Finding #1: Differences in Ed Tech Demand
Comparing High-Poverty and Low-Poverty Schools
Digital learning tools are used in most schools every day, but teachers in high-poverty schools say they want to use them even more.
From the NewSchools-Gallup Survey on Ed Tech
Almost all teachers — in both high- and low-poverty schools — use digital learning tools to teach at least several days per week. When it comes to demand, however, the two groups diverge. Fewer than half of teachers in low-poverty schools would like to use digital learning tools to teach more often, compared to more than six in 10 teachers in high-poverty schools. Students follow a similar trend. Nearly all students from low- and high-income backgrounds alike use digital learning tools at least a few days per week. However, more than half of students from low-income backgrounds would like to use digital learning tools more often, compared to just 38 percent of students from high-income backgrounds.
Implications
This finding seems aligned with research indicating there are still significant gaps in how ed tech is supported and used — potentially affecting perceptions of access — among school environments. Students’ and teachers’ experiences are influenced by variations in resources, driven by factors such as human capital, student access to technology at home, and the need to align instructional practices with various accountability systems. Regarding student demand, it’s possible students from low-income backgrounds may first use ed tech tools at school and then desire more access — both in-school and at-home. Perhaps most importantly, this variance in demand and perceptions of access among different socioeconomic groups supports a more nuanced view of the digital divide. We’re interested in further exploring these differences and what they might mean for today’s educators and students.
