Top 5 Challenges Future Technology Can Address

The survey says

Since Apple IIe’s arrived at schools all across the country in the 1980’s, technology has held many promises. While technology in the classroom has been perhaps slow to deliver on its pledges, we are now in an age where it is making a difference in the classroom and we can expect even more over the next decade.

ESGI and ThinkFives asked hundreds of teachers about areas where they thought technology Could make the most difference in the future. Here are their Top 5.

It also holds the promise of allowing for two way data where parents can read results, make suggestions and truly collaborate with the teacher. But of course technology must find an efficient way to facilitate this as teachers have little time to wade through dozens and dozens of emails.  

Teacher Needs

• “Communication with parents”
• “Easier for parents to understand and help monitor students”
• “The ability to communicate and share immediate feedback”
• “Preparing children for school. Helping parents understand the impact they have on their children’s education”
• “Creating two-way communication with the home, not just sending report home”

Teachers are not expected to be business analysts, so in the future, technologies must communicate effectively, predict challenges and offer solutions. Building a data analytics tool that a middle school English teacher can master – and look forward to using – must be the goal.

Teacher Needs

• “Analyzing the data and providing appropriate interventions”
• “Gather all data points in one program”
• “Tracking student data with validity”
• “Real time feedback for project and problem-based learning”
• “Using data to not only track but to be predictive”

Schools have not succeeded in doing their jobs until every student has an equal opportunity to reach his/her potential. Imagine what contribution to society a think tank at MIT could make if they were challenged with this problem and provided resources to solve it.

Teacher Hopes

• “Access of technology and internet for all students”
• “Close the learning gap between schools (transition grades)”
• “Creating equal opportunities for all students to get access to what resources they need”
• “Helping economically disadvantaged students succeed”
• “Supporting linguistically diverse learners in language-based classes”
• “Minimize the learning gap between children at the same grade level”

Immersive technologies like artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality are in their infancy in the classroom. Fast forward five or ten years and imagine how these futuristic technologies can engage every student each day.

Teacher Hopes

• “Access to materials that students are motivated to engage with and that help them think critically as they learn”
• “Content that truly has real world applications”
• “Engaging students and keeping their attention”
• “AI is huge. Our students will need to be proficient in tech to compete in the job market”
• “Content that is dynamic, interactive and immersive”

Technology provides the hope that we can assess each student individually, preparing dynamic lessons for them at a level where they are prepared to thrive. Technology must be able to monitor their progress and make real time adjustments to their instruction. This type of dynamic learning will allow teachers to do what they do best – teach individually and to small groups, facilitating the learning process.

Teacher Hopes

• “Being able to provide support to a wide variety of student needs”
• “Differentiating student practice work without having to recreate the wheel!”
• “ELA and math interventions for secondary education”
• “How to effectively support students who need more tier 2 supports”