The findings from our survey confirm the growing importance of IT and digital technology within education. Almost all of our participants ranked it as an important part of their teaching and learning strategies, and a further 82% believe this will continue to grow in importance. The results confirm how technology impacts almost every area of school life; 82% of our participants conduct registration online or digitally, whilst a further 63% also conduct testing in this way. Wi-Fi continues to empower digital technology adoption in education. 67% use this technology to facilitate group work and collaboration, whilst electronic textbooks, instant communication or messaging, and social forums/discussion boards are also enabled over Wi-Fi.