Web and Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 · or video conferencing to provide remote...

Survey Partners

Survey Report 2017

in Education Web & Video Conferencing Trends

Contents

The Survey 3

Survey Methodology and Respondents’ Profile 5

Key Findings 6

Conclusion 11

Appendix 1: Full Survey Questions 12

Appendix 2: Participating Organisations 19

Page � of �2 20 Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017

The survey team at iGov Survey would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who were kind enough to take part – and especially to those who found the time to offer additional insights through their extra comments. We would also like to thank our partner, Brother UK, for their assistance in compiling the survey questions, scrutinising the responses and analysing the results.

Web & Video Conferencing Trends in Education 2017 is © copyright unless explicitly stated otherwise. All rights, including those in copyright in the content of this publication, are owned by or controlled for these purposes by iGov Survey.

Except as otherwise expressly permitted under copyright law or iGov Survey’s Terms of Use, the content of this publication may not be copied, produced, republished, downloaded, posted, broadcast or transmitted in any way without first obtaining iGov Survey’s written permission, or that of the copyright owner.

To contact the iGov Survey team: Email: [email protected] Tel: 0845 094 8567 Address: FAO Sandra Peet, Pacific House, Pacific Way, Digital Park, Salford Quays, M50 1DR

Acknowledgements

The Survey

Traditional methods of teaching are fast becoming obsolete. Gone are the days of chalkboards and textbooks. The modern classroom must now cater to changing expectations, from staff, students and parents alike, as pupils prepare for the digital world of education and beyond.

The 2017 consumer digital index carried out by Lloyds Bank suggests that 97% of people aged 15 to 24 now have basic digital skills, up 4% from 93% in 2015 . As pupils develop 1

new skills and continue to embrace the latest digital advancements outside of the classroom, the pressure to adapt inside mounts.

And it’s not just changing pupil expectations that is driving this shift. A poll carried out by the app TeacherTapp found that 60% of teachers state they are unhappy with the balance between their professional and personal commitments. Moreover, research conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) suggests just under a quarter of teachers (23%) are now considering leaving the profession due to workload . 2

Today, UK schools spend over £900m on educational technology every year . Further 3

research also suggests that 67% of educators believe technology enables them to engage better with students by using a familiar medium, whilst more than half use online technology to learn and work remotely . 4

With this in mind, iGov Survey partnered with supplier of technology solutions for business, Brother UK, to examine the ways in which institutions across the UK currently use web and video technology to aid in teaching and learning, and how this is being used to foster increased collaboration not just for students, but for staff as well.

About Our Survey Partner

OmniJoin HD web collaboration from Brother UK is a cost effective, easy to use and network-friendly hosted/on premise platform perfect for today’s universities and further education institutions. Brother's intelligent video offers up to HD quality at typically a third of the bandwidth footprint of competitor technologies, providing reliability for web conferencing even on challenging network connections.

Lloyds Bank (2017) ‘Lloyds Bank Consumer Digital Index 2017’ [Online]. Available at: http://www.lloydsbank.com/assets/media/pdfs/lloyds-bank-1

consumer-digital-index-2017.pdf (Accessed 7 November 2017) Allen, R (2017) ‘Stop shooting silver bullets and learn to trust our teachers again’ [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/nov/2

07/trust-teachers-auditing-performance (Accessed 7 November 2017) Manning, E. (2017) ‘Out with the old school? The rise of ed tech in the classroom’ [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-3

network/2017/aug/01/schools-slowly-edtech-sector-cubetto-kahoot-firefly (Accessed 7 November 2017) Classflow (2017) ‘The State of Technology in Education’ [Online]. Available at: https://resourced.classflow.co.uk/app/uploads/2017/08/4

CF_StateOfTech_Infographic-1-e1474195491671.png (Accessed 7 November 2017)


http://www.lloydsbank.com/assets/media/pdfs/lloyds-bank-consumer-digital-index-2017.pdf

https://resourced.classflow.co.uk/app/uploads/2017/08/CF_StateOfTech_Infographic-1-e1474195491671.png

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/nov/07/trust-teachers-auditing-performance

https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/aug/01/schools-slowly-edtech-sector-cubetto-kahoot-firefly

A true immersive collaboration experience with file sharing, real-time document working, annotation, video playback and recording, while offering a simple and intuitive user interface.

