Technology makes teachers’ lives easier but simplicity and collaboration are key to success in the classroom.
New research from EdTech start-up Tassomai reveals users’ attitudes to tech in schools
18th January 2018, Bethnal Green, London: Unnecessary workload is a major concern for teachers, so how do they feel about the introduction of new technology in the classroom, does it help or hinder? New research from EdTech company Tassomai ahead of this year’s Bett Show shows that the majority of teachers they contacted are feeling positive. 77% say that EdTech has made their workload easier and 23% say it’s had no impact or made it harder.
Teachers recognise there is often an increase in admin, or extra work involved in setting up new systems, but this cuts down on time spent preparing resources in the long run.
Other benefits of EdTech mentioned by respondents include freeing up teacher time to focus on intervention and making it easier to set and assess homework or share good practice. However, some teachers feel that EdTech introduces extra work and that there’s an expectation in schools that this is on top of their normal workload.
“Technology is doing things that I would have to do manually but at the same time the new technology applications require more tasks from me” said one classroom teacher in North London.
The good news for Tassomai is that 98.6% of respondents say that they would recommend its online learning program to a colleague – and 97% say Tassomai is better, or as good as other EdTech products they’d used. Teachers cite Tassomai’s ease of use, simplicity and “almost plug and play” implementation as well as praising the immediate feedback it provides to teachers and students. Mr Malik, from Forest Gate Community School described Tassomai as “the future of learning” and Mr Fernandez from Alec Hunter Academy in Braintree said “our science results last year were the best in the school's history, aided greatly by the use of Tassomai.“
Vic Goddard, Principal at Passmore’s Academy in Harlow and known to many from TV’s Educating Essex is enthusiastic about technology in schools, but he says that companies need to consider the end user: “EdTech providers need to recognise the workload teachers are dealing with and ensure their solutions are simple to grasp and easy to implement. Many teachers will have multiple systems to get their heads around and learning to use all of them is a time consuming challenge in itself.”
Murray Morrison, Tassomai’s founder is a firm believer in collaboration and believes working in partnership with teachers is the best way to develop successful EdTech products. “Tassomai has always been focused on making life easier, for pupils and teachers. Ultimately we believe teachers want to spend less time on marking and admin and more time teaching and we’ve always kept this front of mind. One of the key points that came out of our user research was that teachers really valued the simplicity and ease of use of our product. As we evolve and add new functionality it becomes even more important to ensure the features we’re adding to Tassomai improve the experience for the user - rather than overcomplicating it - and that’s where collaboration with teachers becomes vital.”