A new report from WGU Labs shows that many higher education faculty members feel fatigue and trepidation with respect to the rapidly evolving educational technologies on offer.
The report, published last week by the innovation arm of Western Governors University, polled 359 faculty members from colleges and universities, most of whom reported that they expect more edtech to be used in their classrooms. But less than a third of respondents reported belief that changes in the classroom were “heading in the right direction.”
This broad concern included a belief held by 58% of respondents that technologies would lead to faculty having less autonomy in designing courses.
Forty-one percent reported burnout and 79% reported they were constantly “on the job” because of technology.
Views on technology’s use in the classroom varied among faculty depending on their primary teaching modalities. Only 20% of those teaching face-to-face reported belief that education was headed “in the right direction,” compared to 42% of teachers teaching online asynchronously.
The survey also queried faculty on the growing popularity of artificial intelligence in higher education. Forty-two percent reported belief that AI will “positively impact” faculty. And about half of faculty said they’re not using AI in the classroom.
