Artifact #8: Education Survey

The education survey was chosen as an artifact as technology is becoming a major part of

classrooms. The purpose of this survey was to gain a better understanding of parents thoughts

concerning technology in the classroom. Using a five point scale, as well as a few questions, I

was able to collect data from the parents on their opinions regarding technology use in the

classroom. The results showed that parents were in favour of educators using technology in the

classroom, however in order to do so, there must be rules in place. I think it’s important to

involve parents in the learning process as much as possible. They have valuable input and their

child’s best interest at heart.

INTASC Standards

Standard #3: Learning Environments. The teacher works with others to create

environments that support individual and collaborative learning, and that encourage positive

social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self motivation.

NYS Code of Ethics for Educators

Principle 5: Educators collaborate with parents and community, building trust and

respecting confidentiality.

Educators partner with parents and other members of the community to enhance school

programs and to promote student learning. They also recognize how cultural and linguistic

heritage, gender, family and community shape experience and learning. Educators respect the

private nature of the special knowledge they have about students and their families and use that

knowledge only in the students' best interests. They advocate for fair opportunity for all children.

The Ontario Ethical Teacher Standard

Trust - The ethical standard of Trust embodies fairness, openness and honesty. Members'
professional relationships with students, colleagues, parents, guardians and the public are based

on trust.

TEAC/CAEP Claims 1-3

Claim 2: Medaille College graduates meet the needs of diverse learners through effective

pedagogy and best teaching practices.

 Educational Survey

Joanne Venerus

Medaille College

ECI: 510

Dr. Centrie

November 24, 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this survey is to gain a better understanding of parents thoughts

concerning technology in the classroom. Knowing the opinions of parents regarding technology

and their thoughts around the security aspect will give you more insight as to whether or not the

students and parents in your classroom are ready and willing to use technology. Being able to

bring technology into the classroom will enable teachers to enhance learning.

Target population

This survey was designed for the parents of students who are currently enrolled in a

kindergarten to grade 6 class to obtain their opinions on technology.

Introduction
 Technology in the classroom is becoming more and more prominent in classrooms as it

can be a useful tool. It can enhance a lesson plan, allow students and teachers to take pictures of

their work for documentation purposes and it can be used as a research aid. However if

technology is not handled properly, it can also be very distracting and disruptive. It is a good

idea before introducing any form of technology into the classroom to get the parents input. By

including the parents in the decision and knowing where their comfort level with technology is

will give you a better idea of how supportive they will be. It is also a good idea to evaluate the

students to see what their comfort level with technology is. By doing so you may find that some

students have never used a computer, laptop or tablet for various reasons. It is always important

to keep in mind that not all your students and families will have access to computers, laptops or

tablets, therefore you should ensure that you have extra tablets on hand and to be able to provide

some basic training.

Directions: Using the scale below please circle which number you feel best corresponds with

your opinion. All answers are completely confidential and the information provided will be used

to determine whether technology should be introduced into classrooms and parents views

regarding the use of technology in the classroom.

1 2 3 4 5
Strongly Disagree Neither agree Agree Strongly
Disagree or Disagree Agree

1) Students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 6 should have a social media

account.

1 2 3 4 5
 2) Student's activity on the internet should be monitored.

1 2 3 4 5

3) I feel very confident using the computer.

1 2 3 4 5

4) It is important for students to become familiar with coding.

1 2 3 4 5

5) Technology in the classroom can act as a resource for students in the classroom.

1 2 3 4 5

6) Computers, laptop and tablets should be banned from the classroom.

1 2 3 4 5

7) Students should be able to bring their own laptop or tablet to the classroom.

1 2 3 4 5

8) Using the seesaw app will allow me to see what my child is doing during the day.

1 2 3 4 5

9) Tablets should be used in the classroom to enhance documentation of students

learning.

1 2 3 4 5

10) Computers, laptops and tablets should have parental controls.

1 2 3 4 5

If the school was to facilitate a lesson on computers, would you attend?

___________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________
How often does your child use a laptop, computer or personal device at home?
___________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

Which social media accounts do you currently use, Facebook, Instagram, or twitter?
____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for participating in this survey. Your valuable feedback is appreciated and will
be used when discussing how technology will be used in the classroom.

1 2 3 4 5 Mean
Question 1 4 6 0 0 0 1.6
Question 2 0 0 0 5 5 4.5

Question 3 0 2 0 5 3 3.9
Question 4 1 3 3 3 0 2.8
Question 5 0 1 0 3 6 4.4
Question 6 0 1 2 5 2 3.8
Question 7 2 3 1 4 0 2.7
Question 8 0 0 1 8 1 4
Question 9 0 0 3 5 2 3.9
Question 0 0 0 0 10 5
10
If the school was to facilitate a lesson on computers, would you attend?
Yes = 4
No = 6

How often does your child use a laptop, computer or personal device at home?
30 mins
1 hour
1.5 hours
2 hours
Never
N/A
Only at bedtime
Only if research is required for school purposes
Only while I’m making dinner x2

Which social media accounts do you currently use, Facebook, Instagram, or twitter?
Facebook 10
Instagram 7
Twitter 5

Results

Based on the results from the survey most parents are in favour of having technology in

the classroom. It is refreshing to see that the majority of parents believe very strongly about

students not being able to have a social media account. Social media accounts can have a

negative impact on many students, and can be used as a form of cyberbullying.

Although parents agreed about the use of computers, laptops and tablets in the classroom,

they all felt similar about not allowing students to bring in their own devices. I would agree with

this as allowing students to bring in their own devices puts added responsibility on the teachers

to ensure safekeeping of such devices. Along with not allowing personal devices in the

classroom, all parents strongly agreed that computers, laptops and tablets should have parental

controls. Parental controls are important as it allows the parents to determine which content the

child is allowed to view. This keeps the child safe from predators and viewing websites with

inappropriate content.
 It was nice to see that most parents agreed that tablets should be used in the classroom to

enhance documentation of students learning as well as liking the seesaw app. Tablets in the

classroom are a good tool for teachers to use to document students learning by taking pick of the

students work and by making notes about the students and their progress. The seesaw app is a

good tool for teachers and parents to use. Seesaw is an app that teachers can use to post pictures

of what is happening in the classroom and parents have the ability to view and make comments.

The plan of action I would take based on that data collected would be write a letter to the

parents explaining the benefits of using technology in the classrooms. This way the parents will

have a better understanding of how technology will be used and how frequently.

Plan for Improvement

A plan for improvement with regards to technology in the classroom would be to ensure

that all the parents and students feel comfortable using technology. This could include ensuring

that the parents and students are proficient in using computer based systems such as microsoft

word, excel or powerpoint. Also, ensuring that parents and students are familiar with the internet

and how to browse the world wide web. I include parents in this statement as I believe it would

be beneficial for everyone to become familiar with technology in all forms. I would ask the

administration if there was any way to provide some basic training to parents. This could be

conducted at the school one evening by a trained expert. By doing so, the parents would be able

to help the students at home if they require it. A lot of assignments require research and whether

you are conducting it at home or the local library if you do not have the internet or a computer, it

would be great if parents had the tools to help guide the students research.

Also, although it can be an added responsibility to the teachers if the students bring their

own personal devices to school, it can also be beneficial. Not all classrooms are equipped with a

tablet or computer for every student, therefore if you are asking the students to use class time to
conduct some research, having the extra devices in the classroom would allow more students to

conduct research at the same time. A letter could be sent home to the parents outlining the rules

and letting them know that the personal devices would be turned over to the teacher at the

beginning of class and will be locked up until it was time to conduct the research.