Training and Infrastructure Still Barriers for Connected Teachers, Indicates TIC Education 2014

Produced by Cetic.br, the survey reveals that only 41% of public school students who are Internet users utilized the network at school

Brazilian teachers are interested in using digital educational resources, but conditions for infrastructure and training for using the Internet for educational purposes are not always available. This is one of the findings of the TIC Education 2014 survey, launched this Monday (21) by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br) through the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br).

Conducted since 2010, TIC Education investigates the use and appropriation of computers and the Internet in public and private schools, in primary and secondary education located in urban areas. The survey was carried out in 930 schools from September 2014 to March 2015 and interviewed 930 principals, 881 pedagogical coordinators, 1,770 teachers, and 9,532 students.

According to Alexandre Barbosa, manager of Cetic.br, “although information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure is advancing in Brazilian schools, its use, as well as its appropriation in pedagogical practices, still represents a challenge for educational projects and public policies.” According to TIC Education 2014, for only 30% of public school teachers, the main place of ICT use is the classroom in activities with students, an indicator stable compared to 2013.

Professor Maria Elizabeth Bianconcini de Almeida, TIC Education specialist, emphasizes the relevance of the survey for understanding the current scenario and trends in the pedagogical use of ICT in Brazilian schools, “especially with regard to issues of teacher training for using new technologies in their activities with students.”

This theme, as well as the survey results, will be discussed during the IV Web Curriculum Seminar and the XII Meeting of Curriculum Researchers. The event will bring together more than 600 educators and researchers starting this Monday at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP) around the challenges of integrating digital information and communication technologies into the teacher training curriculum.

Connected schools, limited speed

TIC Education 2014 shows stability in the proportion of schools in urban areas with Internet access: 93% of those with computers are connected to the network, with 92% in public schools and 97% in private schools.

Regarding the equipment present in the school, the proportion of institutions with mobile computers and tablets is also increasing: 79% of public schools have portable computers (compared to 73% in 2013) and 29% have tablets (compared to 11% in 2013).

“Despite advances in recent years, connection speed is still one of the main barriers, especially considering the need for simultaneous use of equipment within the same school,” says Barbosa. In 2014, 41% of public schools with Internet connection had the main network connection with up to 2 Megabits/s of speed, according to the survey. In 2013, this proportion was 50%. In private schools, the percentage of institutions with a connection limited to up to 2 Megabits/s is lower: 21% of schools with Internet.

Teacher training

The majority of public school teachers declare that they learned to use computers and the Internet by themselves (67%), while the proportion of those who took specific training courses on ICT is lower (57%). Among professionals who took courses, the vast majority (74%) paid for their own course, compared to training opportunities offered by educational departments or other government bodies (29%). Among public school teachers with a university education, 37% took a specific course on using computers and the Internet during Higher Education.

Another relevant data on the appropriation of technology among teachers is the growth in the use of mobile devices for Internet access: among public school teachers, 64% access the network via cell phone; the proportion was only 36% in 2013. 

Digital educational resources

The use of digital educational resources for lesson preparation or activities with students is a widespread activity among teachers, indicating a growing interest in using ICT in pedagogical practices. The TIC Education 2014 survey indicates, for example, that 82% of public school teachers produce content for lessons through the use of ICT. The use of the Internet to publish or share their own content to be used with students is done by 28% of public institution teachers: an increase of seven percentage points compared to 2013.

Technology use by students

In the 2014 edition, the TIC Education survey identified that new technologies are more present in the daily lives of students in Brazilian schools, but this contact does not always occur in the school environment. Internet users (i.e., those who accessed the network in the three months preceding the interview) make up 87% of urban public school students. Among users, the proportion of urban public school students accessing the Internet via cell phones is 79%.

Despite the growth in Internet access among students, only 41% of public school students who are Internet users have utilized the network at school, with the primary place of access remaining their home (77%).

Just like the TIC Kids Online Brazil 2014 and TIC Households 2014, the TIC Education 2014 survey verifies that the use of social networks is very present in the daily lives of Brazilian youth. “However, less than half of the students who participate in social networks use these platforms for schoolwork,” reiterates Alexandre Barbosa.

To access the complete TIC Education 2014 survey, as well as previous years' surveys, visit https://cetic.br/pesquisa/educacao/.

About Cetic.br

The Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society of NIC.br is responsible for producing indicators and statistics on the availability and use of the Internet in Brazil, disseminating periodic analyses and information on network development in the country. Cetic.br is a Regional Study Center under UNESCO auspices. More information available at https://www.cetic.br/.

About the Brazilian Network Information Center - NIC.br

The Brazilian Network Information Center — NIC.br (https://www.nic.br/) is a non-profit civil entity implementing the decisions and projects of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee. Permanent activities of NIC.br include coordinating domain name registration — Registro.br (https://www.registro.br/), studying, responding to, and dealing with security incidents in Brazil — CERT.br (https://www.cert.br/), researching and studying network technologies and operations — Ceptro.br (https://www.ceptro.br/), producing indicators on information and communication technology — Cetic.br (https://www.cetic.br/), fostering and boosting Web evolution in Brazil — Ceweb.br (https://www.ceweb.br/) and housing the W3C office in Brazil (https://www.w3c.br/).

About the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee - CGI.br

The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee is responsible for establishing strategic guidelines related to the use and development of the Internet in Brazil, coordinating and integrating all Internet service initiatives in the country, promoting technical quality, innovation, and dissemination of services offered. Based on principles of multistakeholderism and transparency, CGI.br represents a democratic Internet governance model praised internationally, where all sectors of society equitably participate in its decisions. One of its formulations is the 10 Principles for Internet Governance and Use (https://www.cgi.br/principios). More information is available at https://www.cgi.br/.

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