The EdTech Implementation Gap through the Eyes of Educators
Abstract: Despite potential, education technology seems to have yet to significantly impact student achievement or address widening achievement gaps. Unfortunately, the vast majority of purchased education technology (edtech) licenses are materially underused, creating a sizable edtech implementation gap between purchased and effectively used technology. To more fully understand this gap, the research team surveyed 388 educators from two school districts in a southeastern state. Given their rich professional knowledge, educators’ perspectives can further our understanding of implementation. Educators reported their perceived rate of edtech implementation success in terms of appropriateness for the context and correct implementation. Responding educators perceived a higher rate of edtech implementation success than that suggested by national usage data, with variation in perceived appropriateness for the context by educator role (administrator versus teacher) and grade level taught (high school versus elementary). This presents an opportunity to learn from educators’ contextualized implementation experiences in an effort to reduce the edtech implementation gap.
Presider: JAYMISON MILLER