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The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) member companies are the creators and vendors of digital technology tools that are used by educators in K-20 education. SIIA and its member companies believe that technology used appropriately promotes the best environment for education. The purpose of the survey is to provide an opportunity for educators to evaluate their progress in embracing technology and eLearning in their education environment.
The K-20 Vision states that every K-20 institution should have a framework that promotes the use of technology and eLearning to:
- Increase student engagement and achievement
- Provide equity and access to new learning opportunities
- Document and track student performance
- Empower collaborative learning communities
- Maximize teaching and administrative effectiveness
- Build student proficiencies in 21st Century skills
The vision describes Five Measures of Progress that support educational outcomes:
- 21st Century tools
- Anytime/anywhere access
- Differentiated learning
- Assessment tools
- Enterprise support
The 2011 report analyzes the results of nearly 500 Internet surveys completed by educators representing all levels of K-20 education.
Key Findings:
- The average score on the 20 benchmarking statements in the 2011 survey was slightly lower (60, on a scale of 25 to 100) than the average scores from the 2010 and 2009 surveys (62). Additionally, a decline is seen in scores on almost all benchmarking statements. The higher the score, the closer the institution may be to achieving the benchmarks of the K-20 Vision.
- The two benchmarks with the highest level of success in 2011 are exactly the same as in 2010, specifically:
- Security tools to protect student data and privacy (85)
- The availability of high-speed broadband access for robust communication, administrative and instructional needs (85)
- On the Five Measures of Progress, average scores this year range from a high of 67 for 21st Century tools and 66 for Enterprise Support to a low of 45 for Assessment Tools. All measures record slight declines compared to last year.
- Average score for the seven Vision Goals range from 66 for facilitating communication, connectivity and collaboration to 56 for helping schools meet the personalized needs of all students. There is a relatively small decline in scores from them previous two years among all the goals.
- In general, scores are higher for participants from postsecondary institutions than those from K-12 institutions, the largest difference in scores seen within the demographic variables evaluated in this study.
- Likewise, very large institutions tend to have higher scores on all measures than smaller institutions.
- There are no systematic differences by type of setting (rural/urban location).
Analysis and Implications
The 2011 Vision K-20 Survey suggests that U.S. education institutions are making limited progress in leveraging technology and eLearning to meet their educational goals. The slight overall decline from the average scores reported in 2010 and 2009, and decline in scores for specific benchmarking statements almost across the board, is reflected in lower scores on all five Measures of Progress and all seven Vision Goals this year.
The score declines from the survey are consistent and could be explained by these factors:
- A lower proportion of participants in 2011 than in 2010 are from postsecondary institutions, who generally give higher ratings on most technology measures.
- Given the current downturn in the economy and decrease in budgets, it appears that education institutions may have focused on maintaining their current infrastructure and staff and limited further investments in additional technology.
- SIIA partnered with a larger and more diverse group of partners in 2011, allowing the survey to reach a broader set of participants, beyond the education technology leaders that were reached in previous years. Therefore early technology adopters may not be as heavily represented this year as in past years.
- As noted above, the benchmarking statements are subjective in nature; changes in perceptions of technology adoption could influence participant scoring.
- The survey makes it difficult for participants to report gradual improvements – many may have felt they had made progress but not enough progress to report that they had advanced one full measure – for instance, to jump from a score of 3 (75) to a score of 4 (100).
Source: http://www.siia.net/visionK20/
