The new “Digital Districts: Web 2.0 and Collaborative Technologies in U.S. Schools” survey, conducted by Interactive Educational Systems Design (IESD) on behalf of Lightspeed Systems, netTrekker, and Atomic Learning, shows that the use of Web 2.0 is on the rise. Key findings include:
¦ Districts reported that 25% or more of teachers increased their use of Web 2.0 technologies across several categories.
¦ Most district respondents (65%) reported that very few or no teachers in their district used this technology.
¦ Across several Web 2.0 categories, the larger the district, the more likely respondents in that district were to report a positive attitude among their peers.
¦ Many districts are using or plan to use a variety of Web 2.0 applications for professional development, including posting content online (76%), use of online collaboration and communication tools (56%), and online professional development courses (49%).
¦ About half the respondents reported an increase in students’ familiarity with technology (53%) and in students’ desire to learn (48%) as a result of Web 2.0 use.
¦ Web 2.0 users cited an increase in student academic engagement (39%) and improvement in students’ collaboration skills (38%), but only 27% reported that incorporating Web 2.0 tools into the classroom had resulted in students’ using resources that were aligned to their individual learning needs.