Used extensively for remote learning within universities, with cross platform support and integration into existing solutions (LMS) via our free APIs.

To find out more, visit: https://www.brother.co.uk/business-solutions/web-conferencing


https://www.brother.co.uk/business-solutions/web-conferencing?utm_source=ingenium&utm_medium=report&utm_content=find_out_more

Survey Methodology and Respondents’ Profile

This survey was conducted by iGov Survey in partnership with Brother UK. The project ran from Friday 14 July 2017 to Monday 2 October 2017.

Survey respondents represented a broad cross-section of roles across UK education institutions. This included: Administration, Business Development, Business Management, Chief Executive/Deputy, Childrens Services, Contract Services, Corporate Services, Digital, E-Government, Education, Finance Management, General Manager, Head teacher, Information, IT Management, IT Technical Lead, Operations, Organisational Planning, Performance, Procurement/Purchasing, Project, Public Relations, Quality Assurance, Research, Senior Manager, Service Delivery, Shared Services, Technical Services, and Transformation/Change Management.

154 individuals from 134 unique organisations participated in the survey, each of whom will have received a complimentary copy of the findings report. There was no inducement to take part in the survey, and Brother UK was not introduced as the survey partner.

The results displayed throughout this report are based on those who fully completed the questionnaire and are displayed as a percentage of this group, unless explicitly stated otherwise.


22%

29%1%

48%Colleges of Further EducationPrimary SchoolsSecondary SchoolsUniversities

FIGURE 1: Sector Breakdown

Key Findings The vast majority of participants (84%) state that it is very important for their institution to allow staff and students to communicate better, regardless of location or device It is encouraging to see many participants recognise the importance of embracing new ways of working enabled by technology, as new devices and software alter the way in which we interact with the world, both in and outside of the classroom. Just 1% of survey participants said it was not important to them at present, suggesting that for the majority, technology is a vital catalyst in improving the way in which staff and students communicate.

Looking at the current level of technology adoption across the sector, 92% of participants enable their students to access course materials via multiple devices, including onsite computers, mobile devices or external personal devices. 85% allow their students to bring their own devices, such as tablets or laptops, and a further 62% offer staff and students the ability to engage, share collaboratively and work with others from a remote location via web and video conferencing.


1%15%

84%

Very importantSlightly importantNot importantNot at all important

FIGURE 2: How important is it for your institution to allow staff and students to communicate better, regardless of location or device?

FIGURE 3: Current levels of adoption among ability to use multiple devices, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) schemes, and web or video conferencing.

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Yes No Don't know

Are students able to access course materials via multiple devices?

Does your institution allow your students to bring their own devices (BYOD)?

Are students and staff able to engage, share and work with other via web/video

conferencing from a remote location?

Over half of participants (52%) state that they use web or video conferencing to provide remote online learning courses

A further 48% use the technology to enable the delivery of training courses for staff and 39% conduct video-based interviews in this manner. It is encouraging to see that many participants are using web and video conferencing for a diverse range of purposes, highlighting an awareness across the sector of its flexibility.

Importantly, almost three quarters of participants (71%) highlighted web and video conferencing technology as a means of achieving their goal of enabling new ways of learning, teaching and working within their organisation. A further 63% cite improved communication and collaboration between students, teachers and wider staff as another significant benefit of the technology.


0% 15% 30% 45% 60%

Video-based interviews

Internal staff meetings

Training courses for staff

Remote online learning courses

Remote parent/teacher meetings

Facilitating student group sessions

Recording learning sessions

Not in use

Other

FIGURE 4: For which of the following do you currently use web or video conferencing? Please tick all that apply.

