Education and Technology Survey

Wow.  Google Documents has some great features.  After the results of this survey (Millennial Kids Technology Use Survey) were in, Docs had a great way of showing a summary of the data including graphic representations (bar and line graphs, and pie charts) and the data was summarized accurately and easy to read.

However, it was impossible to print, copy and paste, or link to using any reasonably simple process.   It is good to be reminded that neither computers, nor the teachers using computers, are perfect, and we should not expect the students using them to be either.

I was also surprised how honest the students who took the survey were.  Almost no one claimed they spent most of their time on the computer for schoolwork!  I was surprised, since I’m certain at least one student thought I could see the results by who took the summary. 

Now, data analysis is not my profession, but I do know that looking at data in seclusion is not often the best choice.  Knowing this, I looked at the survey responses to two questions side-by-side: “What do you use your computer for?” And “On a scale of 1-5, how productive do you feel on the computer?”

There was one response to each question that was chosen by over 50% of those surveyed.

What do you use your computer for? Games. (60%)

On a scale of 1-5, how productive do you feel on the computer? 3 (50%)

Only 20% of respondents chose 1 (Wasting time) or 2 to grade their productivity on the computer.   The rest all seemed to think that Social Networking, Gaming, and Other Entertainment are at least marginally productive.  This is something that educators should keep in mind, that time spent on the computer could be seen as productive even when it is not spent doing work.  Perhaps this is because it is interactive and not passive like the television.  This is a trap that everyone has to avoid, whether we’re at the office, in the classroom, or at home on the computer.  Just because you have some work open on the computer, doesn’t mean you’re being productive.  How we teach that is something I will think about and post about in the future.