Teaching in the Tech Era: Challenges and Solutions for Educators

Educators agree that educational technology (EdTech) is here to stay but remain divided on its role in the classroom and its impact on education quality, but agree that some strategic approaches to guiding faculty through the transition to tech-enabled classrooms can help.

College Innovation Network’s new EdTech and the evolving role of faculty report found that while 92 percent of educators surveyed expect to use more EdTech tools in the classroom, less than 33 percent think that higher education is heading in the right direction.

“The massive changes in higher education over the past few years are causing faculty members’ roles to undergo a rapid evolution,” the report says. “Long gone are the days when a faculty’s role was to simply ‘stand and deliver’ a lecture. Now, faculty are expected to make their teaching more personalized, student-centered, engaging, and tech-enabled.”

“Faculty are learning new ways to support students and incorporate EdTech and artificial intelligence (AI) into their curricula while also grappling with program and faculty position cuts due to financial constraints,” the report continues.

While EdTech use expands, 79 percent of educators said they felt “constantly on the job” because of technology and 41 percent reported burnout, saying they felt it more difficult to take a break from work. Opinions became even more divisive when asked about the use of AI in education – with 42 percent of educators believing that AI tools are helpful for teaching and 49 percent stating they don’t use AI in the classroom.

“Divergent attitudes among faculty, who serve as curators of the learning experience, will likely mean students have different access and exposure to these tools in their learning experience,” the report says on the impact of divisive attitudes toward EdTech.

Using strategic solutions such as developing improved channels of communication between institutions and educators can enable feedback and include their voices in strategic decision-making on technology in the classroom, helping to mitigate burnout. This may include establishing faculty EdTech committees, establishing focus groups and surveys, and conducting faculty-led EdTech pilots, the researchers said.

Using additional feedback channels to develop policies and guidelines for AI tools is also important and allows educators to feel like they have a say in how guidelines “will enhance their teaching experiences instead of creating an additional burden.”

Providing educators with structure and guidance around EdTech tool mastery and healthy work-life balance can also be beneficial to improving technology fatigue and burnout, the researchers said.

“It might behoove administrators to think about hiring or upskilling staff to create a source of EdTech support for faculty so that they do not have to adjust to an increasingly tech-enabled learning environment on their own,” researchers wrote. “It is also important for administrators and institutions to help faculty place boundaries around their personal and professional lives by understanding when, and for whom, the intrusive nature of tech can cause the most harm.”