Bill MacKenty

Digitally inclined: new research report from PBS

Ok, just to be a curmudgeon here, this is a research report commissioned from a media company that talks about how great media is.

Still though, Digitally inclined is a great report that discusses teachers attitude and views about using media in classes.

From the report:

Reasons for Using Television and Video
87 percent of teachers say it reinforces and expands on content they are teaching
76 percent of teachers say it helps them respond to a variety of learning styles
74 percent of teachers say it increases student motivation
66 percent of teachers say it changes the pace of classroom work
57 percent of teachers say it enables them to demonstrate content they can’t show any other way
51 percent of teachers use it to introduce other learning activities
38 percent of teachers say it helps them teach current events and breaking news

Here’s the thing.  We often talk about what is effective in technology.  How do we know technology is working? We can look at test scores, but that is fraught with problems.  I have found the single best way to ascertain the effectiveness of technology is to simply ask a teacher.