88% of participants told us that enabling new ways of teaching, learning and working was one of their strategic objectives over the coming 12 months Moreover, this was closely followed by improved student/staff satisfaction (70%), suggesting a recognition across the sector of the role that new ways of working plays in terms of improving service delivery and experiences across their organisation.


0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

1 2 3 4 5 Not ApplicableReduced costs, expenses and

overheads

Improved communication between students & staff

Reduction in travel for distance or remote learners

Improved student practices

Enabling new ways of learning, teaching & working

Greater student and/or staff engagement

FIGURE 5: Which of the following do you consider to be a key benefit of web/video conferencing? Please rate each option on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is not beneficial and 5 is very beneficial.

0% 15% 30% 45% 60% 75% 90%

Reduce costs

Improve staff productivity

Improve student/staff satisfaction

Enable new ways of teaching, learning and working

Increase efficiency

Be more competitive

Gain a better understanding of student/staff needs

Foster better communication between students and staff

Other

FIGURE 6: What are your main strategic objectives over the next twelve months? Please tick all that apply.

Thinking about the areas of support that would benefit organisations with regard to the use of web or video conferencing, over half (52%) believe support for a variety of devices from PC, Mac, iOS and Android would be beneficial for their organisation. This is closely followed by those who seek more flexible licensing to allow more staff and students to use the technology (46%), and those who believe a secure UK Cloud-based system that is robust and easy to use would be advantageous (43%).

Over a quarter of participants (28%) told us that they actively promote collaborative ways of working and both their staff and students have already seen benefits as a result

Furthermore, 52% state that they encourage their staff and students to use a variety of collaboration tools, though this isn’t consistent organisation-wide.


0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

A secure UK Cloud-based system that is robust and easy to use

Flexible licensing to allow more staff and student to use it

Ability to meet legal compliance through controlling functions/

features for individual licenses

Use of simple subscription-based service

Easy to configure and support multiple areas in your organisation

Secure data encryption

Support for a variety of devices from PC, Mac, iOS, and Android

Other

FIGURE 7: In your opinion, which of the following areas of IT support would benefit your organisation with regard to the use of a web and video conferencing solution? Please tick all that apply.

Encouragingly, 51% of participants told us that the biggest driver for improving their communications is improved student experience. It is good to see such a high attention on this area and, together with a focus on enabling new ways of working, suggests that improved service delivery and the adoption of more effective and engaging methods of learning is a prime focus for many.


0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

We actively promote collaborative ways of working online, and both our staff and

students benefit as a result

We encourage both staff and students to use a variety of collaboration tools but this is not

consistent

We use mainly traditional forms of communication to collaborate, but are

encouraged to embrace new ways of working

We don’t currently collaborate in any way online

Other

FIGURE 8: With regard to collaborative ways of working online, which of the following statements best represents your institution? You may tick more than one response, if applicable.

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Quicker response times

Improved student experience

Improved staff productivity

Meeting student demands

Meeting staff demands

Accessible and easy to use

Improved relationship with local businesses and higher education providers

Reducing costs

Requirements for new technology/Current systems no longer supported

Other

FIGURE 9: Of the following, which do you believe is the biggest driver for improving your communications?

Conclusion by Andy Ostler, Head of OmniJoin at Brother UK

This report provides clear evidence that there is widespread awareness of the potential for web conferencing tools to have a significant positive impact on schools. However, it also shows there is some work to do in terms of ensuring it is implemented effectively.

The proliferation of digital technology in people’s personal and working lives has created great expectations in terms of the accessibility of information and resources. At the same time, the intense, ongoing pressure on education budgets means there are more demands than ever before on the time of teachers and their support staff.

Against this backdrop, it is encouraging that schools are embracing new collaboration and communication technologies in such large numbers. There has clearly been a remarkable shift in the way pupils are able to gain access to information, with nearly all schools allowing access from a range of devices and a majority now offering web conferencing tools to allow remote collaboration between students and staff.

