The College Innovation Network (CIN), a grant-funded initiative spearheaded by WGU Labs, recently published the results of its 2023 CIN Faculty EdTech Survey. The second annual survey provides new critical insights – including the need for staff and student involvement in adopting educational technology (edtech) in higher education learning – and shares the importance of evidence-based examples and regular audits for effective implementation.
The survey, which included 491 faculty members from nine diverse colleges and universities across the country, found that while faculty members are generally positive about using technology in their teaching, many are dissatisfied with how technology is being implemented in their institutions. There are also concerns about edtech’s anticipated future impact on student instruction.
The CIN Faculty EdTech Survey identified four key takeaways for institutions and EdTech vendors to improve the EdTech experience for both faculty and students:
- 83% of faculty respondents see value in edtech for their teaching and learning, but almost one-third do not trust that available products are effective.
- Faculty perceive that college administrators – or those furthest away from the classroom – have the greatest influence on edtech decisions. Only 22% believe that students have a high level of influence.
- Faculty are weary of a tech-enabled future. More than 50% of faculty members believe they will have less autonomy over their course design and 49% say that faculty will spend less time interacting with students.
- Nearly 80% of respondents feel like they are “always on the job because of technology,” leading to technology fatigue, burnout and lower job satisfaction.
“Given the rapid acceleration of edtech in higher education since 2020, it is important for institutions to understand the impact on key users, including faculty, students, and administrators,” says Omid Fotuhi, Director of Learning and Innovation at WGU Labs. “Successful implementation depends on how faculty perceive, understand, and trust the use of technology to improve the student experience. We’ve identified actionable strategies from this year’s CIN Faculty EdTech Survey, which we believe will foster better technology integration in higher education to help realize the many possibilities of edtech.”
For a full analysis of the survey findings, and actionable strategies to improve faculty experiences with edtech, visit www.wgulabs.org/posts/cin-faculty-edtech-survey-2nd-edition.
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