The coronavirus crisis has revealed the urgency of accelerating the digitization of classrooms, a need that today continues to be a priority in the educational community. This is stated by 78% of primary and secondary teachers in Spain, who consider that Digitization will grow even more in the next three years. Reaching a higher level of digitization is the biggest challenge they currently face as professionals, according to 64% of teachers. These are data from the survey carried out by Epson within its EDU2030 program, and in which more than 600 professionals from different educational centers in Spain have participated.
The results show that pressure is mounting to improve the technological offer in schools. Thus, 60% of education professionals stress the importance of students increasing the use of digital technologies to be able to hybrid learning effectively. On the contrary, more than half of those surveyed (51%) consider that they are not sufficiently technologically trained to be a key element in the digital transformation of their classrooms.
This digitization, however, must be carried out under the criteria of sustainability and energy efficiency. This is confirmed by 7 out of 10 participants, who declare that the reduction of CO2 emissions is one of the reasons why they opt for more efficient technologies in their centers. In fact, according to the opinion of 68% of teachers, energy saving is a fundamental criterion in the technology selection process for classrooms, and sustainability a key element in the decision to invest in new technology, even prioritizing energy efficiency over price (64%).
Likewise, 74% of the professionals in the educational community strongly agree or agree with the need for students to be educated on how to choose appropriate technology focused on energy efficiency. They also emphasize the lack of education on sustainability in schools (63%), being, therefore, one of the subjects still pending in the country.
For Raul Sanahuja, responsible for communication of Epson Ibérica, “Technological transformation and digitization affect all sectors, with education being one of the fields with the greatest needs, both for teachers and students”. Sanahuja adds: “This transformation, however, must be carried out under criteria of sustainability and energy efficiency. We have the opportunity, and the responsibility, to take advantage of the benefits that technology offers us to achieve more efficient solutions, especially in a context like the current one. The survey that we have carried out shows that the educational community is already aware of this and that it also detects the urgent need to educate future generations in these areas”.
The study carried out by Epson also reveals data on the use of different technological devices in the classroom. In this sense, for 63% of those surveyed, thanks to the printers, scanners and projectorsstudents have greater access to learning materials.
A program to promote sustainable digitization
This study is part of EDU2030, the initiative that encompasses all Epson projects focused on accelerating the digital and sustainable transformation of Spanish classrooms. Under the slogan ‘Connecting futures’, EDU2030 includes different listening, analysis and action initiatives, to understand and respond to the needs of the country’s educational community. The EDU2030 program is aimed at all primary and secondary classrooms throughout Spain, and includes training and resources for students and teachers, sessions with experts or awareness-raising activities with NGOs, among other activities. Centers interested in participating in this program can obtain more information on the Epson website.