A key underlying message of this sea change is that many of the perceived technological barriers to digital collaboration – security, usability and reliability – have been addressed by developers, to the extent that the emphasis is now on what can be achieved, rather than what the limitations are.

While some are currently restricting their use of these tools to functions like recruitment and training – areas where their usefulness has been proven in many different sectors of the economy – it’s clear that there is also widespread awareness of the potential benefits in terms of delivering improved outcomes for pupils.

In fact, it was the promise of improving communication between students, teachers and wider staff that most responders ranked as the biggest key benefit of web conferencing in schools, while improving the student experience was the dominant goal for school communications more broadly.

However, despite the appetite for updated technology to support new ways of working, there is clearly a challenge around implementation, and taking a consistent approach across an organisation is a barrier for many.

Whether this is a symptom of early adoption of the technology being trialled on a piecemeal basis ahead of more wholesale adoptions in the future, only time will tell, but this report shows there is a large appetite for the potential benefits on offer.

I hope you have found this report interesting and insightful, and it has given you a clearer view of the key trends impacting web conferencing adoption across the education sector.


Appendix 1: Full Survey Questions


Question: With regard to collaborative ways of working online, which of the following statements best represents your institution? You may tick more than one response, if applicable.

Answer Percent

We actively promote collaborative ways of working online and both our staff and students are already benefiting as a consequence of this

28%

We encourage both our staff and our students to use a variety of collaboration tools but this is not consistent organisation-wide

52%

We use mainly traditional forms of communication to collaborate, for example, face-to-face and telephone, but we are encouraged to embrace new ways of working, such as providing online sessions for students

28%

We don’t currently collaborate in any way online 2%

Other - please specify 1%

Grid Question: In which of the following ways do you communicate with:

Staff

Answer Percent

Face-to-face 98%

Via telephone 90%

Email/SMS 97%

Web or video conferencing 48%

External tutorial/meetings 54%

Students

Answer Percent

Face-to-face 99%

Via telephone 53%

Email/SMS 93%

Web or video conferencing 38%

External tutorial/meetings 42%


Question: Does your organisation use a Learning Management System (LMS) and if so, which of the following do you use?

Answer Percent

We don’t use an LMS 15%

Moddle 43%

Blackboard 16%

Desire2Learn (D2L) 0%

Sakai 0%

Canvas 4%

Pearson Learning Solutions 1%

Jenzabar 0%


Question: Which of the following integration improvements do you believe would enhance your LMS? Please tick all that apply.

Answer Percent

We don’t have an LMS 14%

Web/video conferencing 40%

Screen/document sharing 44%

Ability to communicate in real-time with staff and students 49%

Improved conversations/discussion forums/group work with students and staff members 45%


Question: How important is it for your institution to allow staff and students to communicate better, regardless of location or device?

Answer Percent

Very important 84%

Slightly important 15%

Not important 1%

Not at all important 0%

Question: Do you offer students the ability to access course materials via multiple devices (such as onsite computers, mobile devices or external personal devices)?

Answer Percent

Yes 92%

No 6%

Don’t know 2%


Question: Does your institution allow your students to bring their own device, such as tablets or laptops?

Answer Percent

Yes 85%

No 14%

Don’t know 1%

Question: Are students and staff currently able to engage, share collaboratively and work with others via web or video conferencing from a remote location?

Answer Percent

Yes 62%

No 29%

Don’t know 9%

Question: What are your main strategic objectives over the next twelve months? Please tick all that apply.

Answer Percent

Reduce costs 53%

Improve staff productivity 48%

Improve student/staff satisfaction 70%

Enable new ways of teaching, learning and working 86%

Increase efficiency 64%

Be more competitive 30%

Gain a better understanding of student/staff needs 44%

Foster better communication between students and staff 53%


Grid Question: Which of the following do you consider to be key benefits of using web or video conferencing? Please rate each option on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is not beneficial and 5 is very beneficial.

