Education is in a time of transition and reform to the current system is a hot topic in the national news. In the first week of December, the Foundation for Excellence in Education hosted its annual two-day National Summit on Education Reform in Washington. While education reform is by no means a finite topic, the way in which we educate our children came to the forefront of conversation. At the conference, the Digital Learning Council (DLC), spearheaded by former Governors Jeb Bush and Bob Wise, released a report entitled “10 Elements of High-Quality Digital Learning.” The report outlines the recommendations of morethan 100 leaders in education, government, philanthropy, business, technology and policy meant to advance reform that would enhance digital learning. “We hope we can get to a point,” Governor Bush said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe “where digital education…becomes the core way we educate children.” With this new, heightened focus on digital learning for an increasingly tech-savvy generation of students, one can’t help but wonder – are our school districts ready to meet the challenge?
To answer this question, Blackboard K-12 partnered with Education Week and went straight to the source surveying district leaders from all 50 states. The survey gauged their thoughts on their districts’ perceptions of student needs, teacher capabilities, the impact of education technologies on student engagement and achievement, and technology availability in district schools and students’ homes. The overarching question – how prepared is your district to align with new online learning strategies? The findings were telling – while 96% of district leaders report that students demonstrate improved learning/achievement when technology is integrated into the curriculum, only half of respondents report that their district is meeting the online learning demands of all students.
What further insights did the survey uncover? See the results here.