How Teachers Are Using Technology at Home and in ... - Prisa Digital

discourage students from finding and using a wide range of sources for their research” (71%)
60% agree with the idea that “today’s digital technologies make it harder for students to find
and use credible sources of information”
Asked how likely their students were to use a variety of different information sources for a
typical research assignment, 94% said their students were “very likely” to use Google or other
online search engines, placing it well ahead of the other sources asked about
Second to search engines was the use of Wikipedia or other online encyclopedias, which 75% of
teachers said their students were “very likely” to use in a typical research assignment
Rounding out the top three was YouTube or other social media sites, which about half of
teachers (52%) said their students were “very likely” to use
47% of these teachers “strongly agree” and another 44% “somewhat agree” that “courses or
content focusing on digital literacy must be incorporated into every school’s curriculum”
Finally, asked to place a value on various skills today’s students will need in the future, “judging
the quality of information” tops the list, described as “essential” by 91% of the teachers who
participated in the survey
Given the focus on students’ online information gathering, it is interesting to measure the extent to
which their teachers rely on search engines and online encyclopedias for information. The survey finds
that the vast majority of AP and NWP teachers use search engines (99%) and Wikipedia (87%) to find
information online. The latter is particularly notable, because both teachers and students mentioned in
focus groups that teachers commonly bar students from using Wikipedia in their school assignments.
The survey also finds that almost all of the teachers surveyed use the internet “to do work or research
for their job.” The specific ways these teachers use the internet as a tool for professional development
and curricular ideas are discussed later in this report.
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