More than three in four K-12 teachers say they or a colleague assigns homework that requires students to use the Internet, according to a recent study conducted for Cable in the Classroom by Grunwald Associates LLC.
Along with the 77% of teachers who can at some point expect a student to claim the dog ate his or her laptop, another 42% of students are producing or creating their own online videos as part of their schoolwork. And up to 60% of high school students are using YouTube and other online video sharing sites as their test audience for science projects, skits and other endeavors directly tied to their studies.
“We are experiencing a sea-change in the extent to which teachers are employing mainstream technology by integrating new tools in their classrooms,” Peter Grunwald, president and founder of Grunwald Associates, said in a statement. “Students are also learning technology skills in the classroom such as video production, which empowers them to be creators—not just consumers—of media.”
Teachers report students are producing their own video content in record numbers. This finding emerges as early as elementary school, with students in 24 percent of schools producing and editing videos, expanding to 43 percent in middle school and topping out in the high school years at 60 percent.
Grunwald Associates conducted 1,436 interviews among classroom teachers and librarian/media specialists in grades K-12. Interviews were conducted online in April, 2008.