Reduced costs, expenses and overheads

Answer Percent

1 5%

2 15%

3 21%

4 20%

5 23%

We don’t use this 16%


Improved communication/collaboration between students, teachers and wider staff

Answer Percent

1 4%

2 8%

3 14%

4 21%

5 42%


Reduction in travel for distance or remote learners

Answer Percent

1 11%

2 5%

3 10%

4 18%

5 40%


Improved student practices

Answer Percent

1 3%

2 9%

3 24%

4 31%

5 20%


Enabling new ways of learning, teaching and working

Answer Percent

1 2%

2 7%

3 8%

4 32%

5 39%



Greater student and/or staff engagement

Answer Percent

1 4%

2 8%

3 14%

4 29%

5 33%


Question: Of the following, which do you believe is the biggest driver for improving your communications?

Answer Percent

Quicker response times 3%

Improved student experience 51%

Improved staff productivity 10%

Meeting student demands 7%

Meeting staff demands 3%

Accessible and easy to use 14%

Improved relationship with local businesses and higher education providers 1%

Reducing costs 4%

Requirements for new technology or current systems no longer supported 2%


Question: For which of the following do you currently use web or video conferencing? Please tick all that apply.

Answer Percent

Video-based interviews 39%

Internal staff meetings 35%

Training courses for staff 48%

Remote online learning courses 52%

Remote parent/teacher meetings 3%

Facilitating student group sessions 24%

Recording tutorials/learning sessions to support student/absent learners 27%

We don’t use web or video conferencing 22%



Question: Of those listed below, what is the main challenge you face when using web or video conferencing?

Answer Percent

The technology we use is not reliable and has connectivity issues 23%

Individuals joining remotely often feel isolated and cannot fully partake in the meeting/session 8%

Video conferences often feel disjointed and inhibits conversation flow 20%

We do not have the necessary support/skills in our organisation to facilitate it effectively 12%

Installation of software on multiple devices 5%

The lack of software on external devices 5%

We don’t use web or video conferencing at present 16%


Question: In your opinion, which of the following areas of IT support would benefit your organisation with regard to the use of a web or video conferencing solution? Please tick all that apply.

Answer Percent

A secure UK Cloud based system that is robust and easy to use 43%

Flexible licensing to allow for more staff and students to use it 46%

Ability to meet legal compliance through controlling functions and features for individual licenses 22%

Use of a simple subscription-based service 12%

Easy to configure and support multiple areas in your organisation 40%

Secure data encryption 26%

Support for a variety of devices from PC, Apple Mac, iOS, and Android 52%


Question: With regard to adopting web or video conferencing tools for staff, what stage would you say your organisation has reached?

Answer Percent

It is at pilot stage only 19%

It is used by certain departments-only 39%

It is used organisation-wide 15%

We have no plans to use web or video conferencing for staff or student communications 12%

Don’t know 10%



Question: In your opinion, what is the single biggest barrier preventing you from exploring the use of web or video conferencing?

Answer Percent

Lack of management buy-in 3%

Concerns over integration with legacy systems 5%

Limited resources 27%

Limited or lack of staff skills 25%

Perceived cost or lack of budget 14%

None of the above 27%

Appendix 2: Participating Organisations


COLLEGES OF FURTHER EDUCATION

Barnet and Southgate CollegeBeaumont CollegeBlackpool and the Fylde CollegeBolton CollegeBolton Sixth Form CollegeBristol Baptist CollegeBrockenhurst CollegeBury CollegeChesterfield CollegeChichester CollegeCity College PeterboroughCity of Glasgow CollegeColeg y CymoeddCollege Development NetworkDerby CollegeDerwentside CollegeDoncaster CollegeEast Durham CollegeEast Surrey CollegeExeter CollegeFife CollegeGlasgow Clyde CollegeGlasgow Kelvin CollegeGloucestershire CollegeHarlow CollegeHarper Adams University CollegeHartlepool College of Further EducationHugh Baird CollegeJoseph Chamberlain Sixth Form CollegeKendal CollegeKidderminster CollegeKingston Maurward CollegeLoughborough CollegeMary Ward Centre (Adult Learning)Middlesbrough CollegeMorley CollegeMoulton CollegeNew College DurhamNew College LanarkshireNew College PontefractNewbury College

North East Scotland CollegeNorth Hertfordshire CollegeNorth Kent CollegeNorthern Regional CollegeNorthumberland CollegePetrocPreston CollegeReading CollegeReigate CollegeRichard Taunton Sixth Form CollegeRiverside CollegeSaint Brendan's Sixth Form CollegeShrewsbury CollegeSouth Devon CollegeSouth Essex CollegeSouth Gloucestershire and Stroud CollegeSouth Lanarkshire CollegeSouth West CollegeSt Charles Catholic Sixth Form CollegeStrode CollegeSwindon CollegeThe Glasgow School of ArtThe Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher EducationThe Isle Of Wight CollegeThe Sixth Form College SolihullTower Hamlets CollegeTrinity College BristolTrinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and DanceTyne Coast CollegeTyne Metropolitan CollegeUniversity of the Highlands and IslandsVision West Nottinghamshire CollegeWaltham Forest CollegeWest Cheshire CollegeWest College ScotlandWest Lothian CollegeWeston CollegeWiltshire CollegeWinstanley CollegeYeovil CollegeYork College

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Abbey Grange Church of England AcademyAcademy 360Addington SchoolAltrincham College of ArtsBerwickshire High SchoolBishop Gore SchoolBishop Wordsworth's Grammar SchoolBlenheim High SchoolBlue Coat Church of England Academy, WalsallBradley Stoke Community SchoolBRIT School for Performing Arts and TechnologyChailey Heritage SchoolChristopher Whitehead Language College

Colne Community School and CollegeCottingham High SchoolCromwell Community CollegeDouglas AcademyDrumchapel High SchoolEastwood High SchoolFarlingaye High SchoolFulham Cross Girls' School and Language CollegeGrace Academy SolihullHampstead SchoolHans Price AcademyHaywood Engineering CollegeHerne Bay High School


Hospital and Home Education PRUIsobel Mair SchoolJordanhill SchoolLochend Community High SchoolLudlow Church of England SchoolMarshfields SchoolMeadowfield SchoolMinsthorpe Community College, A Specialist Science CollegeMyton SchoolNorthampton AcademyNorthampton School for BoysNotley High School and Braintree Sixth FormOasis Academy Isle of SheppeyPerth High SchoolPilton Community CollegeQueensbury AcademyShaftesbury High School

Skipton Girls' High SchoolSperrinview SchoolSt Augustine's Roman Catholic High SchoolSt Catherine's Catholic School for GirlsSt Illtyd'sStalham High SchoolSwindon AcademySwiss Cottage Specialist SEN SchoolThe City Academy, HackneyThe Gainsborough AcademyThe John Wallis Church of England AcademyThe Marlborough Church of England SchoolWelshpool High SchoolWindsor Girls' SchoolWycombe High SchoolYsgol Aberconwy

UNIVERSITIES

Aberystwyth UniversityAPUC LtdAston UniversityBangor UniversityBirkbeck, University of LondonCardiff Metropolitan UniversityCardiff UniversityCity, University of LondonDurham UniversityEdinburgh Napier UniversityFalmouth UniversityLondon School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineManchester Metropolitan UniversityNewcastle UniversityPlymouth UniversitySouthern Universities Management ServiceSt Georges, University of London

Staffordshire UniversitySwansea UniversityTeesside UniversityThe Royal Central School of Speech and DramaThe University of LawThe University of NorthamptonUniversity of BathUniversity of DerbyUniversity of GlasgowUniversity of GloucestershireUniversity of HertfordshireUniversity of LincolnUniversity of OxfordUniversity of SalfordUniversity of St AndrewsUniversity of WalesUniversity of Warwick

